NEWSLETTER See our Web page at http://www.rcgrs.com/ July 2009

The Garden Railroad ment issues. This spring, the project was revived as In “The Oregon Garden” the Garden has experienced resurgence under the management of Moonstone Hotel Properties. By Rex Ploederer The project got a real boost when the Salem Club In the summer of 2007 The Oregon Garden con- and the RCGRS authorized money for the tacted the Salem club about building a “Garden construction effort. Pacific Crossings Model Rail- Train”, as they call it, in the children’s area. The road Club of Salem authorized $500 for the project manager and her assistant were taken on a mini-- on April 17th. The RCGRS authorized $1000 fol- tour of seven railroads in Salem in January of 2008. lowing an outstanding presentation by Dennis While on tour, the two individuals were exposed to Peoples at a special meeting held at the Kooken’s all types of garden railroads, big and small, battery open house on May 17th. and track power, steam and diesel, serious and whimsical; you get the picture. Construction began on May 29th with members from both Clubs. Seven Club members, split equal- Armed with this information, the Garden drew up ly between the two Clubs helped: Richard and a track plan and list of desired attributes for the rail- Penny Walker RCGRS, Larry Blair RCGRS, Gary road. The area can support a modest size railroad Everitt PCMRC, Jim Greer PCMRC, Gary Garnas with 130 feet of track. But one year passed while PCMRC, and myself, a member of both RCGRS the Garden sorted out their financial and manage- and PCMRC.

The Area (All photos submitted by Rex Ploederer except as noted)

1 Everyone promptly got to work. The sub--roadbed was bent and secured in place by both Garys.

Penny Walker worked on the 10.5 foot train storage shed by leveling the bottom

Installing the sub--roadbed An arborvitae had to be removed to allow the train to pass from one side of the hedge to the other.

Blasting through the roots was hard work but in Richard Walker cuts wood for the tunnel the end, it was Larry and Gary 1, Arborvitae 0

2 1 It was a long 6 /2 hour day; the warmest of the year to date, 92 degrees. The removal of the arborvitae allowed Richard and Rex to install the tunnel through the hedge.

It took three sets of hands to put the second side Work in progress (photo by Penny Walker) on the sub--roadbed.

Work in progress (photo by Penny Walker) Jim Greer builds the train storage shed.

3 At the end of the day much has been accomplished and there is much to do yet. The Oregon Garden staff is quite pleased with the progress and are anticipating seeing the first train run..

2009 Summer Tour Another got us on TV Thursday night on the 11:00 p.m. Success weather news and in several local newspapers. However, the ad we tried to place in By Bill Derville never made it, so we do not have the expense of the While it may seem attendance was down a little, we ad as we did last year. I also sent out over 100 actually sold more books this year than last. This Emails to people who had been on tour in previous year we sold 321 books, barely beating last year’s years or signed up at a train show. Sue Kelsey con- total of 318 books yielding $2,943 in total revenue. tinued to build our Email list for next year with We estimate our expenses to be about $1,006, so people who visited our layout. At the wrap up meet- our profit after expenses for the club was $1,937. ing, I received another list of people wanting notifi- Steve has most of the money now, and a few checks cation for next year. are being mailed to him. We estimated retail needs Another special thanks to our eleven hosts that pretty well this year, as no one ran out of books, but opened their railroads and gardens and put out several outlets were very low at the end. It is a pain cookies and lemonade for our guests. Our host this to deliver more books on the day before or the day year included Shannon Pratt, Judith Hinamon, Joe of the tour. Chesney, Marilyn and Doug Watson, Marlene and Wesaw quite a few people who had not been on tour Ron Bacon, Kathryn and Allan Warrior, Jean and before thanks to the hard work of Jonette Lee who Bill Dippert, Tim Poole, Margaret and David

