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Enjoying an Excursion Ride
Out in Central Oregon, north of Bend in Redmond, the City of Prineville Railroad operates a shortline to connect Prineville with the BNSF trackage through Redmond. The city of Prineville purchased the line to make certain that their mills had access to rail transportation. Along the way, they’ve set themselves up to be home for a Shay while they provide the motive power for the Crooked River Dinner Train business that they recently purchased from private operators.

Headed by former Milwaukee GP20 (a GP9 with 645 power units giving it an un-turbocharged 2,000 hp), the Crooked River Dinner Train prepares to depart Redmond, Oregon for its round trip ride.
On a Sunday afternoon, my wife and I, plus relatives from Massachusetts, took a ride and tested out the theories I proposed in an earlier editorial, that excursion operations really do like to have you come and visit them. Any meal operation aboard a moving train is always interesting and complex, but the Crooked River folks did it very well. The food was good and the ride was fun.

There is no truth to the rumor that these riders are from UP’s Licensing Enforcement Division. Instead, they were part of the dinner train’s entertainment.
It wasn’t just a ride with a meal thrown in. The entertainment ran almost non-stop the entire time. The train robbery came early as “Jesse James” stopped the train after a fine bit of horsemanship where they galloped hard, riding with one hand while brandishing pistols with the other. That’s a whole lot harder than it looks, and they made it seem easy. Nary a shot was fired, which is probably a good thing since marksmanship from a moving horse is notoriously poor.

Everyone, from the robbers to the waiters to our singing conductor, was friendly and fun loving. As a result, the two-and-half hour ride went by almost too fast. Afterward, I detrained and went forward to photograph the locomotive. Sure enough, the crew was friendly, just as I suggested they might be. It’s really nice to enjoy real trains in a non-adversarial setting. Of course, Crooked River isn’t the only operation out to show you a good time. I’d like to visit one or two every summer and share them with you.

If you’re planning to be in Central Oregon, contact them for details and you may find yourself onboard for a good time. Contact the Crooked River Dinner Train, 495 NE O’Neil Way (P.O. Box 387), Redmond, OR 97756; 541-548-8630; www.crookedriverrailroad.com. Some services are seasonal but others operate year around.
— John Sipple
To respond to this month's Editorial, send comments to: Editorial@modelrailroadnews.com