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43 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 2, 2004 Mike Miller examines the Garden Railway exhibit at the Medford Railroad Park, where vandals tore up track sometime last week. Miller, a member of Southwest Oregon Large Scale Trains, spent 100 hours laying the track with his son Gary. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Railroad Park vandalism angers patrons By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Vandals tore up track and ruined switches and other materials in a popular outdoor children’s exhibit at the Medford Railroad Park sometime last week, causing an estimated $1,000 worth of damage. "This is where Thomas the Train, the kiddie-poo train, runs," said Irene Zajac, club president of Southwest Oregon Large Scale Trains. She said 3- to 7-year-olds come to the park to see the tank engine made famous in the children’s book series. "The kids come charging up, ‘Where’s Thomas? Where’s Thomas? Where’s Thomas?’" she said. "If we don’t run Thomas, they complain." A club member came to the park Saturday to do some work and found a large portion of the small Garden Railway destroyed. The Medford Railroad Park, on Berrydale Avenue off Table Rock Road, is open to the public every second and fourth Sunday, April through October. Advertisement Free rides on model steam engines are offered by the Southern Oregon Live Steamers at the 6½ -acre park, which also includes other trains and displays built by the Rogue Valley Model Railroad Club, the Morse Telegraph Club, the Southern Oregon Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and the SOLST Garden Railway. SOLST member Mike Miller, who laid the track with his teenage son, Gary, four years ago, said they donated weekends of labor to the project. "I was really sick to my stomach since I knew how many hours my son and I put into laying the track," he said. "I would figure that it took us about 100 hours." The park has seen little vandalism over the years, say members, aside from tools stolen. Medford police Lt. Mike Moran said the vandalism took place between Oct. 27 and 30. Police have no leads as yet. Moran said he visited the park frequently when he had young children. "I take it very personally," he said. Miller vows to repair the track by opening day in April. "On the first-run day, nobody will know anything was wrong with it," he said. To donate time, money or materials to the park, contact Zajac at [email protected] or call her at 779-3420. If you have information for the police about the crime, call the non-emergency crime number at 770-4783. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers