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

Old Homestead Garden Railway

Visit the Miniforest Nursery in Mulino, OR. Their web site is at Miniforest Nursery.

Owner: Sharon (Sky) Yankee

Miniforest Nursery (by Sky) was started in 1994 as an offshoot of the original Old Homestead Garden Railway. Sharon’s attention was centered on naturally small plants that would fit in our little world and stay that way over the years with a minimum amount of attention. The nursery has outlived the railroad, though you can see remains that include what was an actual half-inch replica of well known Hull Oaks Lumber, the last commercial steam powered sawmill in America. The bulk of her business is mail order, so you can get her plants all over the country.

Handicapped accessible. Ground is level gravel.

Partytown and Farmdale Railroad

Owner: Shannon Pratt

This is an indoor whimsical no 1. scale (1/32) railroad, with lots of lights, sound and animation. It is a tourist and freight railroad, serving the raucous Partytown, the quieter Farmdale, and the recent extension to Vineyard Village, aptly named for its vineyard and wineries. Residents and visitors cover a wide gamut, including Alexander Graham Bell. Sherlock Holmes and Watson, Laurel and Hardy, Popeye and Olive Oyl, and Jack and Jill. This year the carnival has come to Partytown and the circus has come to Farmdale.

The sidewalk on the right side of the house allows people with wheelchairs to enter the lower level to view the layout.

Pine Valley & Western RR

Engineers: Frank & Alexis Barberis
Scale: 1:29
Power: Track/Battery

This railroad represents what might have been a small short line railway in the Pine Valley area of Eastern Oregon that is an affiliate of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway circa 1935 to 1965. Steam is king, but diesels have made an appearance.
Nestled under a pair of White Ash trees where it began as a simple Figure-8 in 2008, it now occupies a 50 by 40 foot raised area with 550 feet of track and over thirty switches.
Two removable bridges cross a dry river bed and provide access to an island featuring a small recirculating fountain. Current plantings include a large field of sedums, some volunteer White Ash tree-lets (removed seasonally), and a small number of cypress. A small replica railway depot provides a climate controlled workspace and storage area for the Pine Valley’s locomotives and rolling stock.
The Dragon’s Gate flat classification yard provides for point-to-point operation by serving as both source and destination for trains as they move along the mainline.

Here’s some interesting specifications regarding the construction of this layout you might find handy.

Handicapped accessible. Information/Directions: 503-663-1945

Serenity Valley Railroad

Hosts: Bryan and Esther Hanson
Scale: 1:29

The Serenity Valley Railroad is a 1:29 scale continuous loop railway that has over 300′ of mainline track. Construction began in 2016 with a flat section of yard and has become a 30′ X 40′ raised bed railway that features 2 tunnels, a trestle, a waterfall and stream. The bridges and buildings are scratch-built recreations of structures that are located in the Pacific Northwest. The Union Pacific Alco PA is battery powered and pulls both passenger and freight cars to several destinations around the layout.

Handicap accessible.

St. Mikley Falls Railroad

Owners: Michael & Shirley Rainwater
Power: Track

The original St. Mikley Falls Railroad was built in California in 1982. Since then, it has moved three times and now rests in its final location. The layout consists of 900 feet of track and switches. Of the 900 feet of track, 400 feet rest on several trestles. The longest of these trestles is 130 feet in length and rises from the ground level to five feet in the air. In other words, in real life, a trestle with a height of 100 feet. Many trestles in the California Sierra measured this height. There are two ten-foot tunnels made from 16 inch pvc pipe. The town consists of 28 buildings of which 20 of those were custom built by the owner. The population of St. Mikley Falls is over 200 individual characters. The time era is that of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s with strictly steam running locomotives. Landscape is made up of dwarf, miniature, and some standard size plants. There are large areas of ground cover including mint, wooly thyme, lime thyme, sedum, and bird’s-foot trefoil.

Layout accessible to small width wheelchairs.

Serrano Creek Line

Engineers: Jim and Linda Loudon
Scale: 1:22, 1:24, 1:32
Power: Battery and Track

The Serrano Creek line was up and chugging by October 2017 with no foreseeable completion date. The diesel dominated Serrano Creek Line travels through a representation of life in early 1970’s.
The ever-changing landscape features both scratch built, “unique” 1:24 scale kit structures and refurbished buildings that were “acquired” by its creators.

Highlighted features:

» 550 feet of code 332 rail with switches: Aristo, LGB, and USA
» A continuous loop runs around three sides of our home
» A water feature that begins as a bubbling spring, waterfalls, and a long bubbling brook
» A dry creek bed that runs from the backyard to the front sidewalk
» Three bridges (wood and steel)
» Dominant power utilized is both versions (100 and 200) Locolinc
» All mainline curves are 10 foot diameter (5 foot radius) with a maximum of 2% grade
» Beautiful landscape with a variety of trees, shrubs, flowering plants, and ground covers

Handicapped accessible.

Southern Railway

Hosts: Rusty and Mary Baumberger

1. The Southern Railway models the 1950s Steam-Diesel Transition era on the SRR Division between Asheville, NC and Greenville-Spartanburg, SC, including the infamous Saluda Grade, the steepest continuous grade (averages 4.5%) in the U.S. The motive power includes several steam engines including a Southern Crescent Pacific (4-6-2) and several early diesels including an F-3 ABA consist and NW-2 switcher.

The garden layout covers one side of yard and is being expanded (work-in-progress) to include the back of the yard. The walkway and yard area is flat and handicap accessible.

