From: Trevor Park, OCSR General Manager
Dear Community Members and Supporters of Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad,
At approximately 3:20pm on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, a trestle bridge over the Hoquarton Slough north of downtown Tillamook caught on fire, severely damaging the wooden structure and the communications lines that also utilize the bridge. No injuries were reported, and crews were able to get the fire fully under control by nightfall. This bridge is on active OCSR operated track, and the cause of the fire was quickly under investigation after the flames were extinguished. We want to extend our utmost gratitude to the first responding agencies, including Tillamook Fire District, Bay City Fire Department, Tillamook Police Department, Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Fire Marshall and the Port of Garibaldi. All these organizations helped to mitigate the situation as quickly as possible and allowed an investigation as to the cause of the fire to open in short order. As well, OCSR worked closely with Alaska Communications and partner communications providers that lease the damaged fiber line as well as the Port of Tillamook Bay, who owns the railroad line that OCSR leases. Finally, environmental impacts are being assessed and mitigated by an environmental contractor at the direction of Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and OCSR.
To our guests and fans, this structure is not on track actively used by any OCSR passenger trains, and therefore it will not affect any of OCSR’s current passenger operations. All scheduled trains will still be running without impact. Unfortunately, this bridge is on the section of track that OCSR uses to ferry equipment and supplies between our main passenger station in Garibaldi, and our heavy maintenance facilities at the Port of Tillamook Bay south of Tillamook. The damage to the bridge is severe enough that it has halted any train movements between these two locations. While train movements over this stretch of track are rare, this fire will severely impact our equipment maintenance activities and future restoration projects, most of which are on the south side of the impacted structure. All in-service passenger equipment is north of the bridge in question. For now, any equipment that is moved between the two shops will have to be trucked, which is very costly and time consuming.
Beyond the responding agencies mentioned above, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been notified of this incident, with the FBI staff and Oregon State Police on the ground assisting in the investigation. OCSR is a federally regulated railroad, and therefore federal and state agencies were involved in the investigation. The destruction of federally regulated railroad infrastructure is considered to be an act of terrorism, making this a very serious situation. We ask that the public be respectful of this sensitive area and do not enter the railroad property to get pictures or see the damage. Entering railroad property without proper authority is trespassing, and OCSR has included photos so the public may see the extent of the damage. Once the initial investigation had concluded, communications providers were able to come in and begin the process of restoring service to their customers. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Internet and phone services were restored to most customers by Friday afternoon, October 10th.)
OCSR’s contract railroad bridge engineer will be onsite in the coming days to assess the extent of the damage the fire caused. Our initial internal assessment is that the bridge could be a total loss, but we will not know the full extent of the damage until a determination is made by the bridge engineer. Beyond investigating and initial mitigation of the damage, the next steps have yet to be determined as there are many unanswered questions. To say that this is disturbing is an understatement. What was destroyed in under an hour by fire will have long lasting ramifications for our small non-profit heritage railroad. Our staff, who has been present onsite much of the time since the fire is tired and devastated.
There are ways you can help. Share the news far and wide to spread awareness about this situation. Come support OCSR by taking a train ride, or better yet, make a donation! It is easy to see that there will be heavy costs associated with this disaster, regardless of what next steps are taken. Environmental mitigation costs are going to be hefty and ongoing projects like the new covered open car that we have under construction will have to be trucked from Tillamook to Garibaldi upon completion, adding significant costs to the project. The support of our fans and followers in this time of need is necessary and greatly appreciated. Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad is a 501c3 non-profit organization, and we are accepting donations to our GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/f/ocsrtrestlefire. You can also support us by sending a check to our mailing address, PO Box 669 Tillamook, OR 97141.
More information will be released as it becomes available, but we want to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has helped us so far from community members, to colleagues at other railroads and especially all the first responders and law enforcement officers who showed the utmost professionalism and compassion as OCSR navigates this devastating situation. There is no question that this is a damaging blow to our railroad, but we shall go forward with our head held high and keep the wheels turning as we navigate the next steps in the face of this unprecedented disaster.
For general questions, please contact OCSR at (503)-842-7972 or email info@oregoncoastscenic.org. If you are aware of any information whatsoever connected to this incident, please contact the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office at (503)-815-3325.
Thank You.