POVA

So tonight, I'll take a moment to not talk about the cars we photograph and instead talk about the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (POVA).  I could talk about the car I drove when I parralled the POVA tracks from Tiger to Metaline Falls, instead I'll focus on the POVA. 
The tracks were originally laid as the Idaho and Washington Northern Railroad 1909.  They were originally funded by Fredrick Blackwell, who owned much of the industry in the northeastern part of the state, including the lumber mill at Ione and the cement factory in Metaline Falls.  Blackwell fell on hard times and sold off his assists and in 1916 the I&WN became apart of the Milwaukee Road and remained that way until 1979.  It was in 1979 that the year old Pend Oreille port authority purchased the rails from the Milwaukee Road, which was in process of liquidating all western assests.  The purchase ensured that the largest employers in the region (the cement factory in Metaline Falls and the Ione lumber mill) remained opened and thus saving 1/3 of the full time jobs in the county.  Since 1979, the POVA has operated excursion trains and actually added to its mileage through lease and trackage rights with the BNSF.  So tonight's photo is of the POVA tracks at Box Canyon Dam, the bridge is on the National Historic Register.