I just purchased an old copy of Oregon For the Curious. I remember this great book on our coffee table when I was a kid.
Flipping through the pages reminds me of lots of cool stuff we’ve seen, and still need to see here in our home state.
But then I come to a page covering Hwy 101 near Florence. Right near the entry for Sand Dunes Frontier and just after Woahink lake, there’s a picture of a train steaming its way through the sand.
It appears at some point (up until at least the mid 1980’s) there was a miniature railroad called the Dunes Pacific Railway near Woahink and Siltcoos lakes.
I mean, what a fun and insanely stupid thing to build in the dunes, since railroad tracks do so well on shifting beds of sand and sand is just so good at never coming in contact with greasy parts and grinding those parts to dust.
Other than the name, a photo and a location, there’s no more information on the attraction. Checking online only shows references to this book and nothing else.
Does anyone remember this? Did anyone ride it? What happened to it? Inquiring minds want to know!
mikefalcioni.com 
I saw the Dunes Pacific Ry when I drove by in July 1971. The locomotive was a gas machine built for the McCloud River Lbr. Co. of McCloud, CA. It was sold in about 1969. After the Dunes operation foled it went into storage at the Oregon Electric Railway Museum near Glenwood. After that it was used as a static display at a restaurant at Boering, OR. Don Gleason of Eugene bought the locomotive in 2006 and runs it in his yard.
John, thank you!! I am so glad the little engine is still alive, and has found a loving home. And especially grateful to know all the history, especially since I remember the engine in the restaurant in Boring. We used to stop their for early dinner on the way back to Salem after skiing at Mt. Hood.
Actually the Dunes Pacific Railway ran into the 70’s, I grew up out there as Rush Chapman owned Timber Dunes Park where it ran. Chuck Chapman was his son and my best friend back then. We used play around the cars and got to ride the train occasionally. Timber Dunes Park was closed becasue of the Dunes National Recreation Area came to be and once again the Feds forced a business out of business. The locomotive did end up outside a restaurant between Boring and Sandy along the main highway from Portland to Mt. Hood. I am glad to hear it still exists and will have to go see it sometime…
What I had heard during my time working for “the Feds” was that the railroad was shuttered because of a passenger fatality. Operator went broke in the legal process and couldn’t keep it running anymore.. Am told that evidence of some of the roadbed still can be found if you know where to look.