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Ever since Paul Roy shared some stories about Train Mountain in Oregon I have wanted to make a visit there, but with the busy schedule I have had it just had not been able to work out as yet. Recently other WCRA members, Carl Vanderspek and Marg Hope, also got into Train Mountain in a big way, making it a base for their 7 1/2” gauge equipment. So, when the offer came to join Carl and Marg for a weekend at Train Mountain, I jumped at it and was rewarded with a weekend of great fun, scale trains, and wonderful people.
Train Mountain is the world’s longest hobby railway, with 14 miles of mainline track and many more miles of loops, spurs and shop tracks. It also connects with the Over-The-Hill Live Steam Club’s line, so a combined trip without duplicating track can take two hours of continuous running. This is some place!
Saturday, April 16—at the airport for an early departure are myself, WCRA Director Colin Smith and wife Bobbie, and Marg. A quick flight to Klamath Falls on the jet and we are met by Carl, who has been there for a few days already “workin’ on the railroad”. Carl drives us all to Train Mountain, about a 30 minute ride, and we are there. As we traverse the grounds to their home, the excitement builds. Just seeing all the mainline track passing through the trees, interspersed with pieces of full size rolling stock—is quite a sight!
 
After unloading, it’s time to go and have some fun—on the rails that is. We head over to the main shops and storage buildings where most of the trains are kept, and pull out our vehicles for the morning run. Carl (above) and I choose scale speeders to run, Colin gets a Dash 9 and train, and Marg chooses a new pedal bike (above). We pull away from the yard area and start our run.
The mainline drops downgrade through a series of loops among the pine trees, crossing are protected by signals, route is generally one way with signalling systems at two way stretches of the line. It is absolutely amazing to run these miniatures along what is a long distance mainline railroad—sometimes you almost forget it’s 7 1/2 “ gauge you are on (only your butt on the wood seat reminds you!)
The mishaps are few as we cruise along the line. Marg has some troubles with the new rail bike. It seems to have a small problem with construction, a rigid rear axle causes it to derail periodically. Some shop time ahead for it. I am the last vehicle of the entourage travelling the line and run out of gas. The others don’t miss me for a while! Fortunately, it was on a downgrade and I manage to coast a coupe of miles and catch up with the others who finally noted I was no longer in sight!
We have the place to our self , it seems. No other train movements are observed during the entire day, just a few people who reside there pause to wave and there are a couple of people doing work around the place. Hundreds of acres of vast open railroading land in scale—quite an experience! The tunnels are fun—dark and tumbleweeds to be cleared from some, but we manage the route and end up over near Carl and Marg’s place.
Time for lunch, so we tie up and walk the new roadbed that will switch off the loop and run up to Carl’s new shop building. There’s work to be done on this here railroad, we’ll get into that later. Lunch is held in their delightful modular home that is adjacent to the Train Mountain property, and will be soon connected by rail as many other residents have done.
Then we head off again, this time back to the shops as it has started to rain. My view, on the tail end of the now three of us (the pedal bike is off for repairs) follows Colin at the controls of the Dash 9.
Saturday evening is a real treat, as neighbours have invited us over for dinner. Fred Vertel and his son Tom have prepared a feast! We enjoy the wonderful fellowship, a great collection of railroad memorabilia, and a fabulous evening all around.
Sunday, April 17—time to earn some keep here! After a great breakfast cooked by Bobbie, Carl, Colin and myself head out to help move some track to the new shop. The used track lengths are from the mainline, replaced by new rail. We load them onto a pickup truck and trailer and then move them to the shop building where they will create around 500 feet of new track to connect to the mainline, and access the four shop tracks.
After unloading, it’s time to design the access tracks and lay out the switches. This takes a bit of drawing, setting out, eyeing the layout, re-arranging—and after a while we have it—the four shop tracks can all be accessed, the two run through tracks can connect up o the other side with the curving crossing—all looks good.
Now, we really are ready for some lunch, which we quickly devour, then head back over to the shops to get out for another run. Off we go, this time heading first around the tracks of the Over-The-Hill Live Steam Club, and then onto the lower tracks of Train Mountain. I can’t recall all the subdivisions we ran over, but by the end of this afternoon we had now covered all of the mainline sections of the place.
After putting the trains away, we end the day riding the van up to Caboose Ridge, a planned community of caboose homes overlooking the valley. There are cabooses of many styles, railroad heritages and descriptions. All are in want of attention, and as yet no one is in occupancy. Yet, up here with a fabulous view must be at least 30 cabooses, each set on a section of level track. A great idea yet to be made into a reality.
Time to head back home—we are off to the airport and the plane, and a quick ride back to the reality of home and all the activities to be done. But for a weekend, it was another world—a world of fun, great friends and company, and interesting railroading. What more could one ask for.
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