The Union Pacific rail system conducted promotional campaigns showing the wonders of a vacation at the North Beach. In the summer, there would be trains made up of all passenger coaches and a baggage car just to accommodate the seasonal traffic. After a trip on one of the steamships from ports up the Columbia River, travelers would board and ride the railroad to their summer camp, cottage, summer home or destination resort at the beach. Families would spend the entire summer here. And, on weekends, the fathers would come to the beach from Portland.
“We called it the Papa Train. Summer families stayed here from months at a time, with the Papas working in the city during the week. Each Friday night the train would be full of them, arriving to meet their families for the weekend.”
– Lolita Tinker Morris, May 30, 2003
