(whistle blowing) (theme music) Announcer: Support for Tracks Ahead is supported in part by Kalmbach Publishing Company and its on-line video magazine, Model Railroader Video Plus.

And by Walthers.

(theme music) Spencer: Hi, I'm Spencer Christian.

On this episode of tracks ahead, we'll revisit the 'old Patagonian express' which still chugs along the base of the Andes mountains in Argentina... plus meet a man whose layout ideas come directly from his own railroad history... and relive the life of one of the most well-known rail photographers of our times...

But first, let's step back in time as we take a rail journey along the scenic Oregon coast.

Let's get started.

(music) Narrator: Completed in 1912, the Tillamook branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad hauled timber and tourists from the Portland, Oregon area to and from the coast.

The line had several owners, and continued operation up into the 1950's.

In 2007 a tropical storm caused extensive damage and the line was closed.

That wasn't the end of the line.

Local businessman Scott Wickert had a vision while working at the Mt.

Rainier Scenic Railroad.

He would preserve the history of Pacific Northwest railroading.

Scott Wickert: We saw how much fun it was up in Washington State operating steam trains and we had some different ideas on how we could do things better and we wanted to give it a shot.

Narrator: In 2000, Scott acquired the Curtis Lumber Company Number 2 and brought it to the Port of Tillamook, Oregon.

Scott Wickert: The Heisler was owned by Jack Anderson who I worked for at Mt Rainier Scenic Railroad.

And we had a chance to acquire it from him.

And we moved it from its location which was Astor, Washington, up to Mt.

Rainier Scenic.

And we restored it in our spare time up there.

And it took us about a year to do the boiler work on it.

Narrator: Today the Oregon Coast uses a rod type locomotive.

Tim Thompson: We have our steam locomotive, the McCloud 25.

That is a 2-6-2, built for the McCloud River Railroad, McCloud, California in 1925 and served for them for almost 87 years.

They used it in log service and occasional excursion service.

In addition to historic locomotives, the railroad also has a preserved fleet of rolling stock.

Tim Thompson: We have our regular excursion cars.

They're open cars and people generally like to sit on those on nice days.

We also have a 1924 Southern Pacific Pullman commuter coach.

It was used by them in commuter service between San Francisco and San Jose.

We brought that up here in 2008 and it was restored over a three year period by our dedicated volunteers.

We also have the newest piece of rolling stock, and that's a 1963 caboose built for the Rock Island.

That's our portable ticket office so that goes with the train.

We also have a baggage car, converted baggage car.

It started life as a heavyweight and is a smooth sided, smooth sided streamline car.

Narrator: While steam brings in the tourists, the Oregon Coast hasn't forgotten diesel power.

Tim Thompson: We also have our General Motors EMD F7.

And that was built in 1953 for the Great Northern Railroad, The Empire Builder.

And spent some time under Burlington Northern as well as Puget Sound and Pacific.

The GP9 was built for the Chesapeak and Ohio and worked for them for a number of years.

Was bought by the Port of Tillamook Bay in 1990 for their railroad out here.

And we acquired it just a few years ago and we generally use it on our dinner trains.

The RDCs started out working for the Susquehanna.

Then they were acquired by the Port of Tillamook Bay in the early 90s and used for their excursion service out here.

And we use them courtesy of the port.

Narrator: But it is the experience that most people come here to see Tim Thompson: Basically the majority of our excursion trains operate between Garbaldi and Rockaway Beach.

Basically we offer a variety of environments to see as we go along the coast.

We start on Tillamook Bay.

You can look across the bay and look over at Bay Ocean spit.

We go along a lake, called Smith Lake and we come into Rockaway, which is basically you're parallel with the ocean, you get a nice view of the ocean and some other small lakes along the way.

It's an authentic historical railroad experience as people would have experienced back in the day.

Our passenger coach is very similar to what it would have appeared as built.

Our steam locomotives, we try to keep them as close to as built as possible.

And generally we like to give people the historical holiday experience that's associated with this railroad that people enjoyed at the turn of the century.

Last year we had 13,000 riders, this year we have 18,000.

Our ridership continues to improve year by year.

Narrator: And what does the future hold for the Oregon Coast Railroad?

Tim Thompson: We would eventually like to expand service south to Tillamook and also be able to offer more excursions on the northern half of our line above Wheeler.

We lease trackage from the Port of Tillamook Bay.

We've done a lot of work to clear back the brush and ah, that's been encroaching on the right of way.

Narrator: Scott Wickert did indeed have a vision.

And in fulfilling his dream, he has made it possible for people of all ages to experience the history of railroading.

