3 year old guest NOAH checks out the 3410, a 50 HP 8 wheel drive diesel hydraulic with a mechanical air pump. It's the engine we use most of the time.
Noah oils the 1793 for it's next run. It is diesel fired and operates at 125 psi maximum steam pressure. It takes about 1 1/2 hours from the time we fire it until it's running under its own power, so we don't often run it.
Kristi, Sadie and Doug stand behind "Rockface", that I made out of concrete to greet guests on the way up our driveway. Sam in front, seems never to miss a photo op,
Greg sits in the picnicport that will comfortably seat 44 adults and protect them from Oregon's liquid sunshine!
The face of the old fairy who lives in the cherry tree was given to us by Dave and Barb and is near the fire pit.
November 1996.....We have about 250 feet of railroad track completed and I'm taking guests for a ride. Notice our work engine is still being tested and has yet to be completed and the trees were just planted.
December 1998....500 year flood...Creek was 150 wide in places and left a log jam on trestle #1. Water was within
6 inches of top of rail on bridge. Now a chain (in wintertime) hooked to a huge upstream deadman anchored to bedrock connects to the bridge and acts as winter insurance.
Bert Beecher at the throttle of 1793.Summer 1999.
Looking at Bert Beecher's eyes after a hard day running the steam engine will give you a clue at to the magic of railroading.
The "coaster" flat car we sometime let the kids push around, the side dump out of an old copper mine and Swivel dump.
Bert Beecher and Don Hunter (at throttle) prepare for a run to the end of the line and back. At 91, Don is the foremost senior operator to run the steam engine.
Austin MacDonald and Izzy Whetstine lead a group of friends into the outback.
I have been through the tunnel on my speeder several times at over 40 MPH. The chassis is now the base for our tandem bicycle and the 3 HP electric motor is powering the new 6 passenger electric streetcar I'm building.
The Garden Chair Railroad summer 2001. Notice Andi on the end of the flatcar in her wheelchair with her husband Bob Belk behind her.
Sam, myself and Gib with the 3410, a 50 HP diesel/hydraulic engine.
Train on bridge # 3. It's 17 feet from the creek to the top of rails making for a good "pucker factor" 5 ride.
The Rhody Cruzers and the Gear Heads join one day to make two of the five car clubs that made our place a destination point summer of 2005.
Winter 2006....The students at the "Center for Appropriate Transportation" (CAT) in Eugene built this 7 speed tandem bicycle speeder with a disc brake for the M&LK RR. The test pilots enter the tunnel at about 20 MPH.
June 2003.....I got this candid shot of "Sam" as the train came out of the tunnel.
There's just no "fool" like the Old FOOL! He gives out tricks just to give some kicks. If you're lucky, you might see him at the end of the line. Some of you might know him as IZZY.
Peter & Tim ham it up with "Squint" (celebrity guest Joe Dimmick) at our 2006 June campover.
Ian Wilhelm will have the steam engine running in no time.
Skip Baldwin sitting in the cab shell of the 3410 just after he completed the beautiful paint job on the sandblasted frame.
Early March 2006....A truck arrived from Los Angeles with 16,000 pounds of rail (134 rails, each weighing 120 pounds and 30 foot long). 26 people showed up on that cold morning to help me unload it. Unloading happened so fast we went to the shop and cut and drilled 440 ties and when these good folks left, we were almost ready for more track extension.
One winter day in February 2005, three ultralights flew in for hot coffee and a train ride.
Kathy and I with part of our family.
July 28th, 2007
Everyone insisted Kathy and I take the first ride together on the completed main line circle.
Fred Schad took this photo February 3rd, 2008 after we had 8 inches of snow. We had over 40 trees come down with over 15 on our driveway and road to the lake. Only 6 or 7 fell on the tracks but other than making work, no harm was done. Several people have suggested that our next project be a rotary snowplow.
We had bought the "Meadows" and actually had about 180 feet of rail laid there but were still living in Eugene when Skip finished our work engine. This photo was taken in our garden where I had about 100 feet of track laid.
1976.....Before I moved to Eugene I lived in Mount Shasta. I had about 800 foot of track with a good grade laid out (mostly on a neighbors land). Sticks against the wheels were the brakes and a pile of old tires at the end of the line stopped any runaways.
The following folks are just a few of the friends who have made contributions to our railroad.
Steve Mizera, a friend for 40 years, has taken many pictures of our property and railroad....Steve's retired and travels the Western United States in his RV taking photographs of nature. To see some of his other fine works click below:
panoramagraphs.com
Vern Rogers, a relative newcomer to the "Meadows" is an amateur photographer who focuses mainly on the Eugene, Oregon area but has included our railroad to his portfolio. To see his web site just click below:
Michael Wilhelm is a professional photographer who does lots of photography for the Oregonian as well as shooting critters all over the world and here at the "Meadows". To see his web site just click below:
Fotabug
Wilhelm