My G scale railroading all started with one GP-9 Western Pacific locomotive.  I purchased it so I could operate on a friend’s backyard RR.  From there, he convinced me that I needed a layout in my own backyard too.  The RR has been in existence for about 13-plus years with one major expansion, which doubled it in length and added the water feature.  It is all track-powered.

The RR is elevated as I thought it would be a better fit for me, having visited other layouts that were on “ground level”.  One can sit on a lawn chair, watch trains running around the RR and is pretty much at “eye level”. It also saves me from knee & back issues of being down on the ground.

I have mainly collected Western Pacific locomotives and cars, although I lean towards her sister RR the Denver & Rio Grande Western too, as well as the Southern Pacific.  The Western Pacific was a big part of my life growing up in Sacramento.  The famed California Zephyr came right through town, and I saw it many times.  The Jeffery Shops were here too and I’d pass by them often seeing locomotives and cars that were awaiting repairs there.  My Dad enjoyed the RR too.  One day he put my mother and me on the Zephyr here in Sacramento, and then proceeded to follow the train by automobile to Oakland in order to pick us up after of trip was over.  Needless to say, it’s a memory in my life I’ll never forget and it’s a tribute to my father too.

I’ve borrowed the name “Western Pacific Railroad” for my layout as it is supposed to represent the WP and part of its journey through the Feather River Canyon.  The grade is about 1.25 percent, closely relating to the WP in the canyon again.

Currently there are 11 WP locomotives and 32 cars (3 of which are cabooses) all under the “Woobly”paint scheme.  Woobly is a nick name railroaders gave the RR during its “heyday”.

As you can see, things are still under construction.  The fun part is continuing work with the RR and most G scalers would agree the RR is really never completely finished (it’s the journey, not the destination”).