RCGRS 2017 Tour: WWWI Railroad

The fourth stop on my RCGRS tour was the WWWI Railroad in Milwaukie. The site is very steep and quickly drops down to the Willamette. The solution for a garden train was to embrace the slope and build a line that gradually snaked down the hill, with rather steep grades at certain points. Another reminder that a garden train can be built anywhere, and any obstacle should be seen as a design challenge.

There are over a 1,000 feet in track in place, some of it at ground level, some elevated on platforms, and much of it built on trestles or bridges to work with the slope.

Looking down toward the river from the highest point on the layout.

A prominent feature is the beautiful double-tracked Bascule type drawbridge. It was up to allow visitors to move between the upper and lower parts of the layout.

Another view of the bridge looking the other direction. Here you can see one of the tracks heading toward the bridge is descending from the upper level.

After crossing the drawbridge, the double tracks head across a long Howe truss bridge. Rather than being supported by piers, the bridge is actually suspended from the deck beams above.

And at the far end of the Howe truss bridge, the tracks are inset into the composite deck boards. 

Mine shaft and ore processing mill.

Part of the lower layout, including a couple of GN grain hoppers waiting at a grain elevator.

Along part off an elevated section, a roundtable and engine barn.

It wasn't in operation when I saw it, but of course I enjoyed seeing this GN RDC.