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A Matter of Inspiration |
| Part way up the Columbia River Gorge, you come to the small Oregon city of Hood River. Tourists come here for the incredible scenery in a pleasant little city and windsurfing on the Columbia River. More than a few also come to ride a train. The Mt. Hood Railroad is headquartered in Hood River and offers various excursion runs up its 22 mile length. We took the late Sunday afternoon trip, enjoying nice, old heavyweight passenger cars pulled by a GP38-2. |
 Number 02, a recently acquired GP38-2, poses with a caboose and five heavyweights in front of tall fruit trees. |
| The train pushes backward out of town some three miles to a switchback, after which it heads southward into the hills which surround the Oregon side of the Columbia River. To reach our final destination of Parkdale, Oregon took about an hour and a half for an average of around 14 miles per hour. During that time, we climbed some 1,600 feet. We viewed snowcapped mountains, tumbling rivers, forested hillsides, and more than a few orchards. This is big-time apple and pear country, and it was August, time for the harvest. In most places, nature grew close by the track — so close you might reach out and touch it! Packing plants, lumber yards, country homes, dirt roads, ponds, close cuts, rock encrusted hillsides, and eye-catching drop-offs lined every inch of the track. As a model railroader, I was enchanted! There was so much to model, to study, and to appreciate. |
 The Inn At The Gorge has comfortable beds and serves a wonderful breakfast, but it hands the modeler a thousand landscaping ideas. |
| Mt. Hood Railroad hauls out lumber, refrigerated fruit and other products while hauling in such commodities as propane gas, agricultural supplies, and machinery. By the time my wife and I got to our B&B for the night, my head was filled with a thousand modeling ideas. We stayed at the Inn At The Gorge in Hood River, and ate breakfast on the side porch, but even that gave me more ideas. I have been in danger of having no new thoughts for my model railroading. Certainly, I am swayed by the endless parade of Class One examples, but I need a jolt of originality sometimes. All this points out how much we modelers need to get out and enjoy some railroad excursion. Not only is it fun to relax and let a nice breeze blow across you as the wheels clatter along the rail, but notions come to you. I know that tourist train rides are popular with the non-train folk, but for those of us in the hobby, it’s a matter of inspiration. |
John Sipple, Editor |
| To respond to this month's Editorial, send comments to: Editorial@modelrailroadnews.com |
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