"A ride on the Junction Valley Railroad: The World's Largest Quarter Scale Railroad"
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- Опубліковано 20 вер 2015
- On a laid back Sunday afternoon what better day for a train ride? Who cares what size the train is? The Junction Valley Railroad in Bridgeport, Michigan holds the title for the world's largest 1/4 scale railroad in terms of the amount of track. The main line goes over 2 miles and there is another 2 miles of track throughout. Unlike other 1/4 scale trains, which typically run on 15" or 16" inch gauge track, JV runs on 14 and 1/8" inch gauge track; literally one fourth of standard gauge. Plus, everything from buildings, structures and track right down to each car and locomotive was built here at the Junction Valley. In this video we ride the train from the parking area up at the Junction Garage down to the station in the valley. We get a good look at the entire area from the train and the many features of this attraction. Then we watch the train from ground and from the pedestrian bridge. The last scene shows the train going over the diamond trestle one way and then on to the Gary Memorial Bridge before circling back to cross the diamond trestle the other way.
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Thank you for helping me relive my childhood
Please reopen this gem!!! We need it back and to preserve it!!
It's so sad I never heard of this until after it was a memory, it looks utterly amazing
This was a nice place. The owner retired and closed it down. I'm glad to have been there a few times.
Its a real shame this has shut down, this type of thing has always been kind of rare, but almost extinct now.
That is amazing....all the rolling stock and track work! A couple million dollars worth plus labor!
The lady in the last car wearing the blue shirt is a natural born waver!
That's no amateur.
would be really neat to see Dow do something like their gardens area in Midland. JVRR had a lasting effect on so many people, myself included 22 years from my first experience there. I can still smell the grease, the food in the valley, hear the horn, and buying my first HO scale steam engine from the hobby shop.
I once lost a hat on that train. A camo hat with lots of pins and buttons on it and many memories attached to it. I miss that hat but the ride was sure fun.
I calculated almost 2 tons of people. These things are more than toys.
@Josh Jones Indeed. And I have no doubt that the cars were made of heavy steel plate.
I like riding trains like this
So many of these small scale railroad rides have shut down in the past decade. It's a shame, there are very few left...
Was there one time many years ago. Great place. Highly recommend going.
I believe the largest 1/4 scale railway would be the RH&DR in Hythe, England. That is 56.5 inches x 0.25 = 14.125 inches and RD&DR is 15 inch (close enough) but ether way this is an awesome railway.
If I had 8 bazillion dollars, that is EXACTLY what I'd be doing.
Nature is the same as our country Indonesia, green and fresh ... Thank you greetings from Indonesia.
Thanks for sharing. Family attractions like this are a hard find anymore. These days if there isn't Wi-Fi involved you can't stay in business. Sad days we're living in. This was his life's work that he shared with others who enjoyed it. It's a shame to see it meet the scrapper torch just like AV in Fairview and so many others.
They scrapped the AV equipment?
@@LakeStateRailfan Last I'd heard about the AV it had been purchased by a railfan but I'm not sure what his intentions are with it. Hopefully it will run again, I never have been able to visit there. I found out rhey were closing the week after they ceased operation. If you hear anything about that operation please share it.
Wow that is an amazing setup!
That ride looks fun! Hope I can go there some day.
I just randomly stumbled upon this great video and though "you know what, this guy has great videos, I'll subscribe", and I did. Great video mate!
Sad that this place closed last year. I would have really liked to see it.
Nice video and fun to watch. Take care now.
I'm glad my dad brought us here before it close down we had fun there
pretty darn neat!!
I'm glad my dad took us here before he passed away
very nice railroad
Summer 2016 will be the last summer for the railway. After that, the focus will be on the spook train for Halloween and the hobby shop. So if you have this on your bucket list, do it before the opportunity passes you by.
Nice !!!!! ❤️🚂❤️🚂❤️🚂❤️
I cant wait till I retire from CSX so I can finally get some actual time to go visit places like this. Very nice.
emdman1959 I'm sorry to break this to you, but it closed down. They stopped the trains last October and they are shutting the store down this October
Busman's holiday.
Потрясно!!
Plus locomotives and rolling stock from Merrick Light Railway and Hillcrest Shops.
Off Season vacationing can be great ... BUT it was all ℹ could do to drive by it and pull up in the parking lot - still closed from the winter 😖 ℹ feel that ℹ've MISSED something ...
There are tracks EVERYWHERE! And they seem to be embedded in concrete?
Something I noticed that is really odd, at times it seems to be running on only one track. Note starting at 10:36 as the track moves down to the lower left the one side track stops while the other continues, then you see the train come through and run on the one sided track for some distance.
I really enjoyed watching this video.
Great railroad, went there in 2006
5:35 "tunnel". No kidding, thanks for pointing that out I could never have worked it out for myself
Why does this looks fun
Hi Pete, thanks for the ride. I admire you. May Jesus continue to find favor with you... .Amen
VERY VERY GOOD
This looks marvelous, all the locomotives, cars, track and buildings to true quarter scale.