4 Kooken, and Jonette and Gary Lee and Brenda and included Karen and Ken Shipman, Jan Zweerts, Bill Derville. With more people using GPS rather Carla and Rex Ploederer, Darrel Dunham, Dennis than our directions, people seemed to be jumping Peoples, Bob Scherzinger, Mike Greenwood, around more to layouts they either liked or layouts Penny and Richard Walker, Jo and Hilaire Hinds, they hadn’t seen on previous tours. My thanks to Dave Stratton, Greg Martin, Nathan Ohm, Sue and Margaret and David Kooken again this year who Nick Kelsey, Joe and Jen Eckardt, Steve Cogswell, drove the entire route and created the directions in Barb and Jerry Clark, Marilyn and Richard Parker, the booklet. Vaughn Lee, and Hazel and Odell Lee, Robert Westhafer, and Jeannine and Don Golgert. We had about 420 guests at our house. Others had Also thanks to my tireless volunteers Penny Walk- around 200. Judith Hinamon who joined our tour er, John Stiger, Ron Bacon, Jonette Lee and Steve for the first time reported 320 visitors, some of Cogswell who helped me distribute our booklets to whom came from Idaho, California, Seattle and Sa- 17 retail outlets and then collect the money and un- lem. Another new layout Tim Poole had about 200 used booklets, and Steve and Jonette for mailing visitors. Doug Watson had between 350 and 400 booklets to mail order customers. Thanks to Nick guests. Gary and Jonette had 322 who made their for the map in the booklet and Vaughn Lee who way up the Sandy River to their place. Shannon published our booklet and got it printed. Vaughn is Pratt’s indoor layout was very popular with the kids moving to San Diego, but offered to help from who loved the animation on his layout. there. Thanks Vaughn, we may need it. Thanks to Gary Lee, our president, for making a few more Another special thanks to Jen and Joe Eckardt for poster stands and cross bucks. rounding up and organizing volunteers to help hosts run trains, register people, direct traffic, and If I left anyone out, please accept my apology. As just talk to people. It is the warmth of our members you can see, this has truly been a club activity that who make our club attractive to prospective mem- has involved nearly all of our members. It helps the bers. We have a great group in our club and the gra- club’s finances, but more than that it furthers our ciousness of our members shows through to our mission of providing fellowship for our members guests and helps make their visits a very positive and promoting the hobby to the public. And be- experience. We have added quite a few members sides, train day is a lot of fun for us too! from people who came on tour and liked the people, not just the trains. Joe and Jen are stepping down af- We had a wrap up meeting on Monday, June 28th ter organizing volunteers after 3 years in this posi- where we discussed this year’s tour as well as next tion. It was a difficult year for them as we were year. We decided we would have the tour next year stretched very thin and some last minute cancel- on Saturday June 19, 2010 even though most of us ations of volunteers caused some volunteers to be will also be open for the Tacoma National Conven- shifted to different locations at the last minute. I am tion (Portland on Saturday, July 31, 2010 and Van- sorry for those moved, but we needed coverage at couver Sunday, August 1, 2010). When we skipped all locations. the Summer Tour one year, we lost a lot of momen- tum, and attendance was difficult to rebuild the Most club members helped by volunteering at one next year. For additional volunteers we will contact of the eleven layouts, and we had several volunteers the Salem club as well as the Columbia River that were not club members. It is this help that al- Gorge. Clint Bishop from the Gorge was a train op- lows our hosts and volunteers to have time to talk erator at my house this year. with people and answer questions. We met many Thank you all for another grand Summer Tour. I people who heard about this through a family mem- hope you had as much fun as I did during the tour! ber or a friend and decided to come themselves this year. Our list of club member volunteers this year —Bill Derville, Summer Tour Chairman

5 Abandoned Railroads of Oregon streetcar service beginning in the Albina area by the The Portland Traction Company Willamette Bridge Railway Company. The first cable cars were operating on Fifth Avenue. Did you know? were five cents. * That Portland was using San Francisco style cable 1891 Large consolidations of financially cars at the turn of the century? troubled rail companies occurred, including the City & Suburban Railway absorbing four smaller * That our region had the first electric companies and their lines. rail service in the nation? 1892 Portland Consolidated Street Railway * That the metropolitan area had an electric street- Company was formed, absorbing three lines. car system that stretched from Vancouver to Ore- 1893 A 16--mileinterurban electric railway and gon City, Forest Grove to Estacada? high--voltage transmission line were constructed * That by the beginning of the 20th century, Port- from Willamette Falls in Oregon City to Port- land was the northern terminus of an electric rail land—one of the first attempts at long--distance system that operated daily trains to Eugene, Salem, electrical transmission. The East Side Railway Corvallis and other points throughout the Willa- Company, incorporated in 1891, operated one of mette Valley? the nation’s first interurban electric railways along the alignment. The company carried both passen- * That by 1958 Portland’s extensive rail transit sys- gers and freight. Other interurban lines followed, tem was gone, replaced by a floundering transit connecting Portland to its suburbs and outlying system fostered by the “Good Roads Movement.” towns. Here are some important dates from the complex 1896 The Portland Consolidated Street Rail- and colorful history of Portland’s public trans- way Company was foreclosed, and the Portland portation system: Railway Company was formed. 1872 Twenty--one years after Portland is offi- 1902 The East Side Railway Company, with its cially founded, the city’s growth prompts the need electric passenger/freight railroad service, was sold for a public transportation system. Portland’s first in foreclosure—resulting the formation of a new trolleys, brought by steamer from San Francisco by company, the Oregon Water Power and Railway Ben Holladay, were horse and mule drawn, operat- Company. ing on First Avenue from Glisan to Caruthers. 1904 The electric streetcar was reintroduced on 1888 Steam--operated streetcar lines began ser- the Council Crest line just prior to the Lewis and vice, developing into a network that served Haw- Clark Exposition. The car operated on Washington thorne, Mt. Scott, Mt. Tabor, St. Johns, west Port- to 23rd and south along Ford to Patton Road. land, and Vancouver, Washington. 1905 Portland Railway and City & Suburban 1889 Electric streetcars began service, gradual- merged and were sold to the Clark Family of Phila- ly replacing horse--drawn, cable and steam--pow- delphia and Seligman Company of New York for ered lines. Electric streetcars were installed by land $6 million. developers to promote new subdivisions, a network 1906 The Portland Railway and City & Subur- eventually extended out to city limits in all direc- ban consolidated with Oregon Water Power, to be- tions. come the Portland Railway, Light and Power Com- 1890 An era of major trolley line expansion be- pany, a system of 28 electric streetcar lines and gan that included new lines on the east and west . sides of the Willamette River. Several trolley com- 1910 Interurban railway service now extended panies provided service, with the first electrified from Vancouversouth to Eugene and Corvallis, and

