By Zach Jones

Photo 1: An aerial view of Train Mountain’s main yard, back shop and Containerville storage area. Photo by Joe Lagerstrom

When you think of the large scale live steam hobby, there are a great many things which come to mind. You may envision the club which gives rides in a local park, a friend who has been building a detailed locomotive in their garage, or even think of Walt Disney and the live steam railroad in his backyard. 

But none of those prior experiences can quite prepare you for Train Mountain, the world’s longest miniature railroad. Train Mountain features over 32 miles of 7.5in gauge track which snakes its way through 2,200 acres of Oregonian forests and meadows. Every three years, Train Mountain hosts the Triennial — a week-long spectacular at the end of June that draws in live steam enthusiasts from all over the globe.

I traveled to this year’s triennial with a group of friends from the Orange County Model Engineers in Southern California. We brought several trains up with us and enjoyed all that this miniature railroader’s paradise had to offer over the course of the event. 

Photo 2: Declan Henry and Wendigo make their way around the turntable. Photo by Author

We traveled to Oregon with two steam locomotives and their respective cars. The first was Wendigo. Owned by Declan Henry, this blue 0-6-0 is built from castings of the Little Engines company. Wendigo was originally a wood burner, but it has been converted to propane due to Train Mountain’s strict propane-fuel only requirement. 

Photo 3: Mark Johnson stands alongside The Hiawatha at a steaming bay. Photo by Author

The second steam locomotive was The Hiawatha. Mark Johnson recently acquired this 4-6-2 and its matching coaches from another member of the Orange County club. The locomotive sat for 9 years before being purchased by Mark, and he labored away on the engine for months leading up to the Triennial to make it ready. The engine made its first test runs at Train Mountain following this work period, and Mark’s continual refinement of the locomotive throughout the week was a source of interest for many during the event. 

Photo 4: A Union Pacific Challenger passes by an Amtrak painted Little Mack switcher. Photo by Author

Seeing incredible locomotives and cars from across the country is one of the highlights of the event. In the steaming bays there were Shays, an SP Daylight, UP Challenger, and multiple D&RGW narrow gauge engines to name a few. Amongst the gas and electric locomotives there were E units, modern BNSF diesels, and many small 4-wheeled switchers. There were even human-powered rail bikes riding across the railroad. 

Photo 5: The Train Mountain property map. Courtesy of Train Mountain 

Train Mountain consists of several different organizations. The first is the Friends of Train Mountain (FTM), a 501c7 non-profit which supports the building of infrastructure on the property. FTM also leases scenic and access rights for the track. Next is the Train Mountain Institute (TMI). The Institute is the 501c3 non-profit which owns Train Mountain and its assets. Next is Train Mountain Railroad (TMRR). This group is a member benefit organization and its members provide the volunteer labor which supports Train Mountain. TMRR also provides the meets for its members. Also on the Train Mountain property is the Klamath and Western, which provides rides to the public around a 1.4 mile loop of track on the east side of the property. The K&W predates the rest of the Train Mountain and was later sold by its private owner to Train Mountain. The final element of Train Mountain is the Train Mountain Railroad Museum, containing the many full size pieces of equipment that are on display throughout the property. 

Photo 6: Train Mountain’s Central Station. Photo by Author

The focal point of activity on the property is Central Station. The two story structure contains offices, kitchen, library, and the Hall of Flags. Safety briefings, which are mandatory in order to run a train during the event, are all held in the Hall. On the southern side of the station is the turntable. With over 20 steaming bays, it is one of the two hubs of steam activity on the property. This was where our steam locomotives were parked, as the steaming bays around the turntable are shared between live steamers. Each bay has three stub sidings where a train is parked alongside a few neighbors. Once a locomotive is ready to be fired up, it is rolled forward onto a steaming bay. The steaming bays contain the compressed air and water hookups needed to fire up a locomotive, in addition to providing a raised platform to work on them. 

Photo 7: The Hiawatha poses with a Southern Pacific Daylight in Crisp Yard. Photo by Author.

Photo 8: Train Mountain’s backshop features an overhead crane to assist in lifting locomotives. Photo by Author.

The other hub of steam is Crisp Yard. Located on the northern side of Central Station, its steaming bays have long lead tracks which allow consists to remain coupled up behind their locomotive. Gasoline and electric locomotives are parked in the yards that surround the Backshop building (pictured in the cover photo). This expansive yard area with its complicated network of trackage is one of the defining images of Train Mountain. The backshop within the yard is an essential stop for any visitor. The shop section of the building contains three raised tracks, which run the length of the building. The impressive facility contains enough tooling and supplies to make most running repairs on a piece of equipment. It also contains an overhead crane and an axle loading scale which help with some of the more specialized work. 

