Train Mountain 2018 Triennial

Next year between Monday 25^th June and 1^st July 2018 the Train Mountain Triennial will be taking place. For those who may not know Train Mountain is a 7½” gauge track and is located near Chiloquin, Klamath County, Oregon, USA. It is recorded in the Guinness World Records (according to Wikipedia) as being the “Longest Miniature Hobby Railroad” in the world.

I’ve watched the online videos available on You Tube and have always fancied visiting when a triennial is taking place. The thing is Oregon is not exactly a main tourist destination so I would welcome any information from forum members who may have been there. Where to fly into, hiring a car, where to stay etc etc. With the £/$ exchange rate not being in our favour at the moment it may well prove to be a trip which my wife and I have to delay but with advancing years it might be now or never!

Chuffer

I've been waiting for my complimentary plane and hotel tickets, but they seem to be delayed...

Neil

Chuffer - if you don't mind a long drive, then Seattle or San Francisco are probably the most viable destinations from the UK with direct flights. If you don't want the long drive, then I'm sure you'll be able to find a regional flight from either airport which would get you much closer.

Neil - your tickets were washed away by hurricane Irma.

Edited By Gordon Tarling on 12/09/2017 11:48:38

Gordon,

Many thanks for the response. As we will want to make a holiday of going to the States driving from either of the two destinations is certainly food for thought. Now accommodation is another thing all together! We've visited both the USA and Canada in the past either visiting relatives or a package holiday so I've no great experience of booking accommodation from this side of the pond. Has any forum member got advice for a novice.

I understand that Train Mountain will have a forum for the 2018 Triennial but the link on their website doesn't work. I sent them an email advising them of this a couple of days ago but the link is still broken at present.

Neil,

If Hurricane Irma didn't get your tickets I expect Strom Aileen tonight will.

Chuffer

> If Hurricane Irma didn't get your tickets I expect Strom Aileen tonight will.

I've got my best red crab net poked out of the bedroom window to catch them as they fly by.

Neil

Chuffer - Not sure how long your drive would be, but be sure to break it up into manageable chunks. We've done quite a few US road trips and wifey usually books the B&B accommodation via Trip Advisor - find a nice looking place at a convenient location and then read its reviews carefully. Occasionally, we've stayed in motels, but usually only because we couldn't find a conveniently located B&B - we've stayed in some nice places and met some lovely people on our trips. Lastly, don't go speeding - the cops know where to hide!

Friends of mine live in Oregon and they usually fly to Seattle and get a flight from there to the UK. I think Seattle is a nicer airport than San Francisco! Depends what you want to see other than the railway.

Most people want to "do" san Francisco or maybe the Grand Canyon. Yosemite National Park, if you go SFX. Seattle down to Oregon has just stunning scenery. If you are not up to long drives (just put it on cruise control and that should be it!). If long drives are not your thing, then get a "local" flight from either to the nearest airport.

Andrew.

P.S. My friends are arriving in a few days, so I will ask them what they would do!

Gordon, Andrew,

This is exactly the type of information we are after. I've driven from Orlando to Key West and back in the early 1990's when the children were young. That was my first experience of an automatic and cruise control which not surprisingly is what I have now on my car.

I've had a reply from Train Mountain Admin who advise that the forum won't be operational until after 1st October. In the meantime I'll start searching flight costs - and prepare myself to be shocked!!

Andrew, it will be interesting to learn what your friends from Oregon would advise.

Chuffer

Hello Chuffer,

They have arrived in London after "doing" Ireland. They will be with me Wednesday or Thursday, so I will pass on your query. Best perhaps if I "introduce" them to you via email, that way you can pick their brains! My friend is a model aircraft enthusiast, so a modeller too in a different way!

Andrew.

Hello Chuffer,

They have arrived in London after "doing" Ireland. They will be with me Wednesday or Thursday, so I will pass on your query. Best perhaps if I "introduce" them to you via email, that way you can pick their brains! My friend is a model aircraft enthusiast, so a modeller too in a different way!

Andrew.

Hi Andrew

Many thanks for the idea of an introduction. If your friend is happy to email I would be pleased to hear from him.

I tried flying radio controlled aircraft many years ago but couldn't get my head around which way the stick should go when the plane was coming towards you!! I had a very patient friend who I used to go with and I built (and still have) an electric powered glider which I enjoyed flying as it was much more sedate. Unfortunately, he moved away so my flying days came to an end.

Chuffer

Hello Chuffer,

I had a quick talk to my friends and they are happy to have you contact them via email. There is an airport that handles regional flights, reasonably close to the railway. So you don't have to drive very far. I will let you know more details when they are on their way home on Wednesday. It is a bit hectic her as we are off to Old Warden for a weekend of model flying.

Regards,

Andrew.

Hi Andrew

Apologies for the delay in responding - been very busy over the last week and only just now catching up with emails.

I hope you and your friend had a good time at Old Warden. I would have liked to have gone to it but we had a social event of a dinner in our house with 22 friends celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary. Not many places to sit down with that number of people but we just about managed.

I went to the Wings & Wheels Model Flying Event at North Weald in June and had a great time. By coincidence Old Warden is just up the road from me as we live in North Hertfordshire and we were there the week before for the Bedfordshire Steam and Country Show. My wife and I went on the Friday with some good friends and our just under 1 grandson. As we had a weekend pass we also went again on Sunday to see what we had missed on the Friday. After the very heavy rain on Saturday parts of the site had been reduced to a quagmire!! I hope things had dried out for you and your friend.

Regards

Nigel