1.10.1 Saginaw Timber Company (alternate history)

The Saginaw Timber Company incorporated on March 18, 1908 and organized in 1909. Saginaw is an area on the Chehalis River three miles southeast of Elma in southeast Grays Harbor County. The company was to be capitalized at $100,000. The organizers were A J Morley and W G Hopkins. The company constructed and operated a 40 mile logging railroad in the Aberdeen area.

In 1946, the company was reorganized as the Saginaw Lumber Company. In 1947, the company acquired the Bridges to Vesta track from the Gray's Harbor and Puget Sound Railway Company. On February 14, 1947 the company ceased logging operations and was dissolved.

Alternate history.  (See also American Mill Company)

In 1946, the company was reorganized as the Saginaw Lumber Company. In 1947, the company acquired the Bridges to Vesta track from the Gray's Harbor and Puget Sound Railway Company. Its plan was to log second growth timber and provide rail services to the American Mill Company's pulp and paper plant in development at Wickwood.

In late 1947 a record flood damaged fills and bridges on the northern end of the line. The company found that it did not have the revenue stream to rehabilitate the rail line to the standards required by the Federal Railroad Association between Preacher's Slough (its interchange with the Milwaukee Road and the Union Pacific) and the end of the line at Vest.

Neither the Milwaukee Road or the Union Pacific were interested in providing credit to the struggling logging railroad. They anticipated the company would declare bankrupcy and dissolve and they would then obtain the right of way from the bankruptcy court. What they did not anticipate was that the WWSL would tender an offer to the Saginaw Lumber Company. 

The WWSL offered to purchase the logging line between Bridges and the American Mill Company's pulp and paper plant at Wickwood. WWSL would rehabilitate the mainline, and interchange with the Saginaw Lumber Company at Wickwood.

The Saginaw Lumber Company agreed to the purchase. The company then reorganized, creating the railroad subsidiary Saginaw Timber Company. Saginaw Timber would provide industrial switching services to the American Mill Company. Funds provided by the purchase would go to rehabilitating the logging line from Wickwood to  Saginaw Lumber Company reload locations in the North River - Vesta watershed.

With capital from the right of way sale, Saginaw Timber Company purchased its first diesel-electric road locomotive, a Baldwin S12, No.12 and two diesel-electric sswitcher  GE 44ton's   #10 and #11, arriving in 1948, and placed its steam locomotive in reserve.