The quarter scale is more common in the US?
As the miniature railways I know in the UK have the locomotives mostly built to 1/3th scale, and the track width of 15" is actualy too narrow for this scale (should be 18.8")
It seems that the JVR started as a model railroad hobby that went a bit out of control?, but in a good way!
Nice
Bang!
My family love this place
Yes I see what you mean
should make this into a VR
It's sad how it is now gone.
I Wonder what is meant by 'largest' maybe by rolling numbers as there are a few UK railways which are longer. Romney Railway and Ravenglass Railway spring to mind. 13 and 7 miles each respectfully.
Maybe largest as it did not have a previous purpose like the UK ones did.
Also there is the Mountain railway in the States, that may also be longer as well.
Maybe because UK ones are 15 inch gauge, while USA prefers the 16 inch gauge.
@englishtwister The thing you forgot to take into account is that this was quarter-scale. Yes, there are plenty of narrow-gauge railroads around the world that are longer. But this was not a regular narrow-gauge railway. This was replicas of full-size (4' 8-1/2" gauge) locomotives and cars that were scaled down to 25% of their original size, along with the buildings, etc..
Oh I wanna come there
I have to laugh at myself. When I saw people waving at the camera, I actually waved back! smh. You have a beautiful railroad. I don't know how far you are from the Chicago area, but it sure would be nice to take a ride on it sometime (during a summer, of course)! I'll have to check Google maps and find out where Bridgeport, MI is.
I will save you time, as of last year the family has stopped running the train.
Yes, I found that out right after I saw the video. It was then that I saw the other video about the last ride. Too bad that happened. Thank you for writing, though!
I found the video to be very interesting as I did not know of this place I do have one question though. Does this place run steam as well or does it only have scale locomotives like the one in the video?
I want to go here again
Been there years ago
What kind of locomotive is that
I'm so sad it's closing :(
What scale is the railroad at the Detroit Zoo? I thought they were the largest, in terms of size that they are.
Wow! Some serious fabrication going on there.
Sad thing is that this railroad shut down this year
This is a great video! I have some questions for you. What is the size of the locomotive on this train? Is there a way that completely covered passengers can be used here for when it rains or snows? Or is there such a thing here? Just a bit of curiosity. How are the "gauge numbers" determined for miniature railroads? Is it by measuring the size of the locomotives and cars or the size of the track? I am an amateur at this as you can probably tell.
Are all those cars covered or garaged during the winter months.?
So many questions but no answers..where can I buy train this size?
I read that this will be the LAST of the summer time runs in 2016. That would be really sad.
conect them all and get a big long train
either i really suck at life or he has a real full oil reserve land
Since this railroad is closed, didn't some of the locomotives and rolling stock went for sale?
No they still use it most likely but only for fun
I understand the summer runs are ending but why? Also does this mean the line is being pulled up and the site closing or?
Yes it has all been torched for scrap.
largest? Maybe in America.
Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is 7 miles at 15 inch.
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway is 13 & 3/4 miles at 15 inch.
But if you are going by your unique 14 and 1/8 inch then yeah, it could be as no one else seems to do that gauge width.
englishtwister it said quarter scale so yeah by definition, it would have to be 14 1/8 inch gauge. Each reproduction of an existing train would have each dimension (length, width, or height) divided by four. 56 1/2 (standard track gauge in inches) divided by four is 14 1/8.
Please tell me there's a conjunction junction pun somewhere in here.
'And - But - Or" will get you pretty far..
We were there 2014
Wonderful? Thank you for sharing this. Engine and railcars look almost like the real ones!
Love the colorful signals. Do any mee-mool lights *(o)T(o)* operate?
Robert Gift yes, everything from the signals to the crossing lights operate
At what point does it go from a model to a proper narrow gauge railway?
It depends on what you use it for like with the minimal gauge setups especially at the Moors Valley Railway
I was told and heard there are kits that you can build it yourself. I wanted to know if this is true, how and where do you go to find these kits.
He built all the equipment himself.
In this size, almost everything is built by the owner or someone buys from someone's estate. Kit equipment normally doesn't get larger than 2.5"=12" which is used for 3' gauge run on 7.5" gauge track. Roll Model Industries is one supplier in that size. www.rmirailworks.com
Look on discover live steam
Commercial? How to support such a system if otherwise?
I just sat here and watched this video for 16 minutes and realized...I HAVE NO LIFE!!! :(
don't feel bad, at two minutes I felt the same way.
its a lot better than some other things in life drugs, boos smoking and crack
bruce vee That's the same thing I tell people when I try to explain watching big trains, including police while doing said activity. Can you think of a more harmless hobby?
Thanks for the heads up. I bailed @ 4 min
I played this on a big screen tv, straddled a sawhorse and pretended I was on board! Lol
The brick wall at 1/38 looks a bit dodgy.
Do they ever find hobos in the boxcars
I'll have H.P. Baldwin High School's design tech class design replica sugar cars.
