Railbiking Updates

A $2 million federal grant was approved to rehabilitate the western 40 miles of the Astoria Line between Port Westward and Astoria.  Operation of a seasonal Portland-Astoria passenger service is scheduled for the summers of 2003, 2004 and 2005 in connection with the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. The FRA is expected to release the funds soon and Portland & Western Railroad already has begun slide clearing and brush cutting west of Wauna.

The Astoria Line

The Modoc Line

Tacoma Rail

Placerville Branch

Northwestern Pacific

Tacoma Rail is up-grading the line from Tacoma to Elbe, Washington to run tourist trains to view Mt Rainier.  Elbe was

the site of the 1998 railbike group ride on

the the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad.  The

Tacoma Rail route will enter Elbe from the

north over the tracks where Michael Rohde

was previously running his commercial railbike tours.

Twenty, eighty-nine foot flat cars

stacked with new 115 lb rail

were spotted standing on a siding

near Folsom, Ca.

The rail is for the extension of Sacramento Light Rail into Folsom

on the old S.P. Placerville Branch.

Folsom will be the end of the line for the foreseeable future with no dates for extending it all the way to Placerville. Railbiking can continue east into the foothills.

A recent offer from a private individual to buy the Northwestern Pacific initially

ignighted new hope amoung railfans that the line might finally be reopened.

The offer was rejected, and the general concenses is that the line will never be

opened again north of Willets, or at least, not while any of us are young enough to ride it.    The Eel River Canyon is one of the most isolated sections of railroad in the United States. 

FLASH:  Rumor has it that another purchase offer has been received from a party in Chicago who wishes to open the entire line all the way to Eureka.  No official word on this as yet, but we will keep you posted.

The Union Pacific officially applied

for abandonment of the Modoc Line on February 5, 2002 (see railbike ride story under Previous Articles ).   The request was extended one year to give the Rails to Trails people time to try to save the right-of-way.  Regardless, it looks as if the rails will be comming up early  next year.