Steam Whistle Music Music Tracks Ahead Brought to you by: Rancho de Tia Rosa, three unique Mexican restaurants serving culinary delights since 1990.

Music Hi, I'm Spencer Christian.

On this episode of Tracks Ahead, we'll go into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to visit a museum dedicated to the Western Pacific Railroad.

We'll see a G gauge layout that is especially adapted to the harsh Arizona climate.

We'll check out a great European collection and layout, and visit a New England tourist destination which started life as a sled dog ranch.

From 1910 until 1982, the Western Pacific was one of the west's most popular railroads.

Today, the Western Pacific survives only as the small Feather River subdivision of Union Pacific's growing railroad empire.

But thanks to the fans of the WP's old glory days, the history of the grand railroad remains alive and very well.

Annc: The Western Pacific attracted fans from all over the world.

Its short but diverse route featured everything from urban industrial trackage in the thriving metropolis of the San Francisco Bay area, to the scenic splendors and sleepy mountain communities of California, Nevada, and Utah.

Preserved in pictures for sure, but brought back to life in Portola, California.

The Western Pacific railroad Museum is located at this former WP locomotive servicing facility only fifty miles from downtown Reno, Nevada.

It's a nearly forty acre site, right next to the Union Pacific's high-density Feather River Subdivision mainline, and it's in beautiful scenic country.

There's a 16,000 square foot diesel shop and two-and-a-half miles of trackage.

But the stars of the museum have to be the three dozen locomotives and eighty cars of all various types.

Rod: Some of the best pieces in our collection are the Western Pacific 805A, the only existing California Zephyr passenger unit.

The California Zephyr diner, the Silver Plate which is accurately displayed as it was when it was taken out of service in 1971.

We have the 165, which is a Western Pacific steam locomotive which is being restored to service.

Our oldest piece of equipment is a Western Pacific tank car, built in 1912.

Our newest piece of equipment is a Western Pacific caboose.

It was built in 1980 when the last caboose was built for the Western Pacific.

We have a restored WW2 troop sleeper that was used to haul troops back and forth across the country in World War Two and also the Korean War.

We have over 130 pieces of freight equipment on the property.

The majority of the boxcars we were lucky enough to save, just about every different kind of boxcar that was ever made for the Western Pacific.

We have a few prototype boxcars that were the first of their kind in the United States.

One of them that was made for the Western Pacific had compartmentalization, which meant that the freight was locked in each end of the car so that it was not damaged in transport.

We have one of the first roller bearing gondolas ever made, it was made specifically for the Western Pacific in coil steel service.

Annc: And if you want to see some real power up close, check out this impressive rotary snow plow.

Operator: I can turn it around, make it go the other way for you.

This controls the blade and make it go all over again Annc: Unlike many other museums, visitors here soon discover that this is a hands-on facility where they are encouraged to climb up in the cabs of locomotives, sit in the engineer's seats, and browse through the many cabooses and passenger cars that are on display.

And, it's one of the few places in the world where you can actually rent and operate a real diesel locomotive.

The tremendously popular program allows you to run the locomotive on the museum grounds, under the close supervision of your own private instructor.

Steve: The Rent-A-Locomotive program here at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum was started in the early 1990s by one of our former directors who has since passed away.

He thought it would be an interesting novel idea to allow people from the general public to run a locomotive around our property.

It was initially received with some skepticism by some of our former railroad employees here, but we did opt to try it and since we've been doing it for the last 18 to 20 years it's been a very popular program and a very good money maker for the railroad museum.

In this program people learn how to run a locomotive, basically.

They learn how the brakes and the power of the locomotive operate.

And they get a good feel for the size and the weight and the momentum a locomotive can generate.

The standard Rent-A-Locomotive session lasts for one hour.

We provide a qualified instructor that goes with the people on the locomotive, to show them how to run the locomotive and be there as a safety factor.

And people get to go around our balloon track here, which is a one mile long turning loop.

And they typically get to make about six passes on the turning loop during the course of a one-hour session.

Annc: Portola is a small mountain town nestled 4,500 feet up against towering evergreens and fresh mountain streams and lakes, and is certainly one of Northern California's most spectacular playgrounds.

The museum fits in so naturally in this California environment that it is not at all surprising the community of Portola each year celebrates its rich history as a railroad town.

The museum is the centerpiece attraction of the four day Portola Railroad Days Festival.

Donna: Railroad history is important to the region because it brought travel through the railroad instead of by stagecoach or by horseback up the canyon and over Donner Pass.

So it connected the East to the West coast.

The museum benefits the Town of Portola by bringing people in to the area from all over.

