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Families, children and train enthusiasts alike will gather at Washington Park on Thursday, June 20, to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the No. 1 Oregon steam engine and reopening of Washington Park Station, which has been closed since 2013.
Friends of Washington Park and Zoo Railway—a nonprofit that’s been attempting to convince the Oregon Zoo and city of Portland to reopen the transportation line between the park and the zoo via the Rose City Loop—is running the celebration.
The family-friendly event will include crafts and information about the railway, with pre-recorded statements from City Commissioner Dan Ryan and Metro Councilor Christine Lewis streamed along with live testimonies from zoo railway experts and passengers who rode the line before its closure. Titus the Tiger, the children’s book character and mascot of the Zoo Railway, will also attend, posing with children in front of a photo of the Oregon.
The steamer won’t be there, given the technical difficulties of getting a 65-year-old steam engine into Washington Park, but the Oregon is still in working condition.
Additionally, for the first time since its closure, the Oregon Zoo has given Friends permission to give tours of Washington Station.
“It took us over two months, but we got access to the station,” says Kathy Goeddel, Friends president and treasurer. “It’s not in terrible shape but it doesn’t look good. It needs some help, but we can do it.”
Friends has been advocating for the reopening of the Rose Garden Loop, as well as the return of the Oregon to its tracks, since 2020.
Despite the nonprofit’s efforts, the city has yet to allocate any funds toward the reopening of the Rose Garden Loop.
“In their assumptions, they believed there’d be an increase in ridership in the first year, but not in subsequent years,” Goeddel says. “We have no reason to think that the ridership wouldn’t go up. We think that more people will come.”
Last year, Friends took Metro President Lynn Peterson and zoo director Heidi Rahn on a tour of the tracks with geotechnical experts in an attempt to show them their restoration plan. The nonprofit has yet to receive any funding toward the proposed reopening.
As WW reported in 2019, Metro has long planned for a hiking trail to overtake the path used by the zoo’s railway.
Friends of Washington Park and Zoo Railway sees community support through events like the anniversary celebration as an important part of its platform. According to the group, community support and funding was how the line was initially created back in the ’50s.
“Portland needs some things to be proud of again” Goeddel says. “This is something that we know what it takes to fix. We need to encourage our government and metro officials to help us bring it back and we can again have a really fabulous opportunity for families to have memories and enjoy Washington Park.”