Oregon Coast Historical Railway Secretary John Zettelmier walks past the museums’ centerpiece, Coos Bay Lumber Company’s Engine No. 104, last month. The locomotive built in Philiadelphia in December 1922 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works may never run again, but it still attracts the attention of visitors.

Work to establish the Historical Railway Museum is gathering steam.

The effort is gathering more volunteers at the museum, workers who are helping to preserve the history and culture of the rail and timber industry throughout the South Coast. But organizers say more help is needed.

The museum is open on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, but according to museum Vice President Pat Zettelmier, the board hopes it soon will be open more often - especially during the summer.

To do that by Memorial Day, the 15 board members and volunteers need all the help they can get.

“We need volunteers to do the heavy work, to help decorate and do some fund raising,” Zettelmier said. “We need volunteers for a variety of things, and it's not just painting and getting dirty.”

The museum is a small building alongside the impressive engine, 104, inside a fenced yard that is filled with many industrial artifacts from the height of Coos County's railway era. Saw blades, giant chains, other remnants from the logging industry, and even a rudimentary concrete phone booth, litter the yard and give visitors an idea of the world the engine once worked in.

Inside the museum itself are photos, documents and smaller but similar mementos from the logging era of the railway fill shelves and glass cases. The interior was left a bit rough inside, to remind visitors of the conditions of a railway office in the early 1900s - when trains hauled the lumber out of the far reaches of the land to markets or ships in Coos Bay.

According to Zettelmier, the museum has several projects to complete before it can open more frequently, including installing a bathroom, running electricity to the engine, and raising $150,000 to build a cover for the train.

“We want to focus on the inside of the museum now,” Zettelmier said. “We want to install the bathroom and plumbing, and get up to (American Disabilities Act) standards. We need significant help with that.”

The museum board is holding a fund-raising event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 15, at Pony Village Mall, to sell souvenirs and merchandise. There will also be a raffle and offer information on the history and significance of rail in the South Coast.

Although the group has had some setbacks, including vandalism to another engine the museum had hoped to bring to Coos Bay, the efforts to open the museum for more hours are showing some promise, Zettelmier said.

“One of our great helpers now are Eagle Scouts,” she added.

Corey Riley, a 17-year-old Eagle Scout with Troop 156, has been volunteering at the museum to preserve photos and papers, Zettelmier said.

The memorabilia of the railway system on the South Coast has been donated in abundance to the group. They are sorting and archiving the various documents so visitors to the museum could enjoy them.

According to Zettelmier, the museum has many visitors from out of the state - and some from other countries.

More tourism

“That's one of the great pluses about the museum. We're going to increase tourism,” Zettelmier said. “We are a definite attraction.”

Increasing the number of people stopping in Coos Bay could only help the area, Zettelmier said.

Shirley Liberante, executive director for the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, said the additional tourism from the museum would be a welcome addition.

“The numbers of people who come here to see ships and trains, and various historical artifacts, (the museum) would really add to that,” Liberante said.

A Rails Northwest passenger train came through the area last year with 500 passengers, and Liberante hopes to see that happen more frequently as the Bay Area adds more significant sight-seeing opportunities.

Right now, the museum board is just looking for able hands, and a bit of funding.

“We've received some donations, but we have a long way to go,” Zettelmier said.