Lewis & Clark Explorer

The 2005 NRHS Convention kicked off on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 with a trip aboard ex-British Columbia RDCs. The trip departed Linnton at 7:30am and ran along the west bank of the Columbia River on what was the former route of the Astoria & Columbia River Railroad (construction completed in 1898). In 1911 the railroad became part of the Spokane Portland & Seattle Railway before being merged into the Burlington Northern Railway in 1970. Passenger service was operated on the line until 1952 after which the line saw occasional excursion service.

Currently the line to Astoria is operated by the Portland & Western Railroad and the Lewis & Clark Explorer is operated by the state of Oregon with Portland & Western train crews. The first class RDCs powering the trip were acquired from BC Rail when they ceased operation in 2002. ORRX Nos. 10 and 11 were originally Pacific Great Eastern Nos. 10 and 11. ORRX No. 31 was originally Great Northern No. 2490 and was the only RDC that the GN ever owned. All three RDCs were built in 1954.

Riders were treated to one runby at a scenic location called Blind Slough about 5 miles outside Astoria. Here the RDCs are seen crossing a bridge featuring a hand operated swing bridge.

Due to capacity limitations on the RDCs, half of the group rode the train from Linnton to Astoria while the other half went directly to Astoria via bus and spent several hours in town before boarding the train for the return trip to Linnton. The first group arrived in Astoria around noon and departed for Portland (via bus) at 3pm.

Riders passed several points of interest along the right-of-way. They include:

• The town of St. Helens, named for its proximity to Mount St. Helens located across the Columbia River
• The Trojan Nuclear Power Plant which was decommissioned in the 1990s after nearly 20 years of service. The 449-foot tall cooling tower is a landmark to nuclear power in Oregon. A portion of the site has been turned into a public park.
• Rainier is a small town whose name was inspired by nearby Mt. Rainier. The town was founded by Charles Fox in 1851 and was named after the Admiral Peter Rainier of the British Royal Navy. The town features several miles of street running.

The morning train has arrived in Astoria and is awaiting at 1:30pm departure with the patrons who rode buses directly to Astoria earlier in the morning.

The Lewis & Clark Explorer will cease operation at the end of the 2005 season and the final disposition of the RDCs is unclear at this time.