The Art of Abandonment: Railroad Abandonments in the Pacific Northwest

The Art of Abandonment: Railroad Abandonments in the Pacific Northwest illustrates how economic challenges have worked to dramatically alter the Northwest’s railroad network. Hundreds of miles of track across the region have been abandoned in recent years. Indeed, across a landscape that includes Washington, Oregon, and Northern Idaho, the number of miles where trains continue to operate now totals less than the mileage of corridors where rail lines have been dismantled.

With 180 unique and artistic photographs, coupled with extensive research, the book explores the rapid pace of change in the region over the past four decades. Featured are scenes from a variety of locations where only memories now remain, including deserted branch lines, freight yards overgrown with weeds, and roadbeds stripped of rails and ties where mainline trains once thundered. Also highlighted is the loss of an entire railroad—the iconic Southern Pacific, which was taken over by Union Pacific in 1996 and effectively ceased to exist.

The Art of Abandonment celebrates the history of discarded routes, providing a photojournalistic journey into the sometimes heartbreaking evolution of the rail transportation network in the Northwest region of the United States.