The Jamestown Garden Railway is, in part, a tribute to my Cornish great, great, grandparents who settled on Mound Prairie in 1852, having crossed the Atlantic Ocean and later the Oregon Trail in pursuit of a dream for a live unfettered by war, taxes and government interference. A 320-acre land grant obtained by Samuel James that year was divided equally amongst his seven children who in turn shared with their children until, at the beginning of the 1900's, it had become a community of 16 adjoining holdings, all owned by the family members. Called Jamestown, it was a multi-generation extended family of aunts, uncles and dozens of cousins.
            In recent years, modeling a few of the original homes that dotted the two-mile stretch of James Road, has become an enjoyable part of the railroad hobby for us. There are still more that we hope to complete in the future. On the railroad is the original home built in 1853 of timber and log construction that housed many travelers en route from Portland to Seattle and back. Also present is the Dutch colonial home built by my grandfather in 1905 in time to usher in my father's birth in the parlor in 1906. The house with the red roof built in 1915 can be viewed directly to the west of the model on the railroad. Behind it is a replica of the Finnish Lutheran Church in Independence Valley about seven miles west of us, built to honor a beloved aunt of Finnish descent who shared a wonderful life with my favorite uncle, David James, the family historian.    
            Despite attempts to create some realistic details, it is not our intent to replicate the actual Jamestown community. The railroad is largely fantasy while incorporating a bit of history. While the Chehalis River, and nearby Scatter Creek exist, there are no lakes within several miles and certainly no waterfalls or tunnels. Alas, like so many of us in the hobby, we wanted to create a miniature world replete with a wealth of features and so we have given the heave ho to realism and accuracy and embraced imagination and whimsy.
            We hope you notice a few details such as the man on the pole stringing wire. My grandfather installed the first telephone system in the area and later my father and brother carried on the tradition as electrical contractors. Nude swimming in the river below us was quite common for the Jamestown boys and perhaps you will see the little boy preparing to dive in the water san a suit while his elders are more properly attired. Disasters have plagued the Jamestown Railway and the poor family viewing the carnage of their once respectable home is enacting an actual event that occurred when a huge branch from a nearby 100-year old fir tree crashed onto it leaving it as flat as the proverbial pancake. We decided to incorporate this detail into our railroad.
        Our railroad is a labor of love for us and our greatest enjoyment is sharing it with others. Especially gratifying is the now annual event we call Train Day, hosted for our church and Sunday School.

Bob and Margaret

Name -- Jamestown Garden Railway
Size -- 45' x 57' Scale -- G scale Gauge -- No. 1
Theme - depicts the rural community of Jamestown, named for relatives
 who settled the area in 1852 and features logging, farming, and mining.
Era - During the depression (1930's)
Age - 14 years (as of 2003)
Motive power - track and battery power
Length of mainline - 350' Maximum gradient - 3%
Minimum radius - 7' Type of track - LGB
Structures - kit, kit bashed, and scratchbuilt
Control system - Aristo-Craft Train Engineer

Some History of Rochester by Margaret.

            When Bob and I named our railroad the Jamestown Garden Railway, we took poetic license and named it not for an actual railroad but for the stretch of road where we live that once housed only James' and their descendents for 2 miles. Being one of the three remaining families claiming ties to the original 1852 settlers, it seemed appropriate. However, railroads did play an important role in the communities that developed in this area.

            Throughout 1890, horse-drawn scoops and hundreds of shoveling men were building grades as the Northern Pacific engaged in a feverish race with George Washington Hunt to lay track from Centralia to Aberdeen. Reports indicate that their race across Grand Mound Prairie in August of that year steamed up more excitement that the racing chariots of Ben Hur. Newspaper headlines were dominated by the contest. The battle to reach Aberdeen continued until the Northern Pacific reached a large bluff before Hunt and laid claim to the only land between the bluff and the Chehalis River. Forced to give up, Hunt and his backers lost everything they had invested. During this time of great excitement, Landholders and developers began dreaming of towns and cities. Within 6 weeks after the tracks were laid across Grand Mound 3 towns had been platted, Grand Mound, Rochester, and Gate City.

