Dinner Train Background
July 29, 2013
(For some crazy reason, a Google search for the dinner train comes here, instead of the main article. Sometimes the Google algorithm makes me crazy).
I grew up in Portland, Oregon, 50 miles from the sea and 50 miles from
the mountains. People from Portland generally went to Seaside on the
coast; people from Salem and Eugene tended to go to Tillamook and
Rockaway Beach. Grants Pass and Ashland folks went to Coos Bay.
Thus, my dad's family were Seaside people. Although they could have
taken the train to Seaside as late as 1952, they always drove. They
were solidly middle-class and owned a car; trains, at least on rides of
less than a few hours, were for people who couldn't afford a reliable
auto. For some reason, Mom's family went for Rockaway Beach, a town
where passenger train service stopped in 1932.
I always think of her, and Nana and Grampa, when I drive through
Rockaway Beach, which I do with some regularity on my way from Lincoln
City to Manzanita, usually during the week between Christmas and New
Year's. Although there has been a lot of gentrification, it is still
recognizable the cute little beach town it was in the 1940s.
As a rail fan, I have often looked wistfully at the tracks, which run
for miles within sight of U.S. 101, and wondered what it would be like
to ride a passenger train down them. Last winter, I noticed a sign for
the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad. I looked it up on the Internet, and
discovered its runs are mostly in the summer and fall. Two times it
reliably does not run are spring break and the week between Christmas
and New Years, which are the only times I am in Oregon. If I was going
to ride this road, I'd have to make a special trip. Last week, I made
the special trip.