January 23, 2009

Dam tour train will run no more
Narrow-gauge train is too costly to repair, but dam tours may soon be revived

By MARK GIBSON
of The Chronicle


     Anybody want to buy a train?
     The tour train at The Dalles Dam, idle for seven years, will be removed. Only the caboose will be retained as a feature of Patterson Park.
     “It’s not a sustainable operation for us, it’s cost-prohibitive,” explained Greg Webb, natural resources manager at The Dalles Locks and Dam in a telephone interview.      “We understand the history and importance of the train, it was not a decision made lightly.”
     The train, as well as the track and ties, were in desperate need of refurbishing, estimated to cost as much as $500,000. “We are looking into something less expensive, cleaner and greener,” Webb said. “We will potentially be removing some of the track, allowing some pedestrian traffic,” he added.
     A coalition of agencies, including the City of The Dalles, Northern Wasco County Park and Recreation District, The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce and Wasco County are working with the Army Corp of Engineers to re-establish tours of the dam and fish ladders, and again open Patterson Park to visitors.
     Patterson Park is a small park with fish ponds on the Oregon side of the dam, next to the administrative offices.
     According to Nolan Young, The Dalles city manager, the council agreed during a work session Wednesday night to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to bring back the tours and park access.
     The park district is also working with the corps to restore tours and access. Options under discussion include replacing some of the current rail track with an extension and rerouting of the Riverfront Trail, noted executive director Scott Green at Wednesday’s meeting of the board.
     The community would provide fencing around the park, and electric-powered shuttles, as well as access via the Riverfront Trail.
     Small shuttles could operate along the trail during the summer, to increase park access and conduct scheduled tours from the visitor center downstream of the dam.
The Riverfront Trail currently connects the visitor center to Patterson Park, but circles the administration building and will have to be relocated for security reasons.
     Green noted that he was hopeful that the tours might include an overlook of the power turbines and fish ladders.
     Tours to those areas were curtailed seven years ago, following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when new security standards were applied to federal facilities nationwide.
     The park district has long worked in partnership with the corps. The district contracted to operate the tour train when it was functioning, and has staffed the visitor center since the train was retired.
     Although the corps has made a definite decision to dispose of all but the caboose of the tour train, park access and facility tours are still being worked out by the coalition of agencies.
     In other business, the park district:
     • discussed removal of invasive vegetation at Riverfront Park in partnership with The Dalles Watershed District.
     • discussed moving the Farmers Market to City Park, Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., June through mid-October.
     • heard a report from the executive director noting that although a riverfront area near The Dalles Marina has proven unsuitable to use as a dog park due to flooding and invasive vegetation, the district is still hoping to identify an area for off-leash dog use.
     • appointed board member Jesse Berge as representative to the Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal Committee. The board also agreed to support the extension of urban renewal through 2025 as requested by city of The Dalles.
     • scheduled a work session for Feb. 11, 6 p.m. at the Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue conference room, to discuss changes in recreation programs as the district faces the potential of being cut off from the use of school district gyms in the summer and after school. They will also discuss Mill Creek and watershed partnerships.