Oaks Park Train - Oaks Park - Miniature Railroads on Waymarking.com

The Oaks Amusement Park began life in 1905 and has operated continuously for over 100 years. The miniature railway uses a gas powered C.P. Huntington locomotive to pull the train around a portion of the park and past the waterfront along the Willamette River.

The train is considered to be an intermediate ride and kids must be 34 inches tall to ride alone. It travels to the Washington Park Rose Garden through the park forest to a station where you can also board the train. At this station you can purchase entrance to the zoo or just take a round trip on the train.

PDXHistory.com has a wonderful page chronicling the early park. An article by Bryan Aalberg in The Oregon Historical Quarterly gives an even more detailed history of this location including this tidbit about the trains that have operated here.

"Since The Oaks opened in 1905, it has had five different miniature trains circling the perimeter of the park on a twenty-six-hundred-foot track. The first train, built in 1910, was run by a steam engine. It was too small to serve as an amusement ride, and Edward Bollinger replaced it in 1925. Information is not available about the third train, but the fourth, was a G-16 miniature train painted with Union Pacific colors, bought in 1956. Today, the park has a C.P. Huntington miniature train, purchased in 1985 from the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

Yelp.com reviews of the park offer some insight to the character and uniqueness of this historic park.

Provide a picture of something with the train or related to the train. Possible photos include the train itself at any location along the route, a picture of the scenery with part of the train in view, the kids borrowing the engineer’s hat or of a family member with one of the miniature r.r. crossing signs. Show us you had a good time visiting the train. If the train isn't running when you visit get a photo of one of the miