Albany and Eastern Railroad

Albany and Eastern Railroad

Overview
Headquarters	Lebanon, Oregon
Reporting mark	AERC
Locale	Oregon
Dates of operation	1998–
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Track length	64 miles (103 km)

The Albany and Eastern Railroad (reporting mark AERC) is a short line railroad in the Willamette Valley of Oregon that was created when the BNSF Railway spun off its Sweet Home Branch Line in May 1998. It operates about 64 miles (103 km) of track and is based in Lebanon, Oregon. The main line runs from Albany to Lebanon, with two branch lines at Lebanon going to Sweet Home and Mill City. At the Albany end of the main line it connects to Union Pacific and BNSF lines.

History

The 11 miles (18 km) of the Albany-Lebanon mainline were built by the newly founded Albany and Lebanon Railroad in 1880. The A&L was shortly thereafter bought by the Oregon and California Railroad, which ran from Portland to the Oregon-California border. In turn, the O&C was bought by Southern Pacific in 1887. The Albany-Lebanon line became one of several branches off the main route from San Francisco to Portland, which went through Albany. New branches were also constructed as the Willamette Valley industrialized, including a 36 miles (58 km) route northeast from Lebanon to the booming lumber town of Mill City built in 1910. SP leased both branch lines to the Willamette Valley Railway in 1993, and sold them outright to WVR in 1996 shortly before its acquisition by Union Pacific.

The 17 miles (27 km) Lebanon-Sweet Home branch was built by the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway in 1930 as a spur of their passenger Oregon Electric Railway, and eventually acquired by BNSF. The railroad spun it off into the Albany and Eastern in May 1998.

Five years later, in 2003, AERC bought the Albany-Lebanon and Lebanon-Mill City lines from WVR, completing the current network. In 2007 a revamping of its aging infrastructure began, with new rails, ties, and rebuilt crossings. By 2011 all three lines had been refurbished.

Fleet

As of November 2019, the AERC roster consisted of the following:

Number	Type	Built	Notes
1201	EMD SW1200	1943	Is the variant SW1200M. It began life as a Baldwin VO-1000, but was almost totally rebuilt by EMD in 1959.
1750	EMD GP9	1959
1807, 1841, 5931, 5935, 5957	GE B40-8	1988	5931, 5935, and 5957 are the variant B20-8, with reduced horsepower for less wear and tear and increased longevity.
2501	EMD GP35	1963	Is the variant GP35E, rebuilt by Southern Pacific in 1978.
5399	EMD SD9	1955	Is the variant SD9R, rebuilt by Southern Pacific in 1975.
9252	GE C40-8	1988