From Portland Afoot

The Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad, sometimes called the Salmonberry Rail Line after the remote canyon it runs through and the river it runs beside, is a largely inoperative 95-mile rail line between Hillsboro and Tillamook, broken by floods in 2007. It's been discussed as a possible candidate for a future rails-to-trails project that would create the first off-road path linking the Portland metro area to the Oregon coast.

Such a trail, which would cost many tens of millions of dollars, would connect to the Vernonia-Banks Trail north of Hillsboro and presumably invite bicycle, horse and foot traffic.

"We think this is a real important economic opportunity, and it represents something we can duplicate other places," Cycle Oregon director Jerry Norquist said in a July 2012 interview with Portland Afoot. "It's going to be a challenge, that's for sure."

[edit] How to get involved

Tillamook County Commissioner Mark Labhart, a supporter of the trail proposal, said in July 2012 that a $200,000 feasibility study of a trail was in progress, due in "about a year." Bike-touring organization Cycle Oregon was one of the study's biggest funders, putting up $50,000 for the trail thanks in part to the advocacy of Cycle Oregon board member John Blackwell.

State Sen. Betsy Johnson, a Democrat, also supports a possible conversion of the corridor, feasibility permitting.

"If I were a bicycle rider -- and I'm not -- but if I were a bicycle rider I would not want to be watching somebody else's rear end along a narrow rocky shoulder," Johnson said. "I'd rather be out in the magnificence of the coast range next to a roaring river."

Johnson called the Salmonberry Canyon "some of the most beautiful land anywhere," adding she "used to go up there before I was a legislator, when I had a life."

To express support or opposition to the trail, send emails to Cycle Oregon's Jerry Norquist at jerry@cycleoregon.com. Norquist said in July 2012 that he'd forward feedback to the appropriate parties, which might be used to demonstrate popular support for the trail to the Oregon legislature and other possible funders.

[edit] External links

• Wikipedia entry on the railroad