14
AUGUST 4�11, 2021
CULTURE & HERITAGE
CELEBRATING THE HISTORY
OF EASTERN OREGON
Steamin’ ahead in 2021
Sumpter
Valley Railroad
seeing ‘record
numbers’
SUMPTER VALLEY
RAILROAD
Reserve tickets in advance
sumptervalleyrailroad.org
541-894-2268
By Lisa Britton
Go! Magazine
S
UMPTER — The echo of a
steam whistle fi lls Sumpter
Valley most weekends this sum-
mer as riders take a trip back in
time aboard a steam-powered
train.
“People have been so happy
to get out and we have had re-
cord numbers,” said Kim Svaty,
of the Sumpter Valley Railroad.
“Memorial Day weekend was
over the top.”
It’s been a process, she said,
adjusting operations due to
LO S T I N E , O R E G O N
WEDNESDAY - SUNDAY 8 AM TO 8 PM
LATE ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
541-569-2285
S C R AT C H M A D E
BEER
PIZZA
DENIM
AND MORE
G L A C I E R C O L D • FA W N F R E S H
Courtesy of the Sumpter Valley Railroad
health guidelines over the past
year. However, some changes
proved popular and are continu-
ing this summer, such as the
short runs that go from Sumpt-
er to the river and back.
“It’s been a great success —
the shorter ride has accommo-
dated everyone’s busy sched-
ule, plus passengers are not in
the heat as long, our crew has
less work in the intense heat,
and it’s accommodated more
walk-in passengers that did not
know we were running. Plus we
are able to run more trains per
day,” Svaty said.
The traditional long runs still
happen on select weekends,
taking riders on a 40-minute
trip from the McEwen Depot to
Sumpter. A 40-minute layover
allows riders time to visit the
Sumpter Valley Dredge before
the return trip to McEwen.
Returning this summer are
the Gold Rush Bandits, who
stage a train robbery to reenact
the famous McCarty Brothers
who robbed banks from Baker
to Wallowa County. The next
“robbery” is scheduled for Aug.
14 and 15. There will be two
trains each day, at 10 a.m. and
1 p.m. Fares are $25 adults, $22
seniors/military, $15 for ages 3
to 17, free for 2 and younger, or
$70 for a family.
The following weekend, Aug.
21 and 22, will feature short
runs from Sumpter at 11 a.m.,
12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Fares are
$18.50 adults, $15 seniors/mili-
tary, and $10 for ages 3 to 17.
The next weekend of Aug. 28
and 29 will have full rides de-
parting McEwen at 10 a.m. and
1 p.m. (fares are the same price
as the bandit weekend).
September begins busy with
Hunter Noack’s “In a Land-
scape: Classical Music in the
Wild” at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 4 at
the Sumpter Valley Dredge. The
concert is free for Baker County
residents. Tickets are $30 for
non-residents. For information,
go to www.inalandscape.org.
For Labor Day weekend,
which includes the Sumpter
Flea Market, the SVRR will off er
short runs from the Sumpter
Depot at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and
2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday,
Sept. 4 and 5.
To reserve tickets, go to
sumptervalleyrailroad.org and
click on “reservations.”