What we lost with the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad

[Bob]

Nice tribute by Jim Wrinn in Trains Magazine.

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What we lost with the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad

The railroad was the West Coast equivalent of West Virginia’s Cass Scenic Railroad. Both reek of fresh cut timber. The presence of log cars, and wood shavings on the ground just added to the atmosphere. When the railroad staged an event that included a meet at Park Junction, it was like stepping back to the early 20th century when steam was king and deforesting America was in its heyday. We lost a real glimpse into that world.

 

[Bob]

BTW, let's not be too hasty to write an obituary for them quite yet. It's pretty clear that AHR is out of the picture, but what the future holds is unclear. There have been other times when the railroad was on the verge of extinction and survived. Jack Anderson saved it early on in the railroads history, running it as a (non profit) for profit operation. It didn't work long term but it bought the railroad enough time to survive.