The Corbin Road 1906

In 1905 Inland Empire construction magnate, D.C. Corbin, set out to build a railway line from Spokane to the international border. His plan was import coal from British Columbia to markets in eastern Washington.
The Spokane International Railroad was to connect with the Canadian Pacific, making it an international transcontinental line. Financed by the sale of stock, the 140.8-mile line from Spokane to Eastport was completed in October 1906. Construction through Boundary County required four tunnels, bridges, trestles, and numerous construction camps. Italian workers name the town of Naples, south of Bonners Ferry. By 1907 the Spokane International ran two passenger trains daily. In 1916, the 30 miles between Bonners Ferry and Eastport included postal stops at Moyie Springs, Eileen, Meadow Creek, Snyder, and Addie.
Financial problems frequently plagued the Spokane International. When passenger service was terminated in 1954, the railway initiated a new schedule for fast freight. Finally in 1958, the Union Pacific purchased the line, constructed a new depot in Eastport in 1962, and built a new bridge across the Kootenai River in 1985.
Today, Bonners Ferry is still a town along the way. Diesel engines have replaced steam locomotives and the cabooses are gone. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the Union Pacific rumble



non-stop through the county on century-old roadbeds. The long horn blast warning people to stay clear of the crossings are reminders of the thousands of workers who built and continue to maintain the lines. This story is dedicated to them.
More information on Boundary County history and the railroads is available inside the museum.
Thank you for visiting
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This project is supported in part by a grant from the Idaho Humanities Council, a state-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Boundary County Historical Society, Inc., August 2009.

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Show me all markers in:  Bonners Ferry, ID  |  Boundary County  |  83805  |  Idaho  |  United States of America

Logging Railroads
Railroad Services
Railroad Laborers
Kootenai Valley Railway
Great Northern Railway 1892
A Town is Born Along the Way
Semaphores
Pelton Wheel
Solving Power Problems
Electrifying Bonners Ferry

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