McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park

Wow that's some RR facility how big were the model RR Layouts?

Steve

That had to be fun.  Last time we were in Scottsdale we passed it by.  Now I regret that.  Next time we will see it!

Wish it was closer to home! Love to visit!

I used to visit during my reinsurance audit days but the clubs were always closed when I was availible. Lovely park and area.

L.I.Train (Steve): The new 10,000 sq-ft Model Railroad Building opened to the public on January 27, 2011.  It contains 3 club layouts (O, HO, and N).

 

DMASSO (Don): The layouts now run 363 days out of the year. 

I live a few miles from this park, me and the family go pretty much every weekend. It really is awesome. And there's special events held there as well during holidays. Scottsdale has lots to do and see when visiting for sure!!

Looks like a great time.

 

Brad

Have visited building 2/3 times. Great cooporation between private and public organization to promote railroading in general and model railroading in particular.

 

 

   I was there the end of February (26-27th?). They have come a long way since the first time I was there. All three scales are very much complete now.

 

   There's the train ride outside for younger kids. Found it interesting to go inside an actual vintage baggage car.

 

   Inside, each layout is about the size of a club layout- all in one building! They have professionally done scenery on all three layouts.

 

   When I saw the O Gauge layout a few years ago, only the track (Atlas O) was complete.

 

    It's definitely worth stopping for if you are in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area.

 

John Knapp

Erie, not Eerie

Been there many times over the last 30 years and agree it is well worth the visit.  When my boys were younger we'd vacation in Scottsdale about every other year.  I'd like to have a dollar for every trip I've made around the park on the Paradise & Pacific.  ��

Curt

the president of the o gauge club there is a founding member of the San Diego 3-railers, and it's first president.

 It's a wonderful train park.  Our one trip there we arrived mid afternoon and the layout building closed for the day before we got to it.  Next trip out to visit our son we'll check it out.

 

 

 

 

My grandson, me, granddaughter and daughter-in-law riding on the Paradise Pacific:

 

Picnic pavilion for parties:

Very cool train park, nice job with all the photos to tell the story.

Great pics, thanks!

Peter

Thanks for letting us know about this park. Been in the Phoenix area many times, all on business, but missed this one.

Great layout and museum - thanks for the great pics!

"Forty and eight" - 40 men or 8 horses,if I remember right. I wonder how many shovels?

Also, are those actual operating gophers in those holes?

lionel89,

 

Thanks for the post and all of the pictures.

 

There are two railroads at McCormick-Stillman with the name Paradise and Pacific.  The 15" Paradise and Pacific is operated by the Park and carries hundreds of thousands of riders every year.  www.therailroadpark.com

 

Paradise and Pacific Railroad is also the name of the O-gauge railroad in the Model Railroad Building.  www.pandprr.com

 

When you get a chance to visit, let us know you are Forum members.

Yep! The gophers (prairie dogs here in the west) are operational. There is a window below the Prairie Dog village that shows the RC servos that operate the dogs.  Lots of action there! The idea was borrowed from Dave Bodner, a Pittsburgh G gauge railroader who does outstanding things in train animation. (http://www.davebodnar.com/).

A number of layout features like animations and starting trains, are guest operated to the delight of our visitors.

A 4x8 area in the O gauge layout is operated by Cactus Brick, a Lego group that displays at shopping malls in the Phoenix area. The group changes out the entire scene several times a year and is a delight for both young an old .

As Dallas said, let us know you are a Forum reader and get the "E" ticket experience. We enjoy talking to our friends, so bring the kids and grandkids and we will share our RR adventure.

 

Paul Boston

Reminds me of this classic Bill Mauldin cartoon. The caption is "They oughta hire a homme to clean up after them chevaux."

 

Great stuff. The gophers brought back a memory of an old British layout where the owner had an animated rabbit warren.

Every time a train came by the rabbits would disappear into their burrows and pop out after it had passed. I think there was an animated figure inside the signal box/interlocking tower too.

I love Stillman! I like the new model railroad building there!

Just there yesterday with my nephew.  there is also an operating Merry Go Round.  The O gauge club guys are great and very friendly and definitely have the right attitiude!  The 15" outdoor railroad that gives rides was being pulled by a live steam 2-8-2 Mikado.  Sorry I did not take a picture of that.  It must be powered by LPN gas since there was very little smoke.  It is a great park and you can spend several hours just in the layout building.  

Our Motto in on the o -gauge club is

It's never to late too have a happy childhood

 

when you come into the building let us know you are forum members and let's play with some trains

Last in the Phoenix area for the TCA Convention there....may have been before the

2011 opening, as I have only vaguely heard of this park.  I VERY briefly lived there

when just out of school in the early '60's.  I am looking hard at that photo of cars

coming out of a tunnel, as it reminded me of a tunnel at Jerome, before it was

developed as an art colony.  Exploring what was mostly an abandoned town I walked

through a tunnel, and jumped back, for it ended in a deep drop into a open pit

copper mine, that made me think that picture was depicting junk cars being pushed

through such a tunnel and into a pit.  Closer scrutiny makes me think an accident

is being depicted?  When there during the TCA Convention, I went out to Jerome

again and found the railroad station had been made into a museum.  I also think

there was a tourist railroad in operation, at nearby Cottonwood?

Thanks for the memories. When i lived in Phoenix (briefly) in the early 1980's i discovered the park by accident one day. After peering through the viewing window for what must have been hours, someone came out and invited me in. Well, that began my involvement with the O gauge club. At that time you had to serve a multi-week apprenticeship (i remember carrying many buckets of plaster, and being kidded for suggesting a GG1 might be novel in the desert landscape) and then be voted in by the membership. The night i was accepted for membership, was bittersweet. I had to announce that i was taking a new job on Long Island and leaving Phoenix. The warm fellowship extended by that group of guys made my year in Phoenix a very pleasant one.

 

jackson

I just about grew up there.  My grandpa was one of the guys that helped build it.  It was a sad day when he retired (His 2nd retirement, 1st from Pitney Bowes.), but his health was failing (The machine shop was named after him after he passed.).  But I have some many memories of my early childhood there, doing things very few others could say they've done there.  Like operating the yellow trolly and the orange speeder, as well as racing my cousin in and out of the engine shed on hand carts.  Lots have changed, not all of it I like, but then it is owned and operated at a loss by the city.  I'm just glad Guy (Mr. Stillman.) was forward thinking enough to set it up the way he did.  He gave the locomotives and rolling stock to the city when his kids grew up on the condition that they maintain and operate them providing a way for the public to affordably enjoy trains.  And this is why they still run the steamers.  And those steamers are oil burners, unless they have changed them recently.