It's an attraction, a working museum where people can actually get on board and drive a locomotive and explore the other cars that are there.

They also come into Portola, they've never seen the place before, so they see businesses that are unique in this area.

Railroad days is really a community festival.

It started some 28 years ago.

Some of the people who started it, like Norm Holm, are still here and with us.

It's a celebration of the history of the railroad and the town of Portola.

It's a big party, really, and so we try to go all out and put out the red carpet for visitors.

And we try to bring in attractions that are railroad related.

If we bring in a train of 500 people, and they're eating in our restaurants and staying at our local lodging and that sort of thing.

Plus they're shopping locally, several thousand dollars, this is a big boost to the larger Portola Community area.

Annc: The Western Pacific Railroad Museum truly lives up to its slogan as "An Unforgettable Family Experience."

In addition to Railroad Days, you can check out area arts and crafts festivals and the Frank Lloyd Wright inspired Nakoma Golf Resort in nearby Clio.

Lets visit with a husband and wife who have built a wonderful garden railroad.

It's a family affair, that uses found objects from around Arizona to set the stage.

Annc: For first time visitors to Whiskey Flats, it's hard to decide what to look at first, but oh so easy to fall in love with this enchanting garden railroad, and it's conductor and engineer.

Kal: The conductor is Barbara Miller, and she is in charge of the plants, and the buildings and the people.

Barbara: The engineer is my husband Kal, and he is the one who designed the track, and he chose which engines and cars that he would want to use for this whole layout.

Annc: You may think that a layout this grand and detailed is the result of a life long effort, but you'd be wrong... Kal: It wasn't until my 50th birthday that our oldest daughter brought home a "G" gauge train starter set, and I didn't know that scale even existed, and I thought that this is something that I can put outdoors, and that kind of started it.

Annc: The bug had bitten Kal, and so as begins every layout, the design phase commenced.

Barbara: Kal has a Masters Degree in Engineering, so the first thing that he did is pull out his drafting board and tools, and started designing.

Kal: I played around and designed it for about 3 years before I actually started construction, and it took me about 5 years to actually do the first phase.

And so we are looking at about 19 years now to this point in time.

Annc: The construction of Whiskey Flats took lots of weekends throughout many years.

It also took lots of materials - all natural resources that Kal and Barbara found themselves.

Many of their excursions progressed from hiking to hauling.

Kal: The base of the railroad is up to approximately 150,000 pounds of crushed granite that the entire railroad is laid on.

The surface of the railroad is a crushed Yavapai coral which gives it the pinkish color.

We have everything in here from petrified wood to copper ore.

There are different types of sisque rock, and there are different types of other rocks throughout the railroad.

Barbara: My favorite things are the natural tunnels we found.

There were no carvings done.

The openings that you see through the tunnels are all naturally made.

Annc: For people who were not even into gardening or plants, that aspect has been a real exercise in trial and error.

Barbara: If you look at the "G" gauge train layouts in Southern California, there's all this lush greenery, but the up keep is very difficult, and particularly here in Arizona with the hot summer months.

So that is why we have been slowly turning it over more and more to desert.

Annc: Why fight it, right?

Barbara even put in the ultimate icon - a desert graveyard.

They have many wonderful, whimsical details, but Whiskey Flats is also home to some real Arizona history.

Barbara: These ore carts are original carts that were used in the mines in Superior Arizona.

The tracks that the ore cars are actually sitting on come from Senator Mine that has been abandoned, and we retrieved these rails, and then Kal got the ore carts to sit on them.

Annc: The ore carts look old because they are.

But Kal did have another reason for going with a 1950's and '60's desert look.

Kal: The sun out here is very intense and particularly in the summer time, it does age the items that are in the layout.

When they are put out they look brand new, and after a couple of years they look like they have been here for 15 years.

Annc: But they don't leave all of their things at the mercy of the elements.

Barbara: The carnival with the rides and the people do come in because they are small, and the rides actually work so we can't leave them out.

All of the engines and his rolling stock do come in.

Annc: Kal's trains are well taken care of, indeed.

80% of the trains that Kal has are LGB.

90% of those he feels he couldn't replace, even if he wanted to.

Kal: When I started the railroad in 1990, and designing it, LGB was about the only manufacturer available in this country for these products.

So I naturally started with that.

All of the track is LBG, the rolling stock is LGB, and I do use some USA equipment as well which does seem to be compatible.

Annc: Outdoor layouts tend to be a challenge when it comes to the electrical systems.

Kal: I found that a lot of people in the model railroading of "G" scale trains use quite a few electrical contacts around the perimeter along the length of the track for continuity.

By using quality electrical contacts between the sections of track, using a conductivity paste, and properly securing the track sections together, I have had no problems in 19 years with continuity from one end of the loop to the other.

