|
Pleasures
All aboard for dinner, mystery and sightseeing Restored Pullman cars evoke an earlier time Brian Clark, For The Olympian HOOD RIVER, Ore. -- Rail buffs, murder mystery fans, adventurous diners and travelers who like to get off the beaten path have good reason to head for this picturesque Columbia River town.
Hood River is headquarters for the Mount Hood Railroad, which has been moving timber, fruit and people in these parts for nearly a century.
The railroad, which runs most of the year, carries more than 40,000 passengers in a good year.
Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places -- for both its depot and 22 miles of track -- the railroad offers scenic excursions, rolling dinners and theme trips that include robberies and murder mysteries.
"We still haul freight to this day," said railroad spokeswoman Michelle Marquardt. "But the fun stuff is our passenger trips for sightseeing, theater, brunch and dinner."
Passengers board at the Hood River Rail Depot, 110 Railroad Ave., for the start of the 44-mile journey.
The train takes them through orchards and pine forests along the rugged Hood River to the rustic burg of Parkdale, elevation 2,000 feet, before they head back to the Columbia River.
The excursions are run aboard meticulously restored, 70-year-old Pullman rail cars that evoke the era of classic American passenger rail travel.
The excursion train, which seats 330 people, also has a red caboose and an open-air car with wooden seats that is especially popular on warm days.
The dinner and brunch train trips feature two dining cars, with seating for 148 and kitchen and lounge cars. This rolling stock dates to the 1940s.
"It's essentially a beautiful restaurant on wheels," said Marquardt. "We've got china, silver and a wonderful wait staff."
The dinner and brunch menus feature four-course meals that start with a selection of appetizers, salad, vegetables and roasted baby red potatoes, she said.
Entrees include slow-roasted hickory-smoked prime rib, baked salmon filet served with a cucumber dill sauce and chicken breast in a wine sauce. Dessert is often a New York-style cheesecake. The Olympian Copyright 1999
|