Spencer: The trip offers riders not only gorgeous views of the coast and forests, it also offers a glimpse back in time.

Coming up, we visit a museum that is dedicated to one of the premier railroad photographers of the 20th century.

But first, let's meet a man who is not only a model railroader, but whose background is grounded in the real thing.

Narrator: For fifteen years, fourteen as an engineer, David Downton worked for CSX, mostly operating hot intermodal trains between Willard, Ohio and Chicago.

David is retired now, but his passion for all things railroading is still going strong.

David: I worked out of CSX's terminal in Willard, Ohio.

And that's an old B&O crew change point.

And what we would do is we would pick up trains that were coming in on a line from Buffalo or coming in from the Baltimore area and then take them on to one of several yards in Chicago that specifically handled intermodal traffic.

Narrator: David always liked railroad signaling equipment.

And while working for CSX, he had a remarkable opportunity.

David: I'd started out collecting real railroad equipment back in the early 90s.

And then when I hired on the railroad in 1997, they were removing what was that Baltimore & Ohio system signal system called color position lights and putting in new signals on the way to Chicago.

So I secured permission from the company after 13 months to get some of this old equipment, and ah working through the police office, the CSX police officer in Willard I was able to go out and pick up the material.

Narrator: Some of the equipment was very old, and required a bit of T-L-C. David: A lot of it needed to be completely reconditioned because it was the end of its working life.

But I was fortunate enough to get it with all the electronics and even some of the wiring that went with it and put it back together again.

The oldest thing that I have, really, is a position light signal, a Pennsylvania Railroad style position light signal.

And in that case it has 1916, 1917, on it.

So that's probably one of the rarer pieces.

And it has its dwarf, which is a small signal used to get out of sidings in yards.

In fact most of the things that I have, have both signal configurations, a mast signal and a dwarf..

So it's possibly the rarest.

Narrator: David was also interested in trains from his childhood, and like most men growing up in the 1950's had a Lionel.

He kept his trains, and once he got married, the encouragement for a layout came from an unusual source.

David: The layout started when my wife and I were married, I ended up getting the trains that I had been given as a child.

My father bought it when I was about three.

That tells you who was really playing with the train for a while.

And so we ended up picking it up.

And my wife saw this little Lionel with 16 pieces of rusted track.

And she said you should get some more track for this.

And when we ended up getting more track she said it looks lonely.

You should buy another train.

Well, it isn't lonely any more out there.

One of the reasons we purchased the house was because of all the space down here, it's a ranch and has a large basement.

The basement is approximately 60 feet long.

The layout is about 52 feet long.

At its widest point its about 22 feet wide but it narrows back and forth depending on the space that's available.

The form itself is an inverted question mark.

It was a progress in works for about 7 years.

And has 1100 pounds of plaster in it, about 13,000 trees, and several miles of wire.

Narrator: Dave has a very special area from which to watch his trains run.

David: I wanted a place where I could sit and run the trains and also duplicate what a real railroad station or control point, either a tower or a small control point looked like in the 50s.

And so this room sort of recreates that with the telegraph keys, the old scissored phone, the speakers, and even the kerosene lamps as an auxiliary in case the power went out.

I can look out the window and see that tunnel behind me and I see the trains going down through the valley.

And that sort of emulates what I saw down in that home area.

Narrator: You would figure that Dave would try to incorporate his signals into the layout.

David: General Railway Signal, when they put their transformers out for the B&O signals in Chicago, they had 300 watt transformers and a tap on there that was approximately 15 volts.

And so that is what I have wired in my system.

So I have seven General Railway Signal that run the power for the layout, and then a number of additional transformers around the edges that run the real signals or other lighting.

Narrator: Dave's wife Dorothy also has a role in the railroad.

Dorothy: When I first saw this basement, Dave took me aside and said this would be ideal for my train layout.

Would you mind if I used this basement for my train layout.

And I said No, you do whatever you wish as long as I don't have to clean it or dust it.

And that has worked to this day.

do neither, clean or dust.

And he takes care of the whole basement which is fine with me.

Narrator: Our thanks to David and Dorothy Downtown, for sharing their passion of both real and model railroading.

(music) Narrator: Considered by many to be one of the premier railroad photographers of the 20th century, O Winston Link specialized in night time photography.

He is best known for his photographs and sound recordings which chronicled the last days of steam on the Norfolk and Western Railroad.

O Winston Link died in 2001.

But his photographic legacy lives on at the O Winston Link Museum, in Roanoke, Virginia.

The museum knew that Link's photographs were about more than trains.

They told the story of life in the 1950's in the hills and hollows of coal mining country.

Michael McNeil: When the museum was originally constructed, the originating curators decided to separate the museum in two main ways.