Too bad they closed in the fall of 2016. Think the owner retired.
robert sinclair I thought he died
Maybe he did. A family member said he retired. Either way the trains run no more.
Maybe I will become the next owner! Wouldn’t that be great?
If I ever establish a grand scale railroad in Maui, I'll use former hopper cars from this now closed railroad as ballast hoppers and as mobile advertising signs on a trailer.
Make a TGV and have it go 50mph
Is the loco radio controlled? I cant see an operator
Someone actually sits in there. Someone also sits in the caboose.
must bee pretty crammed in the cab
Trainfan 3219 Yeah.
Look at 11:20 and you can see the driver .
Barry Durrant the conductor is actually placed inside the caboose!
If I was a millionaire, THAT is what I would do with my money! Why waste it on overpriced 'luxury' clothing, Lamborghini's that you can't drive at full speed, and giant mansions that take an army to maintain? Something like this would be a much better use of my money, and I could share it with others :) Anyway, it made me very sad to hear that this place closed down. It's a shame that some sort of trust or foundation couldn't be created to keep it going :(
Does the SRI need 1950's passenger cars? Just wondering.
+Duncan Campbell Depends. Are the cars in good shape and have seats in them? Probably even more important, does it have heat? Our real problem would be finding space to store them. Personally I would prefer a couple of nice heavyweights, but it's not my call. Really I think we would take cars from any era if they work.
I am not sure. They are on a siding in Mt.Pleasant and might be in bad shape. I believe a publishing company ownes them, and if you are interested, I will contact them and tell them. There are a couple of CN heavyweights, and a few that are like yours. I think these cars were the cars that TSBY used to run on the "Mount Pleasant Dinner Train", but I am not sure. Right now at this point I have just discovered them, and I thought you guys might want to know. I mean, the NPE ran 15 cars last year, who knows how many people you'll get this year.
+Duncan Campbell, I know the cars you are talking about. However, I believe there are multiple owners to those cars. The CN heavyweights were stored on our property for years and got used whenever we needed more seats. It would be nice to have them back but from what I understand, the previous owner donated them either to Bluewater or another individual. If you know the owner and he's interested in selling/donating the cars, have him contact SRI directly. As for NPE, we had 16 cars when we added the water car. This year we are supposed to add another bi-level coach to add capacity. If we take the combine instead of the lounge and leave the water car behind we will still have 16 cars. Any more to one train and we will have space issues at SRI and in Ashley. Since this trip gets more and more popular we will continue to seek more capacity.
Also, are they working on the lounge car? From what I've seen on the side of the track,
it's in pretty bad condition (I mean the paint is)
why no live steam loco's?:..(
My guess is too tight of curves for a steam loco
Maybe a 2-4-4-2... But the railroad is closed, so it don't matter no more.
I wish it never shut down
Почему в России таких парков нет. Только частники с небольшими садовыми жд.
Uhm...scenic.
Romney
Does part of this ride go threw the projects?
Is that my ELA teacher
jenine dunn are you horrified?
:)
I was there on the last weekend they ran the trains in 2016. I have rode this about 5 times in my life even back in the late 80s. Yes the paint was better and it did operate smoother. You have to remember this was a operating railroad. Not toys. They ran for 6 days straight for over 30 years. Great for kids. Definitely not run down but yes in need of work. Met the nicest people there. I have a ton of memories on this property. Last I talked to one of the employees (family members) the railroad was going to stay in the family but not be open for public rides. The hobby shop couldn't make any money without the railroad. The hobby shop closed down too. This is really sad. I hope the family maintains the railroad and returns it to operating status one day. However it is my guess that with current state of socialistic politics and lawsuit mouth foaming lawyers this will never be a realistic goal.
The engines are impressive pieces of work as seen. There are photos of them around the internet. I believe I read they are inline 6 engines driving traction motors From the connectors on the engines it looks to be three phase electric.
Go sit by papa
why do so many things on YT have to be the 'world's largest' (or smallest, etc)? How about giving us a break and just say "a pretty big..."?
This looks run down AF. The track layouts a bit of a mess too. But concrete, rust, worn out paint.
@Emerald Zebra You're a scumbag. And the fact that you use 'AF' means that you're also a moron.
@@crazyfvck You are the one insulting others on the internet... Not me... So that says alot about you too
Romney Hythe in Kent the UK is way better the this.
tired of watching a guy in front
Who the hell gives
@Rachel Alexandria English - Learn it, love it, USE it!
Old and dumpy, Run Down, Dirty-Rusty, Lack of Maintaince, and paint, Crummy location , Our train derailed!. First 1/3 rd. of ride your viewing a commercial truck cement lot ,chain link fences, Brick walls, owners dive house.OH JOY!. It does'nt get much better!. Then they make you get off the train for a half hour, And try to sell you drinks and snack crap !....Your better off ,save your money and time!. And drive on by!..
It closed down last year and most of it has been cut up for scrap.
Nice video and fun to watch. Take care now.