fisheries groups suggested permanently abandoning the railroad because they thought "that economically, the railroad is not viable, and environmentally, rebuilding it would affect fish runs already hammered by last winter's storms". Workers began assessing the railroad damage in February 2008 in snowy, rugged terrain, and found that the flooding Salmonberry River had eroded steep embankments, damaging tunnels and collapsing trestles and bridges. Later that year, they hiked as far as each day to the canyon to further assess the damage. The Port of Tillamook Bay opted to not repair the damaged track over the mountains, but it still owns more than of railroad right-of-way, including main line, spurs, and sidings. The port also leases a section of track from Banks to Hillsboro to the Portland and Western Railroad and leases the coastal portion of the line to the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad. Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad (OCSR), a non-profit museum group, operates a heritage railroad in conjunction with the POTB that runs tourist trains on a portion of POTB track from Garibaldi north to Rockaway Beach. as well as various excursions from Wheeler to Batterson, Oregon. As of 2011, OCSR was negotiating a contract with the port commission to perform track maintenance in exchange for controlling the scheduling along the portion of the line. There is disagreement between the port authority and OCSR about the percentage of ticket revenues to be paid to POTB. OCSR wanted an agreement with POTB as assurance that if the scenic railroad invests $30,000 to $40,000 in a building to house a new, larger train engine, that the tracks would not be used for another purpose. Meanwhile, the port commission said it had received an offer of more than $4 million to sell the railroad for scrap, an amount that would pay off the nearly $1.7 million in debts the port has accrued on the railroad. A former port commissioner speaking on behalf of OCSR believed, however, that the port would have trouble gaining federal approval to completely abandon the rail line. In March 2012, OCSR agreed to lease from POTB of line from the Salmonberry River to Tillamook. This would effectively make the entire line a tourist railroad. OCSR plans to extend services to Tillamook as soon as practicable, with extension to the north a future possibility. See also Salmonberry Trail References External links Photos of the railroad from