The Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway was built solely to connect the Northern Pacific and Great Northern Railways to Portland, Oregon.
It was never intended to have a long-term identity, but when many attempts to merge the so-called "Hill Lines" failed, it hung on for nearly seven decades.
The SP&S was built late, owing in part to continuous disagreements with Union Pacific and its affiliate, the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company. SP&S's 379.5-mile main line was ultimately finished in 1909, after years of court conflicts over access to Portland and ownership of the powerful Columbia River's north bank.
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