By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
News Editor
April 9, 2008

They’ll still be working on the railroad.

Historic Mt. Hood Railroad has been sold to a Texas-based company, Permian Basin Railways. The sale price was undisclosed.

The railroad resumed its spring and summer schedule last week, and existing employment is expected to stay the same under new ownership, said Michelle Marquart, longtime general manager, who will remain in that position.

Plans are proceeding to complete railbed repairs at milepost 15 by Sept. 1. The MHRR has applied for a matching grant from a state transportation fund known as Connect Oregon to complete the $1 million project; Marquart said the railroad expects to receive word on the grant by early May.

Completion of repairs would mean that MHRR will run all the way to its Parkdale terminus by this fall. The railroad has gone as far as Dee and Odell since November 2006, when the Hood River flooded, washing out a large chunk of the track.

“Permian assures us that they believe the completion work is necessary, and they will do everything to ensure the railroad continues to operate between Hood River and Parkdale,” Marquart said.

Permian Basin Railways Inc. is a subsidiary of Iowa Pacific Holdings, based in Chicago, Ill. Mt. Hood Railroad began its 2008 operating season in early April and continues to serve passengers and freight business in northern Oregon.

The 102-year-old Mt. Hood Railroad short line is a 22-mile stretch of track between the towns of Hood River and Parkdale and serves as a freight line and passenger rail corridor through the Hood River Valley.

Further information on Permian Basin is available at www.iowapacific.com.