McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

park located in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

It features a gauge railroad, a

Magma Arizona Railroad The Magma Arizona Railroad was built by the Magma Copper Company and operated from 1915 to 1997. The railroad was originally built as a narrow gauge line, but was converted to in 1923. Originally headquartered in Superior, Arizona, the com ...

locomotive, a railroad museum, three model railroad clubs and a gauge live steam railroad.Official Website
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History

In 1967, the Fowler McCormicks donated of

McCormick Ranch McCormick Ranch refers to an area in Scottsdale, Arizona, which is one of the largest planned communities in Arizona. History In 1921, the Jolly family built a ranch and home on 160 acres located at what is today the corner of Scottsdale and I ...

to the City of Scottsdale stipulating that it be used as a park for all people to enjoy. The son of Anne and James Stillman, Guy Stillman, assembled his gauge narrow gauge railroad replica in the property. He called it the "Paradise & Pacific Railroad" and was offered to the city in 1971. The

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

, with the backing of Senator

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...

, contributed to the railroad's expansion by supplying manpower for the laying of tracks. An irate Goldwater wrote that local objections to the Marines offering their assistance was "one of the damnest, uncalled-for bits of action I have ever run in to. The armed services has historically given help to communities wherever they could and whenever it was asked for. There is nothing wrong with the Marines doing this kind of work if the Marines have the time." The

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

officially opened on October 4, 1975. Originally named McCormick Railroad Park, it was renamed McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in 1996 in recognition of its founder, Guy Stillman. The City of Scottsdale sold of the donated land to a developer several years ago.

Attractions

* Paradise & Pacific Railroad: Created by Stillman, the Paradise & Pacific Railroad is the oldest and the first attraction to operate in the park. This gauge

ridable miniature railway A ridable miniature railway (US: riding railroad or grand scale railroad) is a large scale, usually ground-level railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by diesel or petrol ...

has a route of of track and of sidetrack, including two

trestles ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator), better known as Trestle, was a unique electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation and testing apparatus built between 1972 and 1980 during the Cold War at Sandia National Labora ...

, a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

, 2 water tanks, loading platform,

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, two crossing signals and an extensive

train shed A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...

and

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

. The railroad has three

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s (two operational), three

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

s, two

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, damag ...

s, a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

car, a trolley car (in the model RR building), three stock cars and a large number of

gondola The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull ...

cars. * Charro Carrousel: This

merry-go-round A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

was built in 1950 by The Allan Herschell Company and was purchased and restored by the Scottsdale Railroad & Mechanical Society. * Playgrounds: The park has two children's playgrounds, one of them Southwestern-themed in an adobe construction. * Statue of

Bil Keane William Aloysius "Bil" Keane (October 5, 1922 – November 8, 2011) was an American cartoonist most notable for his work on the newspaper comic ''The Family Circus''. It began in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Kea ...

: Mr Keane was the creator of the newspaper comic

The Family Circus ''The Family Circus'' (originally ''The Family Circle'', also ''Family-Go-Round'') is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and, since Bil's death in 2011, is currently written, inked, and rendered (colored) by his son, Jef ...

Exhibits

Scottsdale-Stillman Park-Swiss Railroad Clock-1

Scottsdale-Stillman Park-Antique Railroad Bell-Presented to Henry S Strugis-1958

Engine #6: This locomotive was built in 1907 by the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

and operated in the

for 54 years. It was purchased by the Scottsdale Railroad & Mechanical Society in 1977 and is the only

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

engine remaining in Arizona. * Railroad Museum * ''

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...

'' Pullman car: Donated to the Scottsdale Railroad and Mechanical Society by Mr. and Mrs. Franz Talley, it is one of six cars built by the

Pullman Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

in 1928. It was constructed at a cost of $205,000 and used by Presidents

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

, and

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

. President Eisenhower used the car exclusively during the whistle-stop campaign in 1952. It was on this car on August 18, 1940, that President Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister W.L. McKenzie King met and mutually agreed to the Ogdensberg Declaration, a declaration that provided for the joint defense of North America in the event of foreign invasion. That was the beginning of the North American Air Defense, also known as N.O.R.A.D. It was donated to the park in 1971. * The Swiss Railway Clock: The clock was donated to the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park by the City of Interlaken, Switzerland. This was done in commemoration of the sister cities partnership of the cities of Interlaken and Scottsdale. The Swiss Railway Clock was designed in 1944 by Hans Hilfiker and was used by the Swiss federal Railways as a station clock. * Gabe Brooks Machine Shop: Built in 1930 by Gabe Brooks, who was considered the finest machinist in the United States during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It still contains original machining equipment. * Navajo Hogans: These are two of the only three Indian hogans that exist off the Northern Arizona Navajo Indian Reservation. The other hogan is located at the

Heard Museum The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. * Xeriscape Arboretum: This

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

arboretum has been growing since 1980 and has different species of plants from different regions. * The Antique Railroad Bell: This bell was presented to Henry S. Sturgis in 1958. Mr. Sturgis was the vice president of the First National Bank who played an active part in railroad finances. He served as chairman of the executive committee of the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...

Railroad clubs

Scottsdale-Stillman Park 20 -Scottdale Model Railroad Club

Scottsdale Live Steamers: The Scottsdale Live Steamers is a gauge

miniature railroad Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcar ...

which surrounds the Xeriscape Arboretum and was the former home of the Maricopa Live Steamers. The track is long and has a loading platform, a train shed, a transfer table, a

and one

trestle ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator), better known as Trestle, was a unique electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation and testing apparatus built between 1972 and 1980 during the Cold War at Sandia National Laborato ...

. The layout has two main loops: the outer loop passes over the tunnel and the inner through it. The following three railroad clubs are housed in the McCormick Ranch Bunkhouse: * Scottsdale Model Railroad Historical Society: This club features a

HO scale HO or H0 is a rail transport modelling scale using a 1:87 scale (3.5 mm to 1 foot). It is the most popular scale of model railway in the world. The rails are spaced apart for modelling standard gauge tracks and trains in HO.NMRA"M ...

model train layout. * Paradise & Pacific Tinplate Club: This club features an

O scale O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scal ...

model train layout. * Sun-N Sand Club: This club features an

N scale N scale is a popular model railway scale. Depending upon the manufacturer (or country), the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. In all cases, the ''gauge'' (the distance between the rails) is . The term N ''gauge'' refers to the track dimensions, ...

model train layout.

Gallery of Attractions

References

External links

Official Website
{{authority control Economy of Scottsdale, Arizona Tourist attractions in Scottsdale, Arizona Parks in Maricopa County, Arizona Museums in Scottsdale, Arizona Arboreta in Arizona Railroad museums in Arizona Buildings and structures in Scottsdale, Arizona Protected areas established in 1967 1967 establishments in Arizona Model railway shows and exhibitions 7½ in gauge railways