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Riding on a Model Train |
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| August 13, 2006: Courtney and Dustin are visiting so while Gwen is working at the RV resort, the two Grandkids and I drive to Chiloquin, Oregon to the Klamath and Western Railroad. The KW is open to the public only on Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. |
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We arrived about 1 pm knowing that the trains stop running at 4pm today. |
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| We were surprised that the lines were not very long. We only had to watch two trains leave the station before we got to ride the third and longest train. These are 1.6 gauge trains where the trucks are 7.5" wide. |
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| Another surprise was that everything is free (donations requested) and the rides were quite long. Three trains were running today and we were able to ride all three trains. Each ride took about 20 minutes. Each train would have an engineer driving the train plus a conductor at the end of the train. The longer train had two conductors because the engineer can't hear the whistle of the conductor in the last car. |
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The track went through a variety of terrain, bridges, tunnels, curves, climbing and descending gentle grades, train whistles and sounds. While we were riding the long train, one of the freight cars derailed but was quickly replaced (below left photo). |
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Courtney and Dustin rode in different locations on each of the three trains. Courtney even chose to ride just behind the engineer on our last ride. |
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We learned that many members of the K&W own their own train or locomotive. Many are also members of Train Mountain, a private train club. Membership is easy with a simple application and fee required. The public rides free at K & W on a small portion of the Train Mountain track. The total amount of track equals more than 25 miles. |
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| I learned from one of the conductors that a train on the Train Mountain track can travel for 3 - 4 hours without crossing the same track twice. There are 2000 acres of track. This must be one of the best kept secrets in Oregon. |
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We were also told that this 7-1/2" gauge setup was the largest in the United States. |
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