6 from Gresham and Troutdale west to Forest Grove 1956 Rose City Transit assumed the city routes and McMinnville. Meanwhile, the “Good Roads” of the Portland Traction Company. movement gained momentum, and Oregon em- 1958 The pioneer interurban electric rail line to braced the automobile—becoming the first state to Oregon City and the died out as rider- pay for roads with a gas tax. ship declines to less than a fifth of its wartime level. The transit system now consisted of gas oper- 1912 Portland’s population reached 257,490 as ated by seven different bus companies. rail transit ridership began to peak. New residential areas and suburbs sprang up along the rail lines, 1959 The Columbia Region Association of making Portland the center of one of the largest ur- Governments (CRAG), a new regional planning ban rail systems in the West. agency, was created to coordinate the Portland-- Vancouver Metropolitan Area Transportation 1918 After World War I, streetcars began to feel Study (PVMATS). Providing the first comprehen- the pinch from the automobile. sive analysis of travel demand in the region, the study assumed there were no constraints on high- 1920s Trolley transportation growth slowed. way travel in the region. Cutbacks in service and labor economies, such as remodeling equipment for one--man car operation, Modular SIG became the norm. Portland Railway changed its From Dennis Peoples, Chairman name to Portland Electric Power Company (PEP- A couple of weeks ago I received a call from Darrell CO), a holding company that included Portland Dunham telling me that the Puget Sound GRS Na- General Electric (PGE), Portland Traction Compa- tional Convention was extending an inviation to us ny, and an interurban system. to set up our modules at the upcoming 2010 con- vention. I have since talked to Mike Elmore, Chair- 1930s With the Great Depression gripping the man for the PSGRS convention, asking him if we nation, buses and trolley coaches began to replace would be missing out on the activities surrounding electric streetcars. Several interurban rail lines dis- the show. He said the display would only be open continued passenger service as ridership declines. during the times of the vendor show and they had The aging streetcar system began converting to rescheduled some of the events so there would not buses and trolleybuses. In time, Portland enjoyed be a timing issue for visiting layouts, etc. Clarify- an extensive network, particularly on the ing that if you happened to be visiting a railroad in east side. Bellingham you might be a little late getting back. He also mentioned that along with our invite sever- 1941--1949 Portland--area transit ridership al Modular SIG groups like the British Columbia, peaked at an all--timehigh during WorldWar II, due PSGRS Modular, and Live Steam had been invited in part to the limited availability of automobiles as well. Mike is waiting for responses to see how and Portland’s extensive transit infrastructure, but much additional space they were going to need and by 1950 the last city streetcars were retired. plans to have the modular plan wrapped up around 1950 The Council Crest, Willamette Heights, convention time this year. No need to call me, just and 23rd Avenue streetcar lines ceased operations be thinking about this invite and I will be sending as ridership drops sharply after the war. Two cars out an Email poll as to who and how many will par- were preserved by the Oregon Electric Railway ticipate. Historical Society and the City of Portland. As the Our SIG has had several planning meeting since the Portland region continued to grow, the new suburbs Great Train Expo in February to prepare us for the beyond the old transit network became increasing- upcoming 2010 Worlds Greatest Hobby traveling ly dependent on automobiles, and traffic conges- show (www.WGH.com). The WGH show will be tion soon became a concern. in Puyallup Washington this year November 21 &

7 22. Unlike the independent shows we usually par- ticipate in, the WGH managed and consists of sev- eral manufactures that make the products we run and use on our empires, I read in an online article one show had 40,000 visitors. So I felt it pertinent to contact the WGH again regard the schedule of their show so we could use that as a timeline for our preparedness. I received a response from Randy Bachmann stating that the will be no show in Port- land in 2010, and no reason was given.

There will be a construction meeting on July 18th June 29, 2009 -- 11:38 a.m. BNSF Railway at Gary’s shop, I will be sending out a club email for groundsman Shawn Semple watches the tracks scheduling and requesting volunteers. as he rides the Hydrogen Hybrid Engine, the na- tion’s first hydrogen--powered fuel cell locomo- tive, Monday at the BNSF shops in Topeka. Operations Special Interest Group The locomotive will be sent to Colorado for addi- From Nick Kelsey tional testing this summer, said Chris Roberts, BNSF vice president of engineering. Then, it will Sessions scheduled to date: be sent to California to test the viability of the Date Time Host Era/Type Power technology. BNSF Railway groundsman Shawn Semple watches the tracks as he rides the Hydrogen Hybrid Engine, the nation’s first hydrogen--pow- 6/12/09 3 pm Nick Kelsey 1900Steam battery/ ered fuel cell locomotive, Monday at the BNSF Narrow steam shops in Topeka. Gauge 6/26/09 4 pm Jan Zweerts Schedules & Timetables 6/10/09 4 pm Gary Lee ( we will set up for Gary’s Open House at the end of the session) Editor’s Note: The deadline for the August 2009 7/24/09 4 pm Nick Kelsey newsletter is July 25, 2009. 8/7/09 4 pm Nick Kelsey (we will set up for Make sure you check the calendar on our Website Nick’s Open House at the end of the session) at http://www.rcgrs.com/ for the most up--to--date 8/21/09 4 pm Jan Zweerts schedules and timetables. It is our Society’s policy to attempt to have an event New Locomotive Unveiled or open house on every second Saturday of the month. Other and additional dates during a month are also available and encouraged. Anyone inter- The BNSF Railway Co. and Vehicle Projects Inc. ested in having an Open House or sponsoring an rolled out the nation’s first hydrogen--powered fuel event, please contact Christina Britain. cell locomotive Monday morning at the railroad’s shops in the Oakland [Kansas] neighborhood. July 5 through July 11, 2009: National Garden Railroad Convention, Denver, CO. “The prototype switch locomotive has the potential July 11, 2009, Saturday, 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.: to reduce air pollution, is not dependent on oil for Open House General Membership Meeting. fuel, and could serve as a mobile backup power Gary and Jonette Lee, 34140 SE Hurlbert Rd source for military and civilian disaster--relief ef- Corbett, OR 97019, 503--695--2550; forts,” a news release from BNSF stated. [email protected], OR

