Coos Bay Rail Line Beautiful Run in Oregon 8-10 October 2020
New chapter and new adventures
This beautiful run from Vaughn Oregon (near the central city of Eugene) across the state to the coast includes several different climates, ranging from rolling farm land to rain forest to mountains to sand dunes to coastal plain.
This excursion was in doubt due to slow sign-ups caused by the pandemic. Our EC, Bill Andrews, and his lovely wife Nancy were able secure the event the management of the Coos Bay Rail Line (CBRL) due to their strong relationship with the organization.
This 30 car seton at the Rosboro Lumber yard with travel to Coos Bay, OR, and on to Coquille, OR, for 234 miles round trip. The run is enjoyable, with nine tunnels and more than a dozen long bridges (including three swing bridges). The CBRL is one of the best western motorcar excursions. Since 2011, when the Port of Coos Bay reopened the line, the speeder hobby has been able to ride with increasing frequency—usually three events per year.
Bill and Nancy Andrews have created a perfect schedule for the excursion that includes well timed stops and a lunch break at Mapleton, OR, where a cafe, coffee bar, and grocery store are available. In this pandemic curtailed excursion season, there were few NARCOA events. Despite being in October, for many, the CBRL was their first event of the year. The result was several breakdowns. Each was handled quickly and all cars made it home safely. John Martin and Glen Ford generously worked on mechanical issues of fuel and chain failures. Thanks also go to everyone that lent a tow. And thanks to Bill and Nancy Andrews for an fun and well organized run!
The excursions out here all start with a long drive!
Southern California geography forces those of us who live here to travel a long distance to be able to operate our railcars. The best runs are in Northern California, the Pacific Northwest, and points east. It is about 900 miles one way from Huntington Beach to seton for this run. Wayne and Nancy Parsons kindly let me follow them up as they pulled their car and showed us the sights along the way. Weather was a little cool and damp but we had lots of fun!
Coos Bay Rail Line
The Coos Bay Rail Line spans 134 miles from Coquille, Oregon to Eugene, Oregon. This rail line provides connections to the North American rail network for manufacturing operations in Coos, Douglas, and Lane Counties, and for marine terminals in the Coos Bay harbor. These connections open new market opportunities for both domestic and international trade. CBRL customers need inbound and outbound cargo service, consisting of wood products, fertilizer, and organic dairy feed. Annual revenue rail car loads average around 5,000 a year which is equivalent to about 16,500 truck loads.
