05/01/2025
This is heartbreaking.
A fire destroyed a key bridge on the local railroad line—just hours after the team finally secured ownership. Years of work, gone in minutes. They need help recovering and rebuilding. If you care about preserving history, supporting small communities, or just want to help people who’ve worked so hard for something good—please read and share.
EDIT/UPDATE: Our regular excursions are still running, this bridge is on the section of track that was slated for restoration next. Ticket sales support our nonprofit operation.
Last night, our future went up in smoke.
Our crew was in Morton having dinner- tired after a long day but hopeful, even celebrating. Just hours earlier, we got confirmation that the sale of the railroad was finalized. After years of effort, we were finally going to own the thing we’ve poured our lives into.
Then the messages started. A fire. A bridge. Maybe “the” bridge.
At 6:40 p.m., our largest wooden trestle—the 28-span bridge between Mineral and Morton—was reported burning to the fire department. It took over an hour for fire crews to reach it. By the time we got the news and arrived on scene, at 8:45, the air was thick with burning creosote. The damage was done.
That bridge was rebuilt 20 years ago and was structurally sound. It was the key to reopening freight and passenger service to Morton—work we’ve been making real progress on. That span carried more than trains. It carried the weight of our financial stability, our plans for local industry, and the future of the communities we serve.
Our organization has done a herculean amount of work in the last two and a half years. We’ve carried more passengers than ever before. We’ve cleared more track. We’ve fought for every inch of progress with sweat, sacrifice, and no shortage of stress. And this—this hurts. We’ve cried, a lot. We’re tired. And we’re angry.
Because let’s be clear: bridges do not spontaneously combust. Someone did this. Whether through recklessness or malice, someone set in motion the destruction of decades of infrastructure and millions in future regional impact.
We’re still licking our wounds, and we don’t know what the path forward looks like yet. But we do know we need help.
We’re asking for your support. Donations will go toward reopening the railroad—whatever that now requires. Insurance deductibles, legal costs, recovery planning—we’re just starting to grasp the scope.
If you’ve ever believed in what we’re building here—or if you’re just as mad as we are that someone tried to destroy it—please help us rebuild. This place matters.
We’re down. But not out.
Stay tuned to this thread as daylight hits—we’ll post updates and photos as we’re able to get a better look at the damage.
And please: stay off the damn tracks.
Please consider a donation by check to WFIM at PO Box 465, Eatonville, WA 98328 or by our go fund me link 👉 https://gofund.me/d3a7d1ae