8 Hosts will provide main dish. Members bring sal- 11:00 Arrive Junction City assembly point (McDo- ads, side dishes, snacks, desserts, and own adult nald’s parking lot, 355 W 10th) beverages. 11:30 Depart Junction City for Deadwood (no stragglers) Layout info for those who want to run their own 11:40 If you care --cell phone coverage ends about trains: Battery Power or live steam only, no track 10 minutes after we leave Junction City power. Minimum track radius 5 ft or 60 inches. Fn3 12:30 Arrive Deadwood Post Office parking lot 90% compatible. Hand--laid track, custom built 12:45 Arrive Meadows & Lake Kathleen Railroad structures 14:00 Train rides start (maybe sooner) Directions. Use MapQuest, Google, etc: Cross 16:00 Expect train rides to end (maybe later) bucks sign will be out. Call hosts if you need more This is a private railroad. Visits to it are by invita- information about location. tion only, no drop ins, and generally only on Sun- July 25, 2009, Saturday: days. However, for our group the owner has agreed What: RCGRS Picnic to host a Saturday visit. In addition to the railroad, Where: Meadows & Lake Kathleen Railroad (near there are some beautiful trails. The owner has also Deadwood Oregon) agreed to just about any sort of picture taking we would like to do from anywhere on the railroad. Betty and I visited the Meadows & Lake Kathleen There is no charge but they do have a donation box Railroad yesterday to scout out the location. It’s posted to help cover the cost of fuel for the engines, beautiful. The owner of the M&LK is very protec- the lawn mowers and the cost of having a porta-- tive of his privacy. He has asked that I provide di- potty. rections only to those who are actually coming to Email any questions or save them for the July Busi- the picnic and that we agree to not publish or other- ness meeting at Gary Lee’s. wise make these directions known to others. There- Tom Gaps, [email protected] fore, I am asking that you RSVP your intentions to attend the picnic only when you are 100% sure that August 9, 2009, Sunday, 1:00 to 6:00 p.m.: you can make it. I will Email a map about 10 days Annual auction and open house at the home of before the picnic. Snail mail to those who don’t get Nick and Sue Kelsey, 1369 SE 12th Loop; Canby, Email. OR 97013; 503--266--1110. NOTE: Mapquest and Google will show the house on the wrong side of Additionally, the owner has asked that we arrive as the loop. Look for the big green two--story house on a single group — no stragglers. To facilitate this, I the north side of the loop. propose that we assemble in Junction City and trav- Host will provide pop, water, iced tea, and coffee. el the 45 miles to Deadwood, via Hwy 36, as a cara- Food is pot--luck. There are seats for about 20 van. If anyone happens to be coming from the di- people; some guests may want to bring seats. rection of the coast, they can meet up with us at the Deadwood Post Office parking lot. Additionally, if About the RR: Can members run trains? Members you happen to be coming from a location in the are welcome to bring their own trains, no track western part of Eugene, it is faster to follow Hwy power available. 126 West to Mapleton and then east on Hwy 36 to What is minimum track radius? 3--ft Radius or 6 ft Deadwood. For those that feel directionally chal- Diameter. There are some R1 turnouts in one yard, lenged and would like to travel the entire distance but can be avoided by most trains, used for switch- in a caravan, you can meet up with Betty and me at ing. the I5 Wilsonville Rest Stop, just south of the I5 What is power supply? Battery or Live Steam. Willamette River crossing. (Steam up track available) Host uses RC on Airwire I propose the following schedule: Freq 0, Aristocraft Train Engineer Revolution Freq 09:30 Depart the Wilsonville Rest Stop 21

