RCGRS 2017 Tour: The Blueberry Mountain Railroad

The penultimate stop on my Portland area garden railroad tour was the Blueberry Mountain Railroad in Beaverton. This is an example of where the garden came first and the railroad had to work within the available space between the existing large garden elements. As the railroad was built many more plants were added that were scale appropriate for the railroad, including both dwarf species as well as full size plants. And a fun element was the inclusion of blueberry bushes which is where the railroad gets its name.

In addition to the beautifully maintained plants, there are some truly amazing buildings which fit perfectly into the landscape. I was so distracted by the plants and scale buildings that I realized after the fact I had hardly taken any pictures of the trains!

At the lumber mill we see an open-air storage shed in the foreground for protecting the cut lumber before it's shipped out. In the background is the sawmill building, also open air.

Here's another view showing the sawmill and the workers pulling logs out of the world's smallest mill pond. Also notice the teepee burner in the background.

This was my favorite structure -- an ice house and reefer loading facility.

Another view showing ice blocks being loaded into the waiting reefer.

This was a very nice idea—a wood-sided reefer on a siding that had been converted to a house. It looks very inviting!

A small farm complete with windmill.

On a siding by an engine barn we see an Porter 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive pulling a steam donkey on a flatcar.

These two diesels, seen here passing at a siding, were the trains in operation when I was there.

One of my favorite trees was this beautiful Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Spiralis'. Also notice in the lower right the former flatcar being used as a footbridge.

The blueberry bushes may not be to scale but they fit right in. The plump blueberries are starting to ripen up.

A variety of colors and textures throughout the garden encourages the eyes to wander and explore.

With so many miniature trees around, it only makes sense to have a miniature fire lookout tower to keep watch over the forest.

Caroline, the gardener-in-chief, was so kind as to send me home with clippings from a few of the plants. I had a cup with some melted ice water in the car which I thought would keep them fresh until I could get them back home. 

Once I was back at Melody and Dave's in Beaverton, we dipped the bottom half-inch of each cutting in rooting powder and stuck them in some peat pellets. Not sure how successful it will be but hopefully at least a couple of these will take. I'll provide an update once I see which ones survive.