Please enjoy our Club Members' Railroads shared with us over the years. 

Alaska and Northwest Railroad

Hosts: Bill Caron, William Caron, Sheri Caron, Josephine Caron
Power: Track Power with some Battery Power

The Alaska and NW Railroad is a freelanced layout featuring locomotives and rolling stock from the Alaska Railroad (ARR) as well as Union Pacific (UP) and BNSF from the NW. The layout is track power with isolated sidings. Locomotives are being converted to battery power and sound utilizing Airwire and Phoenix Sound as time and resources allow.
The basis of the design is to provide a layout to be able to run trains on a continuous loop and have trains staged in the yard. The layout began in the planning stages in late 2015 with the plan to relandscape the back yard to provide space for the railroad. The first track was laid in the spring of 2018 with the first successful train on the mainline in September of 2018. The layout features approximately 200 feet of mainline with roughly 25% of it elevated. The grade level track is laid directly on the ground using 1/4 minus gravel as the base and ballast. The elevated portions are 2x6 lumber with 1/4 minus ballast. An 8 foot long bridge made from a full scale section of rail begins the elevated portion of the railroad. The railroad is very much still a work in progress with future modifications that include yard expansion, a covered storage area and scenery and building addition. A possible extension into the garage is being considered.
Trains leave the yard on their way toward the bend meandering along the front retaining wall allowing viewers to be up close to trains as they run by. Trains wrap around the bend on their way up to the elevated portion crossing the long bridge before appearing once again up close to railfans. Trains then disappear behind majestic Cypress trees only to reappear through the remains of one of their fallen compadres, then back around the bend then wrapping around the Cypress trees again and back to the yard.

The railroad is not very handicap accessible as there is a long gravel walkway. Restrooms are not available at this location.

Baker and Grande Ronde Railroad

Engineer: Gary Lee
Scale: 1:24 (½ inch)
Power: Battery and steam

The Baker & Grande Ronde Railroad is a fictitious 1:24 scale narrow-gauge railroad that connects with the Sumpter Valley Railroad at its terminus in Baker City, Oregon. Circa 1890, during the glory days of mining and lumbering in the Oregon Blue Mountains, this small railroad ambitiously crossed the Elkhorn Range to reach its western destination of Ukiah. The 1:24 scale trains traverse six trestles and bridges that cross three rivers. A twenty-foot long, five-foot tall curved trestle near the summit transverses Freezeout Creek. There is over 800 feet of mainline on the 175′ x 60′ point-to-point railroad that was started in 2003. The forest of dwarf Alberta Spruce are pruned to represent large mature conifers; herbs and succulent ground cover create a lush forest floor, and locally gathered rock complete the landscape. The track is hand-laid and all structures and bridges are scratch-built. Engines are battery with remote control. This railroad was featured in the April, 2013, issue of Garden Railways Magazine.

Bearspaw Southern Railroad

See the 2016 Summer Tour Garden Time newsclip for this railroad at https://www.youtube.com/embed/9nLSOb3EG4U.

Engineers: Warner and Brooke Swarner
Power: Battery and Radio Control, both Steam and Diesel

The Bearspaw Southern has over 1300 feet of track, more than 100 switches and encompasses nearly the entire residential corner lot of the Swarner’s home. This layout is a model of a fictional short line railroad connecting several Northwest towns in a region called Bearspaw. In addition to the entire front and backyards the railroad makes amazing use of created space by filling the excavated basement under the residence. The mainline crosses three waterfalls and streams along a route that may take a train up to 15 minutes to traverse without traveling the same track twice. Trains are controlled via radio control with self-contained battery power. Engineers walk the route with their train. The railroad begins in the front yard with miniature trees, logging scene and a stream running into a hidden lake. The route winds around the side and back yards through mountains, under grape arbors, and across ponds that are home to Koi fish. After crossing the yards outside the tracks tunnel underneath the house into what was once a basement "crawl space" that has been excavated to house the indoor division of the railroad. Though access is somewhat limited down a stairway, the basement provides year-round operation, train staging and scenic development. The Bearspaw Southern is proof that large-scale railroading can be done in a variety of creative places other than just a garden and has something for every railroad fan.

The layout is Not handicapped accessible.

Black Rock Railroad

Engineer: James Dunk

The BLACK ROCK RAILROAD started in July 2015 and took 8 months to construct the basic trackwork along with the 72′ trestle. It is a fictional narrow gauge line in 1:20.3 scale that was started to haul black rock from the mines. Because of the volume of rock a small town developed. A small passing siding with two spurs to handle the traffic was added. The railroad represents early 1900 to 1930. A scratch built McKeen car handles local passenger service, as the steam engines handle hauling the freight. All motive power is battery operated with remote control by Loco-Linc. I scratch build most of my cars using poplar wood. The track is 160′ long in a L shape with 8′ curves.

Not wheelchair accessible. Front stairs with railing. Bathroom available

Engineer: Dennis Rose
MOW: Carolyn Rose

Burlington and Missouri River Railroad

Engineers: Allan and Kathryn Warrior
Power: Track

This railroad is loosely modeled on the Creston, Iowa, Division of the Burlington Route (CB&Q) from 1935 until 1969 before it was merged into the Burlington Northern and later the BNSF railroads. The motive power is primarily 22 various diesels of the era including the Pioneer Zephyr (1935) and the last-purchased SD45 (1969). Approximately 600 feet of mainline track runs around three sides of the house and there is a large switch yard in the town of Creston. One route in the front yard crosses a 16- foot gap on a plate girder trestle and through an eight-foot truss bridge. A second route travels over a 60-foot poured concrete viaduct. Several of the 71 buildings and structures are built from scratch and are actual scale (1:32) models of buildings in Creston, especially the 1898 railroad station and auxiliary buildings. The Altoona Playland miniature amusement park is just for fun.

Wheel chair accessible with assistance.