9 Is layout FN3 compatible? Largest loco clearance Hosts will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, brauts, is Bachmann Connie. K27 will not fit. gardenburgers.Members bring salads, side dishes, snacks, desserts, and own beverages. Layout is raised, table fashion a la Richard Smith of Bandon, but not anywhere near his level of mod- December 5, 2009, Saturday, 4:00 to 9:00 p.m.: eling. Track is mostly level in a dogbone shape at- Shannon and Millie Pratt are hosting a Christmas tached to two yards. Dogs and cat live here, beware train Open House/Potluck dinner. Other details to of doggie landmines. be announced. Shannon and Millie Pratt, 6677 SW Bancroft Way, Beaverton, OR 97225; Handicap Accessibility? Layout and rear yard are 503--292--9464; [email protected] handicap/wheelchair accessible. Access to house requires traversing two steps. Driveway will be re- December Friday Evening: Jan and Rae Zweerts served for handicap parking. Directions: Goggle or RCGRS Officers and Staff MapQuest directions. Call host if you need more specific details. President, Gary Lee 503--695--2550, [email protected] September 13, 2009, Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.: Vice President, Jeff Lange Open house at Doug and Marilyn Watson, 18081 360--696--0799, [email protected] SW Pacific Highway, Tigard, OR. 503--692--5032 Secretary, Barbara Clark The host are offering honey baked ham, buns and 360--737--0176, [email protected] lettuce and codiments. Iced tea, coffee, and water Treasurer, Steve Cogswell available. People are encouraged to bring their own 503--342--6128, [email protected] adult beverages. The house is easy to get to but hard Yardmaster, Dennis Peoples to see from the road. 503--997--7049, [email protected] Guest trains are welcome. Track power in blocked Annual Garden RR Tour Chair, Bill Derville sections. Steam and battery power are OK although 503--645--1771 [email protected] there is no raised staging area. There is a restriction Club Store Chair, Margaret Kooken of 8” above tracks. Track radius is 5--ft with 7--inch 360--695--0389, [email protected] spacing between tracks (centeline to centerline). Open House and Education Chair, Switches are manually operated. Christina Brittain 360--837--3711, [email protected] October 31, Saturday 3:00 p.m. until ghosts run Module SIG Chair, Dennis Peoples everyone off: Annual Ghost Train Event. Plan now 503--997--7049, [email protected] to decorate a car or locomotive (or train) with a Operations SIG Chair, Nick Kelsey ghoulish delight. Plan now to decorate a car or lo- 503--266--1110, [email protected] comotive (or train) with a ghoulish delight. Don’t Newsletter Editor, Allan R. Warrior forget to bring this scary train as we will be running 503--648--8112 [email protected] into the evening (after dark). The creepier the bet- Webmaster, Allan S. Warrior ter! Mike & Teri Greenwood,7007 N. Borthwick; [email protected] NE Portland, OR 97219; 503--255--9373, green- Immediate Past President: Darrel Dunham [email protected] 253--222--8367, [email protected]

10