Running the Nehalem River Canyon. There are relatively few tourist railroads in the US that experience radical changes in scenery along the length of their run. One well-known example is the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in New Mexico and Colorado. Among the lesser known places with this distinction is the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad, which operates out of Garibaldi, Oregon. Running on the former Southern Pacific Tillamook Branch, this line passes through a series of Pacific coastal communities as it works its way north along the Pacific Coast Highway from Garibaldi toward Wheeler. Passengers are treated to views of rural residential areas, as well as beach-front properties with views of the the mighty Pacific Ocean. Then at Wheeler, things begin to change pretty radically. The line hooks east and heads into hilly country along the Nehalem River toward Salmonberry and very quickly leaves most of civilization behind. Not only is the area heavily forested, but the marine climate of the northwest makes those woods look a bit like rain forest at times. Moss seems to grow heavily on everything....rocks, trees....even railroad equipment that is left out for any period of time. It's a radical departure from what passengers would see some 20 miles back.
In this image, we see the former McCloud Railway Locomotive #25, charging through the "rain forest" of the Nehalem River Canyon with a re-creation of a local mixed freight. Yes, appropriately, it was raining pretty much all this day, but the atmosphere it created made for photography that very faithfully represented what this neck of the woods looks like more often than not. Who says you need a sunny day for good railroad photography?
