[5] When the Union Pacific Railroad[6] was completed from Ontario, Oregon, in 1916, the post office was reopened.

[5] Until the railroad was finished to Burns in 1924, Crane was an important livestock shipping point,[5] and the town was thriving with its five restaurants, four hotels, three garages, two general merchandise stores, a warehouse, a lumber yard, livery stables, a dance hall, a newspaper, a bank and a movie theater.

[6] As of 2011, the businesses in Crane included a post office, a gas station, which is combined with a café and tavern, a farm supply store, and a local realtor.

[6] Taylor Perse of Eugene Weekly stated that the community effectively reoriented itself around Crane Union High School.

[8] Crane is in eastern Harney County along Oregon Route 78 (Steens Highway), which leads northwest 29 miles (47 km) to Burns, the county seat, and southeast 64 miles (103 km) to U.S. Route 95 at Burns Junction.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Crane CDP has an area of 10.4 square miles (27.0 km2), all of it land.