Touring the Greeley Freight Station Museum Part 1

The tour of the Oregon California and Eastern of David Trussell begins with the Rio Grande Zephyr leaving Chiloquin staging and heads to Klamath Falls. The lead F-unit is number 5771. Klamath Falls sits above the two tunnels. This town used to be one of the largest log producing areas in America. The zephyr continues past the engine facility and then passes through the Sixth Street Tunnel with the Crater Lake Brewery in the foreground. That section of yard is often occupied by three full trains interchanging traffic.

The OC&E headquarters building is located in the massive Klamath Falls Yard. Continuing through the yard, the Klamath Falls glassworks come into view. Lumber continues to be big business in Oregon and the lumber drying racks can be seen. The area called East Klamath Falls Switch features a large log unloader. Number 5771 leads the passenger train by Klamath Falls Union High. Next is a gorgeous scene at the base of Bly Mountain along the Williamson River. Coming out of Tunnel Four, the line then goes through Tunnel Five.

A lower helper pocket is where the Zephyr enters Tunnel Seven. The F-7s stand at the ready for their next job. This whole area was built with a series of switchbacks because of the difficulty in breaching Bly Mountain. Then in 1964, all of these loop tunnels were blasted out. East Sprague river is the start of a huge passing. This passing siding is shown in purple on the upper deck while East Sprague River is the opposite end of the siding. This curve continues up to 2.2% grade around Bly Mountain. High Bridge is perhaps the most scenic spot on the railroad. The tour continues in part two of this series.

Watch more from Allen Keller’s Great Model Railroad series.