The popular Christmas-themed train ride offered by a north Clark County nonprofit will resume this weekend after having to suspend the excursions because of a dispute with the county and the company that operates the railroad.
Doug Auburg, the treasurer and crew scheduler for the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, said that the nonprofit will offer its four scheduled Christmas-themed train rides this weekend. Last week, the volunteer group canceled the holiday jaunts after the Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad, the primary leaseholder for the county-owned railroad, blocked them from using the track.
In recent weeks, questions have been raised on whether the lease the company uses to operate the railroad is valid. Eric Temple, the company’s president, said that if the lease is invalid it would open him to extreme liability should an accident happen on the segment of the railroad the county uses near Yacolt for the rides. As a result, he told the nonprofit they’d have to cancel the rides that have become a holiday tradition for many households.
But Auburg told The Columbian on Wednesday that the nonprofit was able to cover the Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad under its insurance, allowing the rides to resume. In an email, Temple said that his company was happy that the Christmas train rides will be running again and thanked the nonprofit for its efforts.
