History of the Weor, Wardville & Western Railroad
The Weor (We Enjoy Our Railroad pronounced war), Wardville, & Western Railroad (or 3 W's as the local ranchers refer to it) was the brainchild of a local entrepreneur named Cirus Weor. Born in 1924 in the southwest, Cirus saw the great railroads such as the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe and the Rio Grande through the waning years of steam push forth and wholeheartedly embrace dieselization. Strong were these railroads’ convictions to dieselization because of the shortages of water in the desert high country of the southwest and each railroad’s commitment to remain in the forefront of the technological revolution.
Patriotism during “The Big One”, WW II, swept Cirus into the service of his country and he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY in 1941. Upon graduation in 1945, 2LT Weor found himself part of the occupation army in Germany. During this period he was able to gain valuable experience in rebuilding this war-torn country. Because he was in the US Army Corps of Engineers after obtaining top honors at the Military Academy, he became intimately involved with reconstructing the nation’s rail system which had been all but obliterated by allied bombing during the war.
After 20 years in the military, Colonel Weor retired in 1961 to the hometown of his beloved wife Roselynn - Wardville, high in the Rocky Mountains. Wardville, started by Roselynn’s grandpa Henry Ward Sr, is the biggest town for miles. It provides supplies for ranchers who sometimes travel 100 miles “into town.” The mountains provided plenty of timber in their time, however recently, larger and better-quality timber is found further west. Wardville always had vitality because of the proximity of two very important railroads - the Santa Fe and Rio Grande, fertile Rocky Mountain Valleys providing prime ranch land, and the abundance of various minerals found in the surrounding “hills.”
Wardville, as luck would have it, was the ideal small town for Cirus’s business plans. His schooling and military engineering experience coupled with his “just plain common sense” had given him ideas to mechanize some of the more labor-intensive processes of diesel engine maintenance. He quickly patented his ideas and built a small factory to produce his labor saving machines. His machines were quickly embraced by the railroads, which were suffering from declining passenger revenues and looking for any answer to turn around their profit (and loss) statements. Business boomed and two years ago, 1967, The Colonel, as the locals call him, opened a new state of the art manufacturing facility in Wardville.
In 1963, because of the success of his manufacturing plant, The Colonel decide to build the Weor, Wardville, and Western Railroad (W3 Railroad (pronounced ‘W cubed Railroad’ which is the nickname coined by The Colonel because of his fondness for mathematics)) to provide cost effective transportation from his Wardville plant to transfer points on the Santa Fe and Rio Grande Railroads. No stranger to railroad construction, The Colonel built a premier line that proved to be an important link to points served by each railroad. His superior engineered line is now preferred by both railroads over their own mainlines as the faster more cost effective way to move freight and passengers to and from the west coast.
The W3 Railroad is the only place you are likely to see the Santa Fe and Rio Grande using the same rails. The time is approximately 2 years before the railroads turned over their once-lucrative passenger operations to Amtrak. Watch and you might see the beautiful streamliners as they speed through the Rockies. Unfortunately, trucks have begun to replace trains for hauling livestock to market. But look closely and you may see one of the last trains made up of cattle cars full of livestock bound for the large processing facilities at Kansas City or Chicago.
So enjoy.
The Mostly True Facts
Two mainlines travel around the house. The outside loop generally follows the perimeter of the property and is approximately 350 feet. The inside lane diverges close to the house in the front making it only about 300 feet in length.
The house was completed in April of 2002 with the railroad in mind. The concrete subcontractor poured slots for the track across the driveway by laying a 2 x 4 on its side, removing it after the concrete was set. An opening in the foundation and framing formed a “dog door” into the garage so trains could be run into the garage for safekeeping. The lot was “leveled” using a 2 foot concrete retaining wall on the east side. This was subsequently made up to 2 feet higher using landscaping timbers. A friend, Jim Sture, with some help from neighbors, did most of the heavy work including retaining walls, the fence, deck and wheel borrowing dump truckloads of dirt from the driveway into the backyard.
Trains run on track power using 24 volt 25 amp Bridgewerks power packs. All equipment is from two American manufacturers, USA Trains and Aristo Craft. Engines are all from USA Trains. The scale is 1/29. Track is gauge 1 Sunset Valley nickel silver and is resistant to corrosion and very suitable for outside use. Rolling stock and engines are all from the 1960’s or earlier. All have steel wheels, most made by Sierra Valley. A dear friend, Charlie Hamm, weathered most of the freight cars and engines. #1 Kadee couplers are used on almost each one.
All vegetation is live including the weeds. Miniature trees, scrubs, and groundcovers are used. Plants are chosen for their size, scale leaves/needles, and ability to stay small. Never having done this before, we missed the mark with some plants (but that is why Roundup was created). Our landscaper installed the sprinkler system and front pond. He helped shape the front mountains and provided the first plants. After a small learning curve he became quite good at selecting scale plants. We are grateful to him for establishing our contact with several local nurseries suppliers of our miniature groundcovers, scrubs, and trees. He dumped truckloads of compost, sifted sandy loam, crushed rock for ballast, and large rocks to form ponds and mountains. The contractor removed approximately 1 foot of our great Oregon clay and rocks. This was later replaced with a mixture of compost, sand, and sifted sandy loam. The moles love it and show their appreciation by heaving piles of dirt around and through the ballast and right-of-way.
Wardville (future) is nestled securely in the backyard on the east side of the house. A freight yard (also future) sits on the west side. The deck was constructed with two waterproof storage tracks, 22 feet long each, under the backside. The back waterfall, stream and pond (future) were constructed using some help from our landscaper.
Tomorrow brings sound systems to all engines, buildings for Wardville, construction of the hump freight yard, lighting and power for accessories, air power switches, trackside details, and of course, more weeding and tree trimming.
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Freight in Light Snow
