EUGENE — Alissa Calarreda departed the Amtrak train, yelling as she walked through a shin-high layer of fresh snow that was quickly being compacted by dozens of other passengers.

“That was awful,” she said.

Calarreda, a student at the Oregon Institute of Technology, was one of 183 passengers who became stranded in Oakridge for over 36 hours after their Coast Starlight Amtrak train encountered deep snow and hit a tree on the tracks about 6:15 p.m. Sunday. No one was injured, and the train pulled back into Eugene late Tuesday morning after the tracks were cleared of fallen trees and snow.

Initially bound for Los Angeles, the Amtrak was rescued by a locomotive and slowly pulled to Eugene, where tired and relieved passengers cheered while disembarking. Some got in line to get new tickets and continue their journeys.

Scot Naparstek, Amtrak’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said he and his colleagues “sincerely regret the extended delay” travelers experienced.

“With more than a foot of heavy snow and numerous trees blocking the track, we made every decision in the best interest of the safety of our customers during the unfortunate sequence of events,” Naparstek said in a statement.

He said the safest place for passengers was on the train, where they had access to food, heat, electricity and bathrooms. The area where the train was stranded got 10 to 14 inches of snow by Monday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service, and power outages had been widespread in the area, including Oakridge.

Amtrak spokeswoman Olivia Irvin said Amtrak is canceling all service between Portland and Eugene through Thursday.

Amtrak will contact travelers to give them "refunds and other compensation as appropriate,” Naparstek said.

Passenger Ashley Jye was traveling with her sister’s three children — ages 4, 6 and 9 — from Washington to California. She said the group spent much of the journey posted up with the kids in their seats, though they took periodic trips to a train cafe.

“It’s not easy,” Jye said. “Keeping them together was the hardest part. They are very personable.”

Passengers also bonded during the delay.

Barbara May, traveling from Eugene to her home in Klamath Falls, met fellow traveler Thomas Mays on the train.

He appeared concerned about being able to manage his affairs from the halted train.

“He was lost,” May said. “He was worried, and he didn’t have a cell phone to contact anyone with.”

So she struck up a conversation and offered to help.

May helped her new friend, who uses a wheelchair and is hard of hearing, plan around the unexpected pit-stop.

She arranged to have Mays’ Wheels on Meals delivery canceled. She also contacted Mays’ brother to let him know Mays was safe and helped update his travel plans.

Then the pair passed the time talking, and May crocheted.

She said the Amtrak crew did its best to keep morale up and ensure passengers’ needs were met.

“The crew was amazing,” May said. “They took care of us and had nothing but happy smiles even under the circumstances.”

Both passengers plan to stay at a Springfield hotel Tuesday night and continue their travels Wednesday.

Despite a tough train ride, Sam Salerno enjoyed the surprise of being stopped on a train overnight. “It was tiring, but a bit fun.”

Salerno spent much of his 21-hour ride practicing card tricks and talking with other people.

“People were super-stressed out,” said Salerno. “So we were reminding people it was going to be okay.”

Salerno says it was disconcerting to be stranded in the remote mountains that populate the route of the Coast Starlight. The inability to leave, or communicate with people at home while stuck in the dark and snow, left people nervous. From the vantage point of Salerno’s seat, cars were visible in the distance, which provided a grim comfort.

“It was comforting to see there were cars driving,” said Salerno. “We knew civilization was near. We could see it, but we couldn’t go there.”

— Piper McDaniel and Jim Ryan

Everton Bailey Jr. of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff and freelance reporter Alex Powers contributed to this report

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