HISTORY OF DEER CREEK RAILROAD

The Deer Creek Railroad just kind of evolved. I had no plan, no knowledge, and very little skill. (This means anyone can build one.)

It first started when I saw a “G” scale train running around a Christmas tree and I said to myself “I have to have one of these”. My first train was from Kalamazoo Toy Train Works. It was cute, but not terrific. Then, not wanting to have to take it down and put it away until the following Christmas, I decided I needed a permanent track.

Living in the foothills posed another problem. There wasn’t one square foot of flat ground. I designed a small track with half of it on the front patio and half on the ground with a trestle on the ground portion to make it relatively level.

Then I saw an LGB Mogul with steam and sound!!!! I said to myself “I have to have one of these”. Then I needed another track to run 2 trains. Another track was built on the inside of the original track to accommodate the extra train. It was okay, but not terrific.

In the meantime, I had joined a train club and saw some very nice garden train layouts and was a little disenchanted with mine.

A club member asked if anyone wanted a free waterfall and pond. I raised my hand. So that was the next project. My Grand Daughter was visiting me so I put her to work digging a ditch for the creek and pond. The water feature added a great deal to the beauty of the layout and in the spring we are greeted with the croaking of tiny little frogs.

While on a tour of the Rose City Garden Railway Society, I saw the most beautiful train – a Santa Fe F3 diesel. Once again I said to myself “I have to have one of these”. I guess you know what happened next. I needed another larger track.

One stumbling block was that there was a steep hill where the track should go, plus a pump house right in the middle of it. Alas, members of our train club (Rex and Carla Ploederer) were up to the challenge. Together we designed a series of retaining walls and a track plan that ran around the pump house and incorporated the pond, patio, and existing two loops of track.

I had my friend and talented painter (Anita Crousser) paint train murals on the side of the pump house which adds to the ambiance and whole scheme of the railroad theme. Then a neighbor/friend built a retaining wall and filled it with dirt all around the pump house and along the fence line making everything level.

The next big decision was to replace the entire old track with something that would be less maintenance and allowing the trains to run smoother. My friends Rex and Carla Ploederer recommended Gauge 1 Sunset Valley nickel silver. Hard working volunteers from the Pacific Crossings Model Railroad Club came out several times and laid ballast, bent track, connected it all together, and hooked it up to 3 separate power packs. I couldn’t have been more pleased. Everything ran perfectly.

I have purchased and built buildings, people, cars, etc., from various places. There are over 200 live miniature and dwarf plants that add to the realism. The 3 tracks (total of approximately 250 ft.) include a bridge over the creek, an 8-foot tunnel, and a 16’ trestle.

It is no particular era. If I liked something I bought it. My good friend Gregg says it’s “eclectic”.

At this point, I consider my garden railroad completed – until I see something else “I have to have”.

All this started over 20 years ago with a small circle around the Christmas tree. What was I thinking – or was I?