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Due to the erection of the gigantic McNary Dam that spanned the width of the Columbia River between Umatilla County, OR, with Benton County, WA, in 1947-1954, the Union Pacific chose to redesign its routes and rail yards in northern OR. It abandoned previous rail yards and maintenance facilities at Rieth, OR, and Umatilla, OR, and consolidated those operations at the Hinkle Yard in Hermiston, OR, in 1951.

The Hinkle facility served as the main, 24-hour, 7-days per week,, engine-repair center for Pacific Northwest operations. It employed approximately 235 workers in 2010. The Union Pacific Railroad described it in that year: "The 100,000-square-foot repair facility is comprised of several buildings, with offices, a warehouse, a parts-storage area, locker rooms, mechanical systems, an automated locomotive wash area, and four run-through tracks for repairing 12 locomotives at one time. The main building is 302 feet long and 226 feet wide. There are two 340-foot service tracks outside the building, capable of handling ten locomotives at a time, five on each track." See "Hinkle Locomotive Service and Repair Facility,"Accessed 10/18/2010. Tel: (541) 567-9872 (2010).

The most recent renovation of the Hinkle Yard took two years, between 10/1996 and 10/1998. It cost about $32 million.

PCAD id: 15635