Abandoned Salmonberry Railroad 37 Mile Thru Hike, ex-Southern Pacific Tillamook Branch

[@rpgcinema7916]

some of those sections look pretty overgrown...i wonder how many years before they are completely reclaimed by nature

[@izzywatashi371]

Made that trek 5 years ago. . . .Cochran to the Nehalem River Rail Bridge - 17 miles. I worked for S.P. back in the 70's-early 80's when it was a thriving and often storm damaged rail line. Appears to be a lot more overgrown and washed out than when we made the trek. We were able transit all the tunnels back then, barely. That longest and darkest curve tunnel had so much debris down mid way that we had to belly our way over it to get through. And the Old Enright Stn area offered us some ripe apples and berries to munch on...sweet! Hope the powers that be make a valley to coast trail out of this hike.

[@plan-b-cycling]

Sick! I really want to check out Salmonberry. This is your friendly neighborhood Damian 😊 Good video!

[@EdWhizAviationTrains]

A Thumbs up for your great video but a thumbs down that this has been abandoned 😢

[@lilitincher4973]

This forest is beautiful! I appreciate the risk you took hiking through those rotten rails! Yikees!

[@OldSchoolPrepper]

looks great, I can't wait until it's done of course then it will be full of hikers, bikers and all sorts of folks...now it's a lot quieter. :)

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

The Salmonberry Trail is a planned multi-use recreational trail between Banks and Tillamook using the former POTB railroad right of way. It's planned as a trail only from Manning, where it connects with the Banks-Vernonia Trail to Banks, to Enright and as rail-with-trail from Enright to Tillamook. Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad's operating agreement with the Port of Tillamook Bay is to retain rails from the Tillamook Air Station to Enright. OCSR hopes to one day carry trail riders between the coast and Salmonberry Canyon. So far the furthest OCSR trains have reached is the confluence of the Salmonberry and Nehalem Rivers at Salmonberry. They ran a few special trips to Salmonberry before one or more landslides blocked the tracks between there and Batterson, and those tracks have become overgrown again. It'll be interesting to see how the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad and Salmonberry Trail coexist along the coast and up the Nehalem River. Whether rail-and-trail can work between Salmonberry and Enright or if the physical and financial challenges prevent it remains to be seen.

[@davidmihevc3990]

Thanks for the info Chris. I have often wondered what the state of the railroad was. I have tried looking at Google maps, but the vegetation is so thick, it's hard to even follow in places. Any updates since your post? I would love to hike this sometime.

[@pclayton5063]

The scenery is spectacular. You'd figure some restoration work would pay for itself with increased recreational interest. However, all those tunnels and bridges in such disrepair would probably void any of that happening. Such a shame it wasn't kept up.

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

@@davidmihevc3990 the Nehalem River bridge needs some kind of repairs before trains can cross it again, so OCSR is only running trains from Wheeler south in addition to their regular trains out of Garibaldi. That’s been the case for a few years now. It takes funding just as with any other project, and OCSR has a list of projects to get through including the restoration of Polson #90 (the Garibaldi display engine), and the new Garibaldi depot. Though my understanding is returning to Salmonberry is on OCSR’s list of top priorities that they’d like to accomplish in the relatively near future.

[@wafflesnfalafel1]

wow - so much flood damage... That's all from the 2007 event?

[@austinmiller3497]

Awesome video it looks beautiful I'm hoping that someday that they reactivate the Port of Tillamook Bay railroad someday and get all the washouts and everything fixed and all the rails and ties replaced

[@djdr.oldiesrichardcrummitt5321]

very relaxing to watch

[@richardjamison4311]

i like 2 know is how can he see though the tunnels without a flashlight

[@janetheineck2609]

Mesmerizing. Thanks to SomethingsInMyEye for this. An intact lowland forest in all its glorious variety. I fear the effect of eventual public access: dogs, weed seeds brought in on boots and cuffs, graffiti, vandalism, and litter.

[@ugiswrong]

And sex! Lots and lots of public sex

[@duncanmaclean1001]

Epitaph for a railroad.