2. The layout is G-Gauge, 1:29 Scale with a minimum main line diameter of eight feet. The original portion contains about 200 feet of track on a raised bed. The layout is configured as a single-track “dog bone” loop with Asheville, NC on one end and Saluda, NC on the other, operated as a point-to-point two-track main line. Construction is adding a new portion of 100 more feet with the Saluda grade and a rail yard and interchange with the SRR north-south corridor at the Greenville-Spartanburg end.

There are several intermediate stops, passing sidings, and a regional yard and roundhouse at Hendersonville, NC. A helper engine is kept at Saluda. Through and local passenger service runs on a regular schedule between Asheville and Greenville-Spartanburg, with stops at Hendersonville and Saluda. A curved 200-foot (scale) trestle is located near Saluda, a pony truss bridge crosses the river near Hendersonville, and a 96 foot (scale) deck girder span is near Asheville.

3. Personal note: Rusty’s grandfather, John Baumberger, was an Engineer on the Southern Railway, based in Asheville, and operated trains on this route (including the Saluda grade) from the 1920s to 1950.

Handicapped accessible.

Staver Locomotive

Visit Staver Locomotive in Portland, OR. His web site is at Staver Locomotive.

Owner: Larry Staver

>Housed in a 16000 sq ft warehouse on an acre of land in the heart of industrial NW Portland, Staver Locomotive was built to showcase Larry Staver’s collection of live steam locomotives. Featuring both indoor and outdoor loops, the track itself is dead level, with broad curves on super elevations. The layout is a classic form used in the smaller scales, a folded dog bone, forming 3 circles for steaming, operations or just viewing. The track is all hand built and at waist height. It can accommodate any scale, self-powered locomotive running on 45mm track. The track is non-powered, made of steel bar, 1/8 by 3/8 by 12′, and the ties are made of cedar, notched to the correct gauge. The switches for the tracks are also handmade and manufactured in house. The landscape is minimalist to highlight the movement and function of the engines. The warehouse itself boasts a number of additional facilities to fabricate, and showcase their latest projects, inventions, and designs. It has become a growing resource for the Portland train community to collaborate, inspire, and share their love of trains. In the spirit of his father’s love of hosting events, Staver Locomotive has also been hosting spring and fall steam up for the small scale live steam community for the past 12 years in addition to more recent operations sessions with RCGRS members.

On-site Restrooms available. Handicap Accessible.

Story Lines Railway

Engineer: Gary Everitt
Power: Track and Battery

Construction of the Story Lines railway began in the spring of 2005. The original sub-roadbed is redwood recycled from a deck behind a house in Ashland, Oregon. As the track configuration has changed over the years, and an additional loop added, the new track simply “floats” on the ballast. The train storage shed contains a switchyard; the grade leading to it was completed this year.
The track and switches are LGB. Switches on the main line are wired and controlled from the master panel. At this time, the original loop and sidings are track powered, but Story Lines now has three battery-battery-powered locomotives as well. The layout is designed to give a “peek-a-boo” effect; the train disappearing behind the landscape and then popping up for a glimpse here and there gives the illusion that the distance is longer than it really is.
The buildings have been picked up at club auctions, donated by friends, or built by the owner. Future structures in the works include scratch-built models based on Sears Kit Homes from the early 1900s and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
The resort town of Erratic Rock began as a simple logging camp. Its name was inspired by the phenomenal variety of geologic wonders throughout the area, which have puzzled geologists and been studied by them for over a century.
Not long after the camp was established, a logger discovered gold in “them thar hills”, and the rush was on. A town sprang up and was quickly serviced by a railroad. When the gold played out, and the forests thinned, Erratic Rock became a near ghost town. But thanks to the beauty of the area, and the opportunities for recreation, a wise town father named Ellingham Bodmin turned the town into a mecca for the arts.
Erratic Rock is now famous for its Shakespeare Festival, its many outdoor concerts, its opportunities for outdoor recreation, and its scenic railway. It is a “green” community, with power supplied by the wind turbines along the Crater Creek gorge.
Because of Erratic Rock’s relative isolation, Story Lines not only serves as a tourist attraction, but also brings supplies and people to town. Though a visitor may be lucky enough to see classic cars at the annual cruise-in, it is far easier to reach Erratic Rock by rail than by car.

Handicapped accessible

Swiss Flats Railroad

Engineers: Jan and Rae Zweerts
Power: Track

Welcome to the Swiss Flats Railway (SF Ry.) a small Pike with a huge water feature. The SF Ry. can be multi-modal with short headways, intense rail traffic, 2 major junctions using air drive switches with up to 4 train operators fighting over the right-of-way controlled by 1 harried dispatcher. Or the SF Ry. can have 3 trains loop lazily each in its own circle of solitude. Or 1 train can traverse all 3 loops which is very handy for cleaning track.
The SF Ry. is loosely based on travels in Switzerland on the Rh B and other narrow gauge railways. Steam, diesel and electric motors may be seen negotiating European close quarters scenery with mountainous grades and overhead catenary.
The SF Ry. is built upon a 16′ x 48′ float attached to a member’s floating home on the Columbia River at North Portland Harbor. All manner of transportation may be seen here as the SF Ry. is within sight of the BNSF swing bridge (MP 8.8 Fallbridge Sub), I-5 Road Bridge with historical ships moored across the channel.

Visiting the SF Ry. will require parking outside the Jantzen Beach Moorage (JBMI) gated community, walking down a 20% grade ramp, and along 800 feet of floating walkways. Please wear comfortable shoes, secure your car keys, cell phones and other valuables because the water is deep and divers are not standing by.