Train Mountain Railroad
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Train Mountain Railroad is the world's largest miniature hobbyist
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 ...
near
Chiloquin, Oregon Chiloquin ( ) (Klamath: mbosaksawaas, "flint place" ) is a city in Klamath County, Oregon, United States. Chiloquin was the pioneer version of a Klamath family name ''Chaloquin'', which was the name of a Klamath chief who was alive at the time o ...
, in Klamath County, which is in the south central region of Oregon. It is situated between
Klamath Falls, Oregon Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city was ...
, approximately to the south, and
Crater Lake National Park Crater Lake National Park is an American national park located in southern Oregon. Established in 1902, Crater Lake is the fifth-oldest national park in the United States and the only national park in Oregon. The park encompasses the caldera of ...
to the north. Physical Location: 36941 South Chiloquin Road, Chiloquin, OR 97624, USA.


Geography

The approximately property borders
Highway 97 Route 97, or Highway 97, may refer to: Australia - Olympic Dam Highway, South Australia Canada * British Columbia Highway 97 ** British Columbia Highway 97A ** British Columbia Highway 97B ** British Columbia Highway 97C ** British Columb ...
on the east side, Highway 62 (Crater Lake Highway) on the west side, and Highway 422 on the north. The track and facilities which are not obscured by trees are clearly visible on public satellite images. The elevation at Train Mountain varies from at South Meadow, at Central Station, at Ward Passing Track (the highest point accessible by train), to at Steiger Butte, the highest point on Train Mountain property.


Longest miniature hobby railroad

In the 2004
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
, Train Mountain is recognized as the “Longest Miniature Hobby Railroad”. At the time Train Mountain was recognized by Guinness, it was reported to have of gauge mainline track and of total track including yards, sidings, spurs, and connector tracks. During the following years, approximately 10 additional miles (16 km) of new track has been added.


Gauge and scale

The Train Mountain gauge
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 ...
track is typically used for 1.5" scale trains (1.5" to 12" or approx. 1/8 scale). Trains of 2.5" scale (2.5" to 12", or approx. 1/5 scale) are also common at Train Mountain. Some of these 2.5" scale steam locomotives can weigh in excess of for the engine and tender when fully loaded with water and fuel.


Live steam

Train Mountain is well known to members of the
live steam Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment. A live steam machine or device is one powered by steam, but the term is usually reserved for those that ar ...
hobby who visit regularly from all over the world.


Media coverage

Train Mountain was featured on
Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary television and radio public broadcasting network for most of the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington. OPB consists of five full-power television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF tra ...
2005 video on Train Mountain and "The Dream." "The Dream" refers to late founder of Train Mountain, Quentin Breen, whose dream was to build the railroad at Train Mountain as explained in the video. Train Mountain was again featured on OPB Oregon Field Guide in the fall of 2017.


Garden railway

A
Garden railway A garden railroad or garden railway is a model railway system set up outdoors in a garden. While G is the most popular scale for garden railroads, 16 mm scale has a dedicated and growing following especially in the UK. Model locomotives in ...
in
G Scale Large scale or G scale (, G gauge) is a track gauge for model railways which is often used for outdoor garden railways because of its size and durability. G scale trains use a fixed track gauge of to accommodate a range of rail transport mod ...
is being constructed at Train Mountain on approximately in the center of a gauge
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 ...
track circle known as Midway Circle. Midway Circle is one of several such circles, which are essentially
roundabouts A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...
.


Train Mountain Railroad Museum

Train Mountain Railroad Museum also exists on the Train Mountain property, and consists of antique full size railroad rolling stock and artifacts which are on display. One of the most notable is the antique, steam-powered, rotary snow blower or
rotary snowplow A rotary snowplow (American English) or rotary snowplough is a piece of railroad snow removal equipment with a large circular set of blades on its front end that rotate to cut through the snow on the track ahead of it. The precursor to the rotary ...
, SP MW206, built by ALCo (Cooke), 11/1923, #65353, that was used to remove snow from the track between Klamath Falls and Eugene, Oregon. The rotary snow blower was moved to Train Mountain on November 16, 2008.


Train meets

The 25th anniversary of the founding of Train Mountain was celebrated during the summer of 2012. The celebration featured an international miniature train meet entitled the "2012 Triennial." The Train Mountain tradition of Triennials began in the year 2000, and has been held every three years thereafter. The 2018 Triennial attracted trains which totaled more than 10,000 feet in length. The 2022 Triennial has approx. 888 participants, a drop of about 20% from 2018, but more trains than in 2018. The high point of the Triennial is the Big Toot in which all trains assemble on the last Saturday and blow their whistles for one minute. Participants from Australia, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, UK, and the US are attending. A specific entrance donation is requested from visitors only during the Triennial event week. Other train meets for members and those who own, operate, or have an interest in gauge railroading are held seven times a year. These events attract participants from all over the US and Canada. They are popular with live steam enthusiasts due to the uniqueness of the layout, and the ability to operate heavy steam powered locomotives that may not be allowed at other railroads.


Visitors

Train Mountain is a club and museum, not an amusement park, so it does not offer "rides." Volunteer members do, though, offer "tours" which are train rides which may vary from 30 minutes to eight hours in length. On the longer tours, the group will still not see all of the Train Mountain track. The club often provides 30-minute tours on a regular schedule weekdays from 10 AM to 3 PM during the summer (the gate opens at 9 AM) and 11 AM to 2 PM during the off season. For the more-extensive tours, ask any train operator, or schedule a tour with the Train Mountain Office. Tours may be offered on Train Mountain-owned or member-owned equipment. A guide to walking among the historic full-sized museum equipment is available on request. There is no charge for admission, but donations are gratefully accepted to enable maintenance and expansion.


Klamath & Western Railroad

Free public train rides are available at Klamath & Western Railroad (K&WRR) on Saturdays from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The K&WRR is a 501(c)3 non-profit public benefit corporation, which is located directly east and adjacent to Train Mountain on South Chiloquin Road. The train ride uses approximately of track, and takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Klamath & Western Railroad existed prior to the founding of Train Mountain under the name of "Over The Hill Live Steamers" which was a result of being referred to as being over the hill from the Medford Live Steamers (Southern Oregon Live Steamers),) since to get there one had to traverse the Oregon Cascade Mountain Range. Klamath & Western Railroad has several antique railroad items on display, including the antique Train Order Semaphore Signal, originally used at the Southern Pacific Station in Junction City, Oregon.


Technology

Train Mountain features a Central Train Control or
centralized traffic control Centralized traffic control (CTC) is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system con ...
("CTC"), a computer controlled switching and signal system. The status of this system can be viewed online at the Friends of Train Mountain website.


References


External links


Train Mountain Railroad Museum
- official site {{authority control 7½ in gauge railways in the United States Rail transport modelling Live steam Steam museums in the United States Railroad museums in Oregon Transportation museums in Oregon Rail transportation in Oregon Museums in Klamath County, Oregon Heritage railroads in Oregon