To the northeast of Central Station is the dispatch tower. During daylight hours dispatchers at Central Station Tower and Grand Junction Tower handle the routing of trains in and around Central Station through a CTC system. In the evening hours, traffic is handled by engineers using push button control boxes located at the main junction points. 

Photo 9: Train Mountain’s full size Baldwin DS4-4-750 locomotive. Photo by Author.

As for full-size trains, visitors can climb in any piece of equipment which has stairs that reach the ground. A Southern Pacific rotary, Baldwin diesel locomotive and Jordan Spreader are all interesting pieces in the collection. There are also over 30 cabooses to see on the route from Central Station to the far end of the line at Hope Circle. 

Photo 10: Union Pacific E units charge up the grade back towards Central Station. Photo by Author.

The run to Hope Circle from Central Station is a daunting 10 mile roundtrip that can take up to 3 hours. Water, food and sunscreen are a must for the long journey. The maximum grades can extend above 3% and are a test for both engineer and machine. Central Station sits on top of a hill, and after leaving the station an engineer can choose the route to take down to the rest of the railroad. The Train Mountain property is split into the North and South sides. The southern side contains Central Station and all the campgrounds, while Hope Circle and the miles of straight running are on the North. The two sides are divided by a double tracked tunnel that runs under a state highway, certainly a rarity in the live steam hobby. 

Photo 11: Wooden buildings line the streets in Lillyville. Photo by Author.

Depending on a train’s routing, it can either pass by all the campsites and miniature villages or take a steeper and more direct route to the double tracked tunnel. Lillyville is my personal favorite of the miniature towns, located in the South Meadow with streets featuring numerous handmade wooden structures. Many of the structures feature detailed interiors. Another area of note is G-ville, which is a G scale railroad located in the South Meadow section of the property. A CSX diesel was operating during our visit to G-ville, and it was fun to follow it around the expansive layout as it ducked in and out of tunnels and over trestles. 

After passing the many miniature towns and buildings the trains set their sights on the tunnel under the highway. Locomotives emerge from the tunnel and into the shadow of Caboose Ridge. The full size cabooses atop the ridge gazed down on us for the next few miles of the journey to Hope Circle. As the tunnel faded out of sight, the miles began to roll away. Trains twist and turn their way through the pine trees while skirting along the property line which separates Train Mountain from its neighbors. Some of these neighbors have their own private railroads which interchange with Train Mountain, although these were closed to general train traffic during the meet. As the trip continued, so did the uphill grades, and the locomotives would dig in to keep their pace. The scenery on the north side of the property is spectacular. Chipmunks dart their way around the trains as they roll along, and birds glide through the small Aspen grove the tracks pass through. 

Photo 12: Aaron McCain tests the pulling power of his Amtrak switcher. Photo by Author.

There are multiple sidings and small yards to stop at during a journey. One such track between M&M Siding and Farmersville Circle features a load test gauge where people could test the strength of their locomotives. Another area just beyond the load test gauge had a yard sale where engineers could stop for some mid-trip shopping. 

After the water stop at Farmersville Circle, the steam locomotives continued on for the next water stop at Crane. During this section of the trip the forest gave way to open meadows. This area wasn’t always this open; the 2-4-2 fire in 2020 swept through the property and claimed many acres of forest, but a dedicated Train Mountain crew worked afterwards to repair the trackage that was damaged by the fire or removed to assist in fire fighting. 

Photo 13: Declan Henry and Eber West pause for water at Crane Siding. Photo by Author

Crane was the last stop before Hope Circle. The story goes that during the 2-4-2 fire, it was spared from destruction by a fire fighting aircraft crew who mistook its miniature buildings for full size ones. Crane’s D&RGW patterned buildings are a nice compliment to the narrow gauge trains which visit during the meet, and its sidings provide a nice place for steam engines to pull out of the way of diesel engines which may have closed up behind. 

Photo 14: The shade structure at Hope Circle. Photo by Author.

Now came the final push to Hope Circle. The locomotives continue battling the uphill climb as a structure slowly comes into view. It was Hope. The structure grew larger and larger until finally we arrived. Here we parked the train in the yard and looked back at how far the train had travelled. Visitors here can rest in before beginning the long trip back to Central Station. 

Photo 15: Looking into the distance at Hope Circle. Photo by Author

The Train Mountain Triennial is a spectacular experience, and it’s something every train enthusiast should aspire to travel to at least once. The scenery, the model engineering and the community is unparalleled. I hope you’ve been inspired to visit Train Mountain, and that you’ve begun penciling in the last week of June in 2028 for the next Train Mountain Triennial.