Annc: Whiskey Flats is a unique garden railroad with a memorable name, but it wasn't named for the reason you think.

Barbara: I am sure many people think that it is named after the Jack Daniels whiskey, but it really is named after an Airedale that we had.

Whiskey used to run through this railroad, and it would drive Kal up the wall.

At one time we had a little fence up to protect it, but then he wouls just jump over the fence and still run through the train garden.

So the whole area is named for him.

Annc: A wonderful tribute to a wonderful pet.

The Whiskey Flats Railroad.

A wonderful pet indeed.

The dictionary defines " elegant " as something that's "tastefully fine or luxurious in style and design."

With that said, we'll head to Louisville, Kentucky to check out a layout that is historic, European, and absolutely "elegant."

Before we go, let's stop in the northeastern US.

You've heard of the Wolfman.

Most say that he is a mythical creature.

But the Wolfman comes to life in central New Hampshire.

Rachel: Now you see Wolfman's been chasing this train for years now, but we just recently found out why.

The Wolfman's actually a miner.

And he believes he's found a very rare and precious sort of ore right here at Clarks Trading Post.

It's called Unobtainium.

Now Wolfman is afraid that with all the people we haul past his mine each and every day of the summer, someday, someone is going to jump his claim.

Annc: Meet "The Wolfman."

He's a central attraction at the White Mountain Central Railroad.

The railroad is a part of Clarks Trading Post, in Lincoln, New Hampshire, a family destination since 1928.

Elise Back in 1928, Ed & Florence Clark settled here.

And they started Ed Clark's Eskimo Sled Dog Ranch.

They raced Eskimo sled dogs, they trained them, they breeded them.

And along the line they came with bears.

We have trained black bears, and with every year passing attractions grew and grew as a family attraction, summer tourist attraction.

Annc: Amusement is what the White Mountain Central is all about - and always has been.

This is not a refurbished rail line that used to serve industry.

It's only purpose has been fun.

Elise: And in 1958 the White Mountain Central Railroad started.

My father-in-law, Ed Clark, decided that he wanted to have a greener pasture for these iron horses.

So they were, all of them, getting ready to get scrapped.

He decided that we wanted to bring them here, restore them, operate them, run them, and basically that's how the railroad got started.

Annc: The line has an example of a rare type of logging locomotive, one of only a few still operating.

Retubed and restored, it's a gleaming example of early 20th century technology.

Leon: This type of engine is known as a Climax geared locomotive.

It was built in 1920 in Cory, Pennsylvania.

And it was bought new by the Beebe River Lumber Company down in here in Canton.

They used it for a number of years and then it came up here to Lincoln, on the east branch of the Lincoln Railroad, where they also used it for a number of years.

It went into retirement inside an open building, a semi open building, and we bought it in 1951.

It wasn't until 1976 that we retubed this engine, pins, bushings.

We went right through it mechanically.

And it started running again on the White Mountain Central Railroad.

We converted it from coal to wood.

And the main reason for that is that we don't have any coal mines up here.

But we have plenty of wood.

During the course of a day, a good engineer will burn between half and three quarters of a cord of wood.

Annc: Today the White Mountain Central railroad is the only railroad that runs an authentic steam engine through an authentic covered bridge... and it's certainly the only railroad that continues to anger a wolf man.

Leon: In 1973, we had our engineer, Dave Clark, and I was up in the woods more or less hauling wood down for the engine.

I had an old Model T snow machine to haul the wood out of the forest.

And on one of these train rides I saw all these kids looking.

And they were all interested in the old rig.

And I was pretty scruffy looking back then.

And so I just figured on the next trip, I'll just hide in the woods, and when the train comes out, I'll attack it.

I had an eye patch, which I put on, I was, as I said, scruffy.

And I chased the ain, much to the consternation of the engineer.

Dave Clark thought I'd gone over the edge, but after he saw the look on the people, and everybody asking questions, he thought, What a great idea.

Annc: Being The Wolfman isn't all about scaring people or defending this land.

Tim: Not everybody can do this job.

And I'm sure Wolfmen of the past would vouch for it.

You say that.

You have to have a degree of reading people, when to do what, and how to act.

And to do this, carrying on a tradition here.

You're making memories for thousands and thousands of people.

Every day you're making memories.

Annc: Clarks Trading Post offers more than just the train and the Wolfman.

There is a wealth of family entertainment.

Elise: This is a destination for many, many families in the New England area and actually all throughout the country.

We're a family business, we're on the fourth generation that is working with us.

Families come here for just wholesome family entertainment.

We have a variety of things for them to do on their summer vacation days.

