By Justin Franz 

The Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad announced Tuesday that it would resume regular steam excursion service this fall for the first time since 2019. The excursions in September and October will be led by Polson Lumber Co., 2-8-2 70.

The news comes just months after the tourist railroad announced that it was going to offer rail bike tours and that it was exploring an opportunity to bring its locomotive and train to the shuttered Chehalis-Centralia Railroad. At the time, excursions on its own railroad were still a few years out, officials said. But thanks to the help of volunteers, they were able to get the rail line between Elbe and Mineral, Wash., back in service even sooner. 

MRSR began operations on a former stretch of Milwaukee Road track in 1980 and was purchased by American Heritage Railways, which also owns Colorado’s Durango & Silverton, in 2016. The railroad was renamed the Mt. Rainier Railroad & Logging Museum by American Heritage Railways but struggled to succeed. It was closed in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. In 2022, a local group, Western Forest Industries Museum, was reorganized to get the railroad back in operation. 

This fall’s excursions will feature two passenger cars, an open-air car and a specially outfitted baggage car that will serve as a concession and gift shop. Excursions will be offered on Saturdays and Sundays, plus Friday, September 1. Some weekends there will also be a special Whiskey Tasting Train. See the railroad’s website for more information. 

Eventually, the group would like to open the track up to Eatonville where they hope to establish a museum dedicated to the region’s logging and railroad history.