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Friday, July 16, 2010

Astoria Welcomes You!

Old Train Station, Astoria, Oregon May 14, 2010

I love the look of this place - it's about as funky as it gets, but it won't last long without a lot of TLC. At first I thought this was the platform for the train station (the brown building on the right) - and maybe it was a very long time ago, but after that it was a feed and grain storage building. I thought it looked like a station platform, so my first version of this post was about trains. Here's what I wanted to say:
An excursion train ran again for a short while a few years ago, and then it stopped. But a several-year-long project will put an historic steam engine on the line in 2011 that will run along the river through Astoria and beyond to . . . I'm not sure if the end point has been determined yet. I heard about it on KMUN the other day, and when I get a chance I'm going to check out the quonset hut at the west end of town where the work is being done. The project welcomes the public's attention and donations. Here is their web site. Won't it be fun to see the old engine chugging down our rails? I'm up for a ride, are you? I took this photo from the River Walk.
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

8 comments:

Nori Katayama said...

Oh,Sheryl.
I hope the Amtrac to be extended to far, far west...where I live.

air phobia nori

Halcyon said...

It's always nice to be welcomed!

I hope the old steamer project works out. I bet that would be a big draw for tourists.

Lowell said...

I'd vote for any train going anywhere...but perhaps they could take down this sign - at least temporarily...it doth not look all that welcoming! :-)

Francisca said...

I like the idea of an old steam engine train... I imagine the station will get a face lift too.

Small City Scenes said...

It would be fun. Let's hope it is more than just talk. MB

Clytie said...

It would be a perfect excursion to add to the area!

That old building has a certain charm, doesn't it? Maybe it's the flaking paint ... or the general 'abandoned' look to it ... but it makes me want to go explore!

Anonymous said...

The building was the Railway Express facility. That loading area is where the packages came in.

On the trolley when we explain this we have to tell folks that Railway Express was like the UPS/FedEx of it's day.

The food bank uses it now, but I believe it is the one that is moving up near the Animal Shelter (behind Costco). Without anyone in the building it will probably not last much longer.

Bob C.

Anonymous said...

Who knows if the steam engine will ever be in use. The main man in charge of restoration is more interested in going to prison than fixing up some old clunker train.

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