Last Sunday, my husband and I drove out to Molalla to see the train park we had heard about. Pacific Northwest Live Steamers has miniature steam engines that pull trains that, although diminutive, accommodate full-size people. You and your kids can ride around on trains pulled by steam engines over 4200 ft of 7 1/2 inch track. You can see the glow of the fire box and see plumes of steam coming from the stacks. The trains loop around a beautiful picnic grounds offering some shade and some sun. Some of the tables are under a shelter. You go through some woods and past people's backyard gardens. It is a satisfyingly long ride. If you want to ride again, though, you should! It is free! They charge no admission to the park nor to ride the train. Donations for the park's maintenance and improvement are appreciated.
You are welcome to bring a picnic to enjoy in the beautiful park setting, although they do also have refreshments to purchase (pizza, popcorn, ice cream, snow cones, etc.). Be prepared to pack out your trash. We stopped for lunch at El Charrito on the main road in Molalla which was directly on the way to the park. It was really good Mexican food and they kept bringing us plates of chips, salsa and bean dip. They offer lunch specials every day from 11-3.
We were the only people at the train park, I think, without kids or grandkids. They are open Sundays from 12-5 until October 26. Their address is 31803 S. Shady Dell Rd. Molalla, OR 97038. It took us about 70 minutes to drive out there from Albany, mostly on I-5. We took a more scenic route homeward, going through beautiful farm country and small towns like Silverton and Scio. Very pretty.
I saw signage at the park about pumpkin picking train rides in October, but there was nothing on the website, pnls.org. You can also call (503) 829-6866 for more information. There are videos on Youtube that will come up if you Google "Molalla train park" and viewing them will give you a good sense of what they offer. It is staffed by volunteer train enthusiasts who enjoy answering the kids' questions. One guy had a small garden scale train layout running as well and that was fun to see.
If you have train lovers in your family and are looking for an economical, close-to-home day trip, consider the Molalla train park. Everyone we saw there was having a wonderful time!
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hugo LOVED the train park during his train obsession years! i still love it! if it was closer, we would have gone every weekend, no joke! there was a teenager who actually gave us an in-depth, behind the scenes tour our 2nd visit.
ReplyDeletethanks for the pumpkin picking train ride info - we'll definitely check that out!
joy