Mountains and Trains

Our journey through the high desert region of central Oregon traveling south on Highway 97 took us past Redmond and Bend. We entered the Deschutes National Forest and decided to take a slight deviation on our route to Crescent Lake, Oregon. Crescent Lake is on the Deschutes National Forest in a naturally glaciated basin behind a moraine dam and lies just east of the summit of the Cascade Mountain Range in Northern Klamath County. It is located about 3 miles south of Hwy 58 via Deschutes National Forest Road 60 from Crescent Lake junction. We decided to stay at the Crescent Junction RV Park for two nights.The park is at 4,810 feet of elevation with the air temperature in the 50's.

Unfortunately, the road to Crescent Lake was closed by the US Forest Service due to a wildland fire near the lake. We opted to vist the nearby Odell Lake instead. This large lake is 3562 acres, 6 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide, and reaches a depth of 282 ft. The place was also known as Odell Lake Resort, and today is the site of Odell Lake Lodge. The historic lodge building was constructed in 1903. We stopped there for a light lunch which included their World Famous Marionberry Cobbler Ala Mode for just $8.95.

From Crescent Junction we drove south to Train Mountain Railroad Museum, the world's largest miniature hobbyist railroad, near Chiloquin, Oregon, in Klamath County which is in the south central region of Oregon. Train Mountain is approximately 26 miles north of Klamath Falls, Oregon. This was a Harvest Host destination and well worth the stop and visit.

The 2,205-acre property borders Highway 97 on the east side, Highway 62 (Crater Lake Highway) on the west side, and Highway 422 on the north. The track and facilities which are not obscured by trees are clearly visible on public satellite images.

The elevation at Train Mountain varies from 4,200 feet at South Meadow, 4,293 feet at Central Station, 4,406 feet at Ward Passing Track (the highest point accessible by train), to 4,780 feet at Steiger Butte, the highest point on the property. The Train Mountain 7 and 1⁄2 inch gauge miniature railway track consists of 37 miles of track, switches, turn tables and spurs. There are miniature towns and train yards throughout the property.

Train Mountain is a club and museum, not an amusement park, so it does not offer "rides." Volunteer members however, offer train rides "tours" which may vary from 30 minutes to eight hours in length. On the longer tours, the group will still not see all of the Train Mountain track. The club often provides 30-minute tours on a regular schedule weekdays from 10 AM to 3 PM during the summer (the gate opens at 9 AM) and 11 AM to 2 PM during the off season.

After our museum tour we met Mike, one of the members, who offered us a most extensive ride on his train, seen above. The website https://trainmtn.org/tmrr/index.shtml gives more information on this unique and fascinating place. If you're a model railroader or just enjoy trains in general, this is a must see.