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With Valentine’s Day approaching this weekend, the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad and Museum (CCRM) has sold out tickets for its annual Valentine’s Sweetheart Dinner Train, according to a news release.
Tickets for the St. Patrick’s Day Dinner Train are still available for $79 a person, with riders invited to don their best green outfits for a two-hour, round-trip train ride to Ruth while celebrating Irish culture with special food, drinks and music. Tickets can be purchased on the CCRM’s website.
The news release added that the CCRM Board of Directors welcomed four new members last month to start off the new year including Michael Ervin, Tim LeDuc, Dustin Haight and Mark Laufmann, taking over for retiring board members Mike Beehler and Skip Mason. They join Board President Mary Kay Nelson, Vice President Doug Peterson, Treasurer Richard Tausch, Secretary Joanne Schwartz and board members John Cordell, Tina Nixon and Jay Myhre.
Aside from continuing to offer scenic train rides — having sold a total of 10,148 tickets in 2025 with 80% of the CCRM’s passengers coming from outside Lewis County — CCRM staff are focusing on restoration efforts for their newly acquired passenger car in order to increase passenger capacity and grow.
The passenger car is a 1950s Pullman coach car that came from the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, and renovations are needed to both the interior and exterior.
“CCRM has launched a fundraising campaign for this effort, supported by a generous donor willing to match up to $30,000 in donations,” the release added.
CCRM board members hope to have the new passenger car ready for this year’s The Polar Express train rides in December.
Increasing passenger capacity is essential to increasing revenue, which the CCRM needs in order to finally be able to restore the Chehalis & Cascade No. 15 — a 1916 Baldwin 2-8-2 Mikado steam engine.
In 2024, a consultant estimated No. 15 needed around $1 million in repairs taking around five years in order to get back into working order as previously reported by The Chronicle.
“The restoration of the No. 15 steam locomotive has become a major focus thanks to a significant donation from the Larry Shaw Foundation in 2025. After years dedicated to organizational recovery — dealing with flood repairs, insurance challenges, the pandemic, and litigation — the board is now able to turn its attention to revitalizing the beloved No. 15 engine,” the release stated. “The Chehalis steam engine is central to the railroad’s mission, and the organization is actively researching steps needed to restart the restoration project.”
The CCRM does have another steam engine as well — a 1917 Baldwin 2-8-0 steam engine which once was displayed at Fort Borst Park in Centralia. Known as No. 25, this engine needs even more repairs than No. 15, though the CCRM still hopes to one day get it back on the tracks.
Track maintenance and flooding repairs are still in the works too though, as a section of track must be moved to account for the ground gradually moving toward the Chehalis River. The 10 miles of CCRM railroad also require constant tie and leaf monitoring and replacement work.
Aside from the donations for both the passenger car and No. 15 steam engine restoration projects, the CCRM also was awarded $254,386 in reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for track repair work done in 2022, and an additional $2.4 million grant was awarded for a flood mitigation project aimed to prevent future flooding at the Chehalis Depot itself.
Volunteer opportunities with the CCRM are available, with the museum focused on safety and training to ensure all crew, staff and volunteers meet Federal Railroad Administration regulations.
“Luke Lennox recently completed his training and will advance to engineer,” the release added.
In addition to the holiday dinner trains throughout the year, the CCRM is also preparing to offer Bike’n’Ride trains every weekend from May to September — letting passengers bring their bikes with them to ride on the Willapa Hills Trail.
The CCRM is located at 1101 SW Sylvenus St. in Chehalis. To learn more about the CCRM or to purchase tickets for upcoming train rides, visit https://steamtrainride.com/, or call 360-748-9593.
