New Park and Old Time Train Trips for Oregon Coast

Published 03/22/2010

The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad

(Oregon Coast) – There's a bit of living history coming up as an antique railroad car takes to the coastal rails for special trips, while a new park on the central coast is tied to a stunning hotel renovation.

On the north coast, Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad is offering two types of old school excursions for 2010. The group is a non-profit museum group established to preserve antique railroad equipment for the enjoyment of future generations, and it’s creating a unique opportunity for time travel on the rails aboard a 1910 Heisler Steam Locomotive.

Tillamook Bay

The first is a shorter coastal excursion which travels between Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach. This hour and a half round trip gives you views of Tillamook Bay and the ocean. These trips begin operation Saturday, May 29 and run through the end of September.

The second trip is a three-hour Sunset Dinner Train excursion. While enjoying sights of Tillamook Bay, the Pacific Ocean, and Nehalem Bay, passengers dine on a four-course meal. Dates for this excursion are Mother's Day, May 9, and May 29, June 19, July 17 and 31, August 14 and 28, September 18, October 23, and December 4.

2010 will also bring an addition to the fleet. A 1924 ex-Southern Pacific Pullman Coach car slated to be ready for service this summer will increase seating capacity by 96 almost doubling the current capacity. Passengers will now be able to choose indoor or open air seating.

The new wing at the Coho Oceanfront Lodge.

OCSR is operated by dedicated volunteers who share the same vision of keeping these historic pieces active for the public to enjoy and learn from. www.ocsr.net (503) 842-7972.

In Lincoln City, a new park has come into existence as a hotel there expands and reworks itself a bit.

A multi-million dollar new construction and renovation project at the Coho Oceanfront Lodge will be complete in time for spring break, according to the hotel’s owners, the Lee family of Wilsonville, Oregon.

A new wing with 14 suites will cater to adults by featuring luxury appointments, while the north and main buildings are all-age inclusive with some suites featuring specially decorated rooms for families with children. Rooms and suites in these existing buildings all have been completely renovated or redecorated.

Oceanview Walk Park was created and funded by the owners of the Coho.

Aside from the new wing, the Lee family is actually creating a new park in the midst of their complex. It’s a small one, sitting just on the southern end of the new addition. It features a path twisting between buildings on this magnificent cliff, leading to a stunning oceanfront view, where some benches allow visitors a chance to sit and quietly take in the surf below.

Director of operations Rob Lee said the new park was funded and built by his family, but it’s actually a part of the city’s park system. It now has official signage from the city and is called Oceanview Walk Park.

The new renovations also feature sizable fire pits for hotel guests in the form of ultra-modern orange bowl-like structures, adorned with Coho fish designs.

Fire pits at the Coho add a colorful element.

The team is working on what may be the only current hotel project of this size on the Oregon coast, includes Denny Han, designer with F+A Architects, Los Angeles; Mega Pacific, Portland, contractor and Ankrom Moissan, Portland, interior designers.

“Our family has been in business here for more than three decades so we have a long-term commitment to the Oregon coast,” Lee said.

Lincoln City Mayor Lori Hollingsworth had high praise for the group’s efforts.

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