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http://www.omniture.com --> Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend May 2, 2006 By Paul Fattig Group seeks site for rail museum &byline2;Mail Tribune If you love the sight and sound of an old steam engine rumbling along a track and you own rural property, Jerry Hellinga would like to hear from you. Hellinga is the treasurer of the Southern Oregon Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, which hopes to establish a local "living" railroad museum and tourist short line. It's looking for a small tract of land for the museum and a right-of-way across property — public or private — for its rail bed. "We'd love to get a place with gentle grades and gentle transitions between grades for the rail," he said. "And we need at least three miles of right-of-way." A scenic vista with snow-capped Mount McLoughlin shimmering in the distance with a green ribbon of a stream meandering through the valley below would be ideal, but they aren't real picky, he observed. "As we lose our timber economy, tourism is becoming a more important factor," said the retired forester. "In a good site with good exposure and a little advertising, we can draw in 5,000 people a year. And that's running just weekends and holidays." The short line would be a boon to local businesses, he said, noting, "An old steam engine is a magnet." Formed in 1976, the group had hoped it could obtain a right-of-way on property beginning some two miles northeast of Butte Falls on an old rail bed that was used by the defunct Medford Corp. Medco to haul logs from its timberlands. The firm had a rail line from Butte Falls to the Medco Pond some 17 miles distant, as well as one from Butte Falls into Medford. "We wanted to get a three-mile stretch," he said. "It's really scenic — part of it runs along the north fork of Big Butte Creek." However, a timber firm which now owns a large chunk of the property balked, expressing concern about fire danger and increased traffic, he said. The group has eight other possible sites on its wish list, although Hellinga says none are as attractive as the one northeast of Butte Falls. "The key thing is we need at least three miles of right-of-way," he said. "We need that much to make a decent run with a steam train." The fixed cost of operating a steam engine is high, no matter the length of the run, he said, citing insurance, fuel and maintenance. "A steam locomotive the size of ours takes five hours to steam up from a cold start," he said. "You can't do it too fast or you'll damage the boiler." He was referring to old No. 4, the iron horse that once chugged along the tracks near Butte Falls. The locomotive was given to the city of Medford in 1959. The chapter formed in 1976 in response to the city's inquiries about how to get rid of the engine. It was given to the nonprofit group for restoration and moved to Medford's popular Railroad Park in 1986. The chapter has a $16,000 grant from the state lottery, as well as a $2,500 grant from the Southern Oregon Historical Society, to rebuild the boiler. "We've taken it completely apart," Hellinga said. The Baldwin Westinghouse Diesel Electric locomotive, which also hauled logs from Butte Falls for Medco, was built in 1952 in Pennsylvania. After a decade of service, it was sidelined when logging roads and trucks replaced the rail system. It was sold in 1968 to the Magma Railroad Co. in Superior, Ariz., and carried copper ore for 24 years. The historical railway chapter bought it in 1995 for $9,700. After more than 2,000 hours of volunteer labor, some $40,000 in grants and donations, plus another $30,000 in donated services and materials, chapter members had the diesel locomotive up and running. Now the railroad buffs, who continue to work on the old steam engine, are looking for a home for their iron horses. "If it's flat ground, it makes the rail construction much easier but it makes it more boring as far as the tourists are concerned," he said, reiterating, "we're hoping to find some land that has a scenic view." Hellinga can be reached at 944-2230, or write to: Southern Oregon Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, P.O. Box 622, Medford, OR 97501. Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy