Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

---

Etching a course through Southern Idaho and along its western border with Oregon, the Snake River provides a natural route for Union Pacific trains heading to and from the Pacific Northwest.

This is the route of the Oregon Short Line, and trains have been rolling through this wild and scenic country since 1884. In Part 1 of this two-part series, we are focusing on the western portion of the line from Huntington, Oregon to Nampa, Idaho.

The scenery transitions from rugged canyons to rich agricultural land and industry as trains sprint through the lush Treasure Valley. We will visit the communities of Weiser and Payette, Idaho before crossing the Snake River back into Oregon at Ontario and on through Nyssa. Crossing one last time into Idaho, the line continues along the course of the Boise River to the southeast through Parma, Notus, and Caldwell before arriving at the division point of Nampa.

Several mixed manifest trains are seen daily, along with hot Z trains, and heavy soda ash trains from Wyoming. An army of locals work out of Nampa and a few branch lines are seen in action like the Oregon Eastern Railroad at Ontario and the Boise Valley Railroad at Caldwell.