This washout immediately east of tunnel 35 made further progress into the canyon from the west impossible. Even getting this far up the canyon was difficult, with a great number of portages around slides and smaller washouts.
Part 1 -
Salmonberry to Enright
After the winter storms of 2006 devastated the Tillamook line it appeared we would have unlimited railbiking opportunity for years to come. Our concern was that subsequent winters would worsen the damage and curtail our riding. But alas, after just four years, the heavy, rapid growth in the lush Coast Range of Oregon has made railbiking impossible.
The most beautiful sections of the canyons are now clogged with Scotch Broom. In 2010 we were barely able to reach Enright and there the rails were completely blocked by the invasive growth.
Dick, Ken and Jim
carry around a small washout
in a steady downpour
on a 2009 outing.
Several of the washouts
were rideable, with bated breath. Here Peter takes his chances.
"All around the water tower, waitin' for a train,
a thousand miles away from home,
sleepin' in the rain"
This rare survivor had been vandalized on our last trip up the canyon
in 2010.
John heads across
the Salmonberry on a
bridge which will soon
become an island, as both approaches are being washed away.
Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad
The fury of the raging Salmonberry left no doubt of its distructive power.
The larger Nehalem River flows under the bridge in the background and joins the Salmonberry where once a station by the same name existed.
Peter and Jim look over the
damage to the county bridge where the road once crossed the railroad. The railroad will never be rebuilt, and the road may suffer the same fate.
Landslides were as numerous as washouts. Many required tough portaging of railbikes. Directly below John and Jim take a long detour over a wooded hillside.
At right, Peter and Jim haul the bikes across a side creek that had destroyed the roadbed.
The beauty of the
Salmonberry canyon
and the historic railroad line
will be sorely missed.
Continue to Part 2
Cochran West
Peter Hoffman