Annc: So visitors will find Segway rides, bumper boats, climbing walls, trained bear shows and a Chinese Circus act.

But the theme that seems to over-ride it all is the steam train, and of course, The Wolfman.

Rachel: This ride would absolutely Not be the same without the Wolfman.

The Wolfman adds an extra pizzazz, I guess you'd say.

It really makes it fun for All, especially the kids, who are running out there, they get to scream at the Wolfman, it gives them something to do rather than just sit there and look at what's around them.

Music Annc: The Bluegrass of Kentucky is a long, long way from pre-war Germany.

But it is here where you will find an impressive tribute to the beauty, art, and skill of German model makers from the turn of the century...the nineteenth century.

In the more than thirty years he's been modeling trains, Paul Carlisle has probably put together nearly a dozen layouts.

But this has got to be the "Piece de Resistence" of his modeling career.

Or, should we say "die besten der besten"...the best of the best.

Paul didn't set out to collect German trains.

Paul: Originally I was looking at American trains.

I'd been accumulating them since the 70s.

And when looking for accessories to go with some of the American trains I ran across a couple of different pieces that I'd not recognized from Europe.

I liked the design of them, I liked the detail, I liked the size of them.

And as it turned out, I ended up mixing with the American and the next thing I knew the European trains had taken over.

Annc: Many of these pieces are nearly a century old.

Paul: The trains themselves run from in anywhere from the time frame of 1895 through about 1935.

What I liked about it was the detail.

They had a lot of play ability to the toys.

If you go look inside them you'll see little benches and chairs.

If you take a look at some of the other stations we have here we've got restaurants, and more than just a building sitting by the side of a track.

These were designed to be actually ah toys that could be played with, that they could simulate the work of the railroads that were running through Germany and through Europe at that time.

You have little ticket counters that actually will distribute the tickets, so they can actually simulate a train ride from city to city.

And actually issue the tickets and play conductor, play engineer.

I like it because not only does it give you the colors, but the emboss gives you the feel of the brick, the rooflines look like rooflines from the German periods.

You've got some naivety in the overall sizing of some of this, some of these buildings.

If you tried to work, tried to work a scale you'd have some of the people be 8 feet tall.

Some of the buildings would be way out of proportion to the trains that they support.

But the overall effect is that it was an absolutely wonderful toy for the time.

The most notable piece would be the big central station that Marklin made in the mid 20s.

Which is known in the toy collecting world as the Leipzig Station.

It's a huge accessory and has a lot of playability.

It can be arranged a lot of different ways.

In addition to that we have the big Stuttgart station which was put out around 1930 which is nearly 4 feet in length.

It has a tall tower, a clock tower, and if you take a look at pictures of the railroad station in Stuttgart today, you can easily recognize it as a pretty realistic representation of that time period.

I have a bridge from Bing which is called the Tower Bridge which has several flags on top and the trains run through it.

I've got just a lot of different looks just as far as freight accessories go, two roundhouses, and having the luxury of having some space has allowed me to show a good representation of a freight yard as well as a town square.

Annc: This beautiful layout is rich and elegant, from the cherry wood top to the brass finials and fine decorative chains.

There are more than forty stations, cranes, bridges, and other structures.

The trains are all express, as they run from town to town.

Paul calls his layout the Intercontinental Express, or ICON for short.

Paul: ICON is basically an abbreviation for the Intercontinental Express.

They go from continent to continent which of course real railroads won't do but the express takes them from city to city which is traditional in the European railroading.

If you abbreviate it down to ICON it also has a secondary meaning which if you take a look at the manufacturers involved here during that time period, Marklin, Bing, Carette, these were the icons of the time period.

Annc: Paul collects what he likes.

Paul: I like the feel of the period, I like the overall look of the trains, some of the pieces, you'll see some rust, some of the people you'll see some faded paint, others are going to be brightly painted.

And I'm not really concerned about all that.

It's the overall effect that really excites me and watching the trains go by and seeing the glow of the lights and the rattle of the trains, it is an overall fun experience for me.

Annc: It might look like this layout is done, but as any modeler knows, it's never really complete.

It kind of depends on what Paul might find next.

Paul: Like any collector, the collection will never be finished.

It'll keep evolving as long as keep collecting and that's part of the fun of it too because it never really gets stale at that point.

And it never gets stale for anyone who loves trains and collecting.

That's all for this episode.

Please join us for the next, Tracks Ahead.

Tracks Ahead Brought to you by Rancho de Tia Rosa, three unique Mexican restaurants serving culinary delights since 1990.

Walthers, manufacturer and supplier of model railroading products; serving the hobby since 1932.

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