Central Valley Electric Railway
The Spokane Pullman and Southern (SP&S) was chartered by Northern Pacific Railway (NP) to block the progress of the Coeur d' Alene and Southern Railroad from building south along the lake. Access to the timber, ore and farm products to the south of Spokane promised jobs and work for many people, which translated into money for the NP. This became important to the economy of the railroad. In 1905, law suits brought by the Federal Government and the Coeur d' Alene and Southern Railroad caused the Northern Pacific to sell off the controlling interest in the railway and form the Spokane Pullman and Southern Railway.
The Central Valley Railway originally was chartered as the Anita Electric Railway in 1910 in expectation of the SP&S Railway's arrival in town.
The farming communities of Sandpoint, Lynnellen and Central Valley were in need of cheap transportation for all their various crops, and a way to get them to the major cities of Spokane and Lewiston.
The economy began to slow in 1916 with the war news from Europe. The backers of the electric railway were only able to complete the line to Sandpoint.
A group of business men in Central Valley offered to buy out the Anita Electric Railway (AER). They formed the Central Valley Electric Railway (CVE) in 1918, and completed the line from Sandpoint to Central Valley.
The CVE freight motors and interurban cars were wearing out, parts were not available and the CVE began replacing the cars with the new diesel electrics. In 1948 the wire came down and electric cars were scrapped with only a few being saved for the parks.
Today, the CVE is a prosperous freight only line serving the inland valley of the railroad interchanging with the SP&S at Island Yard (previously known as Patty Creek), in Pullman.