The Malheur Valley Railway built a 23.74-mile (38.21 km) branch line of the Oregon Short Line Railroad (OSL), beginning at that company's main line south of Ontario, Oregon, U.S., and extending west through the valley of the Malheur River to Vale, then northwest to Brogan. The company was incorporated on January 26, 1906, and opened its first section of road on January 15, 1907, under lease to the OSL, then an operating subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad. Construction between Vale and Brogan was aided by the Willow River Land and Irrigation Company. On December 23, 1910, new UP subsidiary Oregon–Washington Railroad and Navigation Company (OWR&N) acquired the property of the Malheur Valley Railway, but the line continued to be operated under lease by the OSL. The OWR&N subsequently built a line west from Vale, eventually reaching Burns, and also leased this Ontario–Burns Branch to the OSL. (This became moot in 1936, when the UP leased the OSL and OWR&N.)
The UP eventually abandoned the line between Vale and Brogan. In November 1989, the Wyoming Colorado Railroad bought the entire Ontario–Burns Branch, including the old Malheur Valley Railway east of Vale, and abandoned the portion east of Celatom in June 1992. The remainder is still operated by the Wyoming Colorado Railroad as the Oregon Eastern Railroad.