            Rochester developed a reputation as a lively town, not so much because of its residents, but because it bobbed around like a jumping bean. Several businesses built in an area, which would have been the prime spot for a depot, if G.W. Hunt had prevailed. When the Northern Pacific was the victor, the depot was located nearly a mile east of this site, and as new business's located near the depot, horse-drawn rigs moved several buildings to join them. After a number of flourishing years in this spot, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad, extending from Olympia to Independence Valley, crossed the Northern Pacific tracks a half mile west in 1912. It is said that this started a huge community ruckus.

            A grocer led a rebellion to move all business closer to the intersection, which meant building a new depot to serve both railroads. After months of squabbling and a few fistfights, Governor Ernest Lister came from Olympia to arbitrate. The relocation faction came out on top and so once again the buildings were moved. Although the town itself has remained in this location, none of the original buildings have survived.
            The level of excitement that was experienced during the battle of the railroad builders was once again rekindled in the mid-twenties when dreams of rags to riches seemed possible by converting cheap prairie land in the Rochester-Grand mound area into lush strawberry fields. Again the railroad was to play an important part in making the dream become a reality.

            Marketing was the critical factor in the success of the strawberry growers. That expertise was provided by a man named Ralph Bodle, who was of the first vendors at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. Under his guidance, the local growers were able to persuade the Northern Pacific to erect a barreling plant along its tracks in Grand Mound. The railroad invested $25,000 in the building, drilled a well, and installed a septic system.   
            At the peak of the "strawberry good times" 3,000 acres of the delectable fruit were under cultivation (or 5 square miles). During this time the Rochester athletic teams called themselves "the berry pickers" and schools let out early in May so that students could harvest the big money crop.
            In 1928 the first Strawberry Festival was held, a tradition that continued into the 1970's long after the berry industry was gone. (In the final years of this annual event I played organ music for nearly four hours as people from Olympia, Centralia, and the local areas feasted on turkey dinners, topped off with huge strawberry shortcakes.)
            Although the beginning of the depression years did not immediately bring down the industry, the heyday was over by 1935 and most of the growers had given up the beginning of World War 11. One grower continued on until the early "60s and I learned a bit of the work ethic picking berries and contributing my first social security earnings.

Garden Railway History

            Up to this point, we had made many changes and improvements in the Jamestown Garden Railway and were relatively satisfied that we had achieved our purpose. Open houses at Christmas and Train Day for the church and Sunday school prominently featured the trains that seemed to delight the young and young at heart and we continued to work together on it. Still, challenges seemed to be needed to keep interest at a good level and an idea was born. Since we named the railroad after the original community, why not begin to replicate some of the original buildings. The log and timber home built in 1853 was replicated from drawings. To date, the house my grandfather built in 1905; the house down the road dating to 1915; and the Finnish Lutheran Church built several miles away, around the turn of the 1900's, have been completed with more on the drawing board. With the use of photos or drawings, I make patterns from manila folders that I tape together allowing an extra inch for the thickness of the foam that is used in actual construction. I have discovered that 1:24 buildings seem awfully large and so use dimensions that are close to the building kits previously built. They look right to me and that is my standard. (I am not a true modeler.) Styrene exteriors have been used and I will probably continue although can't say for sure.

            Bob was tired of serious railroaders complaining about his curves and tore out most of the previously laid trackage and replaced it with flex-track. He too, appreciates the change and has plans for more. He also made changes in our water feature trying to construct a small creek-like stream that wouldn't lose water too quickly and was successful.

            Despite the upcoming convention we hosted this past year, a decision was made to use a non-selective herbicide to eradicate large areas of groundcovers that had destroyed many really choice plants. This meant new plantings in many areas that would not be as mature as we would have liked, but were absolutely necessary. Since I am not a formal gardener, it is my preference for plants mimicking nature to form a tapestry of size, color and texture. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't.

            The Jamestown Garden Railway will always be a work in progress. We are into detail much more than we were when we started and are always on the lookout for plants and accessories that will improve it in our eyes. Some figures have been made from polymer clay to fit what we choose to depict. Again our standards aren't too high and we accept the ten-foot rule. One more extension is in the offing and we say it will be our last. Who knows?

            Many catastrophes including the 1996 flood that took away 1/2 acre of our land have not been detailed here, but through it all the railroad has remained, sometimes a demanding taskmaster, but mostly a joy in our lives.