2019 Rose City Garden Railway Society Tour

I was in Portland this past weekend and my visit happened to coincide with the annual Rose City Garden Railway Society (RCGRS) tour, so I took the opportunity to visit a couple new layouts that had not been on the tour in previous years. I also revisited one layout I had seen last year. There were 14 railroads that were on this year’s tour but I didn’t have time to see others on this trip. I wasn't too concerned as I’ll have a chance to see most of them again later this year as the RCGRS is hosting the 2019 National Garden Railway Convention in August. Below are a few pictures from the two new layouts I visited; I'll include pictures from the third railroad in a separate post.

Serrano Creek Line | Jim & Linda Louden | Vancouver, WA

This railroad in Vancouver is only a couple years old and already has over 500 feet of mainline track wrapping around three sides of the house in a continuous loop. It provides a huge canvas to work with and I’m sure there will be a lot of infill projects in the coming years. They were running multiple trains as the long loop track allowed plenty of distance between them.

My favorite feature of the railroad is the beautiful arched steel bridge crossing over a bubbling creek.

A lovely curved trestle greets the viewer upon entering the garden. Another reminder of a project I haven’t gotten to yet.

I always take pictures of how people manage portals through walls and fences. This nice swing-up gate in the fence easily accommodates a double track connecting the front and back yards.

The front yard features a couple more bridges crossing over a dry creek bed.

This is the 2019 convention car. I won’t get mine until August, but apparently they've already been delivered as this railroad sported three of them on a siding by a lumber mill under construction. I have a feeling this lumber mill will be complete before the convention.

This BN locomotive has its nose poking out of the train shed as it’s just a little too big to fit.

Pine Valley & Western RR | Frank & Alexis Barberis | Gresham, OR

This railroad began in 2008, starting with a small figure-eight wrapping around a couple of pine trees, and has gradually grown to over 500 feet of track, filling up most of the backyard. The railroad imagines what might have been an eastern Oregon short line affiliated with the Santa Fe in the mid-20th century. Two trains and an Eggliner were running when I visited. My favorite part of this railroad was the beautifully designed and perfectly sized storage shed. I want one.

An ATSF FA-1 is pulling a five-car passenger train, while an ATSF SD-45 is hauling freight on a track behind it.

Here’s a closer view of the SD-45. And in the upper left-hand corner you can also just make out the little Eggliner (also in Santa Fe colors, of course) running around the figure-eight track in the middle.

There is a classification yard along one side of the railroad.

They have built a beautiful storage shed in the style of a train station, with a bay window and everything. I wish I had one of these in my yard. It's absolutely perfect, down to the dark green trim.

The shed provides abundant shelves and storage space for plenty of trains.

I also really like this curved box girder bridge leading out from the shed to the layout.