Columbia Gorge
Model Railroad Club
History
Organized in October 1947, the club's first layout was located in the basement
of a store building (now the site of an assisted care facility) within
sight of our present location. That layout was short-lived, as the club
lost its lease and was forced to find new quarters. The members pledged
this would not happen again and set about finding a location to purchase.
A vacant lot on North Montana Avenue was purchased and the members constructed
a 30 foot by 80 foot building with their own sweat and skill. The building
was completed in 1948 and was to be our home for 34 years. In 1982 the
building and property were sold to the Kaiser Foundation.
Current Layout
We contracted the construction of our present building and proudly took
possession on January 1, 1983. Then began the long process of getting the
building ready for the new layout; designing it, and, finally, starting
construction. The layout is located in a 58 foot by 70 foot room (nearly
2 1/2 times larger than our old layout room) and is designed to represent
the rail lines between Portland and Wishram, Washington plus the rail line
up the Deschutes River to Bend, Oregon. Points of interest that have been
specifically modeled on this new layout includes Portland's Union Station
and the Steele Bridge, Multnomah Falls, Crown Point, Portland's Trolley
Lines, The Deschutes River Canyon, Wishram's Railroad Yard, and many interesting
points between. The track
plan (25k GIF) represents mainline railroading in the Columbia Gorge
and consists of three separate divisions:
-
The Mainline between Portland and Wishram is modeled as a heavy tonnage
modern double track railroad with light water level grades.
-
The Oregon
Trunk Line (32k GIF) between Wishram and Bend represents a heavy traffic
single track branch line with moderate grades.
-
The Logging
Division (20k GIF) which is the home of steam engines. Geared engines
crawl up steep grades and negotiate sharp curves to get the logs out of
the mountains.
We have made a great deal of progress since taking over our current building,
with its layout room empty to the bare walls. We have been involved with
heavy and detailed construction of this new layout for over ten years before
reaching the stage where most of our effort is applied to finer detailing,
maintenance and modification. However, a model railroad is never really
complete and we will always be improving or changing some part of the layout.
The club is a nonprofit Oregon corporation which exists for the enjoyment
of its members and the education and entertainment of the public through
our annual show and other functions.
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Last update: 11Nov00
