It would have been very disappointing if the line north of Bend had closed because then the 4449 and likely the Gordo "ex UP baggage crew car" would have remained in Bend and the rest of the excursion train would have been Amtrak and possibly a BNSF or UP deisel pulled trip back to Portland. UP nor any other railroad would want an unscheduled steam excursion thrown onto their mainline on a few hours notice. Worst case passengers would have been bussed back to Portland. 4449 would have had to deadhead back to Portland once the line reopened.