The first way being by division of railroad, for the Norfolk & Western Railway, and the second division of the museum where we talk about each individual portion of the railroad.

West Roanoke Gallery focuses on Winston's sound recordings as well as his formative work in the beginning of the Norfolk & Western Project.

Heritage Gallery is a recreation of the Vesuvius General Store.

Everything you see within the Heritage Gallery, as far as furnishings are concerned are original to the photograph hosted within that space.

And it really tries to pull an intense connection and show how much these people depended on the railroad for their daily lives.

Narrator: What did Winston feel were the essential elements to feature in his photos?

Ellen Arnold: He wanted to show work that was being done on the railroad as the passengers slept.

And he wanted an employee of the N&W in each of his photographs.

He was interested in the people.

He talked to them.

He listened to them.

And ah, of course, he was from Brooklyn, New York.

So of course coming to this rural area of Virginia, he was fascinated by the way they talked.

And they were fascinated with him, you know.

O. Winston Link: Usually I try to get the local people in it.

And that's what I did.

And that's they the pictures are so interesting.

You've got good faces.

Beautiful faces.

There's no end to that kind of a supply.

So I always tried to work them in.

And make the trains sort of in the background where you sometimes don't hardly notice it so far away.

Narrator: Night photography had its challenges.

Michael McNeil: The technical challenges facing Link at the time of the Norfolk & Western Project really do revolve directly around the technology available to photographers at that time.

Every time you see an O. Winston Link photograph, 99% of any light source that you see is a mercury flashbulb.

You know each flashbulb has one use.

One shot and then you're done.

Narrator: Link's work wasn't limited to black & white material.

Radford Gallery focuses on his color photography.

Ellen Arnold: He said the train is black, the smoke is white.

The tracks are black, the night is black.

What do I need with color?

Then he went to the Abington Branch and discovered these beautiful gold trees, green grass, contrasting with the corn shucks.

And he said I have to have color.

Narrator: Winston also made sound recordings of the trains that he photographed.

Ellen Arnold recalls one from Christmas Eve.

Ellen Arnold: The sequence of about ten minutes on one of his recordings was when you could hear the chimes from the church playing Christmas carols.

And you begin to hear the train whistle way back.

And then the sound overpowers the church chimes.

Narrator: Winston had a list of favorite photographs.

Ellen Arnold: He had a Top 40, of the drive-in for instance, the gas pump were favorite ones not only of his, but of people as well.

And the station at Green Cove was a very popular thing.

I think his favorite one was of the Luray Crossing.

With the watchman's tower, with the gates, then the train came chugging by.

And so he said, that picture has everything in it.

O. Winston Link: My favorite railroad was the Norfolk & Western.

Because of the terrain that it went through, the type of locomotives they had.

And management was so cooperative everywhere we went.

Everybody was helpful, from the president down to the track walkers.

No matter who I asked for help or assistance, they gave it willingly and without any problems.

I was never refused.

So that of course has become my favorite.

Although all railroads are my favorites, because I just love railroads.

But the Norfolk and Western was special.

And always will be.

Narrator: While the photos of O. Winston Link may appear to some to be just about railroads, they are much, much more.

Instead, they are a chronicle of history and a glimpse into a time gone by.

(music) Dave Baule: Hi, I'm Dave Baule- One of the best parts of my job as originating producer for tracks ahead was, well to be honest, the travel.

We have been to some amazing places- One of my absolute favorite journey's was to visit the la Trochita - quite a rare, narrow gauge train set along the base of the Andes mountains in Argentina.

This adventure took us through the vast expanses of Patagonia and all the way down to the Tierra del Fuego- literally the 'land's end'.

Enjoy.

(music) Narrator: Off in the distance, a lone narrow gauge steam engine is the only sign of life.

It's certainly not what most people envision when they think of Argentina.

But this is the Argentina of diesel and steam engines that chug through the vast expanses of Patagonia; The La Trochita , a truly rare narrow gauge train, and finally El Tren del Fin del Mundo or "train at the end of the world."

We start in the town of Bariloche, in the foothills of the Andes, and a gateway to the Patagonian Region.

Nestled between two lakes and surrounded by a national park, the scenic town is known for its skiing during the summer months of July and August.

Here we board the broad gauge Tren Patagonico , pulled by a diesel engine, for the 122-mile trip to Jacobacci.

We wind through rugged countryside and high desert.

The arid territory has few trees and even fewer people.

What you do see here are huge ranches that raise sheep, cattle and horses.

Pam: As you look out the window, there's absolutely nothing; it's just pure landscape.

And once in a while you'll see wild animals and once in a while you'll see sheep and cattle.

Narrator: Throughout the trip, the tour we're on offers frequent stops for photo ops.

Of particular interest are bridge crossings and the junction where the broad gauge joins the narrow gauge for the a few miles before our next stop - Jacobacci.

The small town of Jacobacci, named for an Italian engineer who helped build the line, is the northern terminal of the famous Esquel line.

Here we board La Trochita , our narrow gauge steam engine.

John: In the 1920s the government of Argentina embarked on very extensive program of building railways in the Patagonian region.

The idea was to literally build thousands of kilometers or miles of track throughout this desert region in the South and to link it together to the already existing private railways in the Pampa Region to the North.

In the early 20s, they delivered a very sizable number of locomotives and cars and huge amounts of rail.

And despite this rather elaborate plan they only built a very small part of it.

Narrator: This train, which was built to haul sheep and wool, now caters to the tourist trade.

And the people who find their way onto these coaches are often die-hard rail fans and photographers from all over the world.

Trevor: I'm from New Zealand and we're semi-retired.

doing our last flings of steam engine trains around the world.

Marie: It reminds me of the trains in France when we traveled when I was a child, this is what we had to put up with!

So I'm afraid a little bit that maybe Argentina will be able to keep this program.

We have got rid of all the steam locomotives in France.

We have only a few steam engines left, and they have become private.

Dave: It's something that kind of harkens back to kind of Nevada, at the turn of the 19th/20th century.

It's just like narrow gauge; It's the closest thing you can get to that.

It's wide open.

There's nothing there; it's just absolutely barren with this one little teeny train running through it.

It's wonderful.

It's the closest thing you'll ever get to being in the 19th century.

Narrator: Throughout the trip, the snow-peaked Andes are always glistening in the background.

Small towns are few and far between, but even the hearts of the most jaded rail travelers melt at the sight of local children smiling and waving as the train passes.

The staff and crew are among the most dedicated in the world.

Alfredo: I will never get tired of running steam!

For me, it's an honor; I'm very proud of being out there.

And as far as I can go, I will go in this life.

Narrator: Back at Bariloche, we take a short excursion aboard El Historico Tren for a 38-mile jaunt to Perito Moreno.

The engine and restored wooden cars, all built in 1912 in Scotland, are well maintained by a preservation society.

Unlike La Trochita , this train is appointed with luxurious details rivaling the Orient Express.

Railroad sounds Narrator: A major highlight of our trip is a side trip to the Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world.

Our next side trip includes Torres del Paines, a famous national park of valleys, glaciers and mountains.

With all this unspoiled beauty, one could almost envy the life of the guanacos and rheas that call this place home.

We have just one more memorable destination before we head home.

Just outside Ushuaia, the most southern city in the world, El Tren del Fin del Mundo - or train at the end of the world.

In this country of extremes, here's one more: this is the most southern railroad on the planet.

John: The RR was originally built as a prison Railway to haul prisoners to and from a detention area, to take them out probably to a logging operations where the prisoners were put to work.

And it was abandoned many years ago but with the sudden growth in the tourist traffic, and that tourist traffic depends heavily on the steamships, cruise ships, investors came to the area and rebuilt the railway.

And the railway is very very interesting because first of all the gauge is only 500 millimeters, which is about 20 inches.

So it's a true narrow gauge line.

But the thing that attracts a lot of people who don't go there simply for tourism is the fact that the railway has two very unusual locomotives.

Actually it has three steam locomotives, and two of those are Garrett type locomotives which are articulated locomotives of British design.

And the boiler is suspended between the forward, driving section and the rear driving section.

These are little tiny things.

They're 0-4-0 plus 0-4-0 Garretts.

And I must say that's a rarity.

I can only think of a couple of other examples in the world that I've seen in my years of traveling and looking at railways.

Whistle John: This is one of the most spectacular physical regions in the world.

You've got the Andes to the west, you've got the high desert to the east.

You got amazing wildlife.

You can see of course snow-capped peaks and then of course you have these railroads which bring us here in the first place.

Put them all together and you have one of the most wonderful places in the world to see and to photograph and to ride trains.

(music) Spencer: La Trochita is just one of the remote and truly astounding line's our crew has visited over the years.

Dave has elected each classic Trax story to really highlight the lengths that tracks ahead has gone for years to bring you train stories you just don't get anywhere else.

Well, that's all for this episode.

Please join us next time for more, Tracks Ahead.

Announcer: Tracks Ahead.

Brought to you by: Kalmbach Publishing Company and its on-line video magazine, Model Railroader Video Plus.

Walthers.

Manufacturer and supplier of model railroading products, serving the hobby since 1932.

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