The Idaho, Northern and Pacific Railroad

The Idaho, Northern and Pacific (INPR) is a short line based out of Emmett, Idaho and operates roughly 210 miles of ex-Union Pacific branch lines in the southwestern Idaho and northeastern Oregon regions. The railroad is a fairly recent upstart having begun operations in 1993 when it purchased the lines from UP. The IN&P today is currently a subsidiary of the Rio Grande Pacifc Corporation and along with its freight operations also operates the Thunder Mountain Line, a tourist operation.

To give a brief history of the Union Pacific, it has been in operation since 1862 when it began building west to meet the Central Pacific and thus opened the country's first transcontinental railroad.

The Union Pacific we know today began to take shape in 1982 when it purchased rival Western Pacific, which granted it access to northern California, and soon after this it would take over the Missouri Pacific to reach Chicago, St. Louis, and Texas. In 1988 the company grew even larger when it purchased the Katy (the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad) and in 1995 did the same with the Chicago & North Western. Finally, just a year later in 1996 the UP purchased the gigantic Southern Pacific, a one-time powerhouse railroad that by the time of its take over by UP was a company that was floundering (so much so that it had been purchased earlier by the much smaller Denver & Rio Grande Western).

The future of the Union Pacific is as wide open as the great western plains where the railroad operates. However, if the company�s past is any measure of what may happen in the years ahead, I think we can safely say that when the merger movement picks up again the Union Pacific and its famous shield logo will continue to flank locomotives during their daily task of moving goods across the country.

The Idaho, Northern & Pacific itself is broken down into two divisions the Idaho Division and Oregon Division and its sole connection is with the UP in four different Idaho locations including Payette, La Grande, Nampa, and Weiser. Its rail lines include a run between La Grande to Elgin, Oregon (here the railroad has a connection with an ex-UP branch, now owned by Wallowa County, which runs to Joseph, Oregon); Nampa to Boise, Idaho; and Payette to Emmett, Idaho.

Below is a current roster of the railroad, courtesy of The Diesel Shop:

The Idaho Northern and Pacific Railroad Roster

#1105, #1106, #1108, #1112, and #1150 - EMD FP10: Ex-MBTA, ex-GM&O (originally F3s)

#1707 - EMD GP16: Ex-CSX

#2074 and #2094 - EMD GP7u: Ex-Santa Fe

#4500-4506 - EMD GP40: Ex-CSX

The tourist operation, the Thunder Mountain Line, also does very well for the railroad and is likely what the IN&P is best known for although most folks don�t realize it�s operated by the railroad. I sure know I didn�t! Using a series of five FP10s (formerly F3s) the train is adorned in a beautiful red livery with gold trim. The tourist line�s featured events include rafting expeditions (�river and rail� which means you take a trip up the rapids, are dropped off, and then ride back down the river) and dinner trains, just to name a few.

For more reading on shortlines like the Idaho, Northern & Pacific consider the book American Shortline Railway Guide from author Ed Lewis. The book has gone through several updated editions to keep up with the ever-changing world of the shortline industry. Today, the publication highlights almost 600 shortlines across the country with general background information about each (such as roster information, rail line history, radio frequencies, etc.). If you have any interest in shortlines you will very likely enjoy this book.

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