Back at the end of April, the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad’s wooden trestle bridge located between Mineral and Morton burned down in a fire that was believed to have been deliberately started.
The fire occurred just hours after the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad finalized its purchase of the railroad line from Tacoma Rail.
Though no suspects have yet to be identified or arrested, the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad posted an update to its Facebook post last week thanking supporters for helping raise over $200,000 so far.
“In the weeks since the deliberate arson that destroyed our largest trestle, we’ve been overwhelmed by your generosity, encouragement and belief in what we’re doing here. Thanks to your support, we’ve raised $207,709 to help us begin the long road to recovery,” Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad stated in the post.
Currently, that money is being used to fund repair efforts to the area where the bridge was destroyed, including creating road access to the area along with flagging and clearing burnt trees to remove before trestle reconstruction begins and disposal fees.
Additionally, the railroad is contracting with a demolition company to assist with tearing down the remaining damaged trestle structure.
“All engineering work, estimates, and site assessments have been donated — we’re so grateful to RailStar Engineering, LLC for stepping up, thanks Ken!” the post added. “It’s slow, hard, expensive work — but it’s happening.”
For those still interested in donating to help rebuild the destroyed trestle, Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad has partnered with the Western Forest Industries Museum to form a new nonprofit to continue raising funds, called Bridge The Gap.
To donate, visit Western Forest Industries Museum’s website at https://www.wfim.org/bridgethegap.
“Every bit of support helps us move forward. Thank you for being part of this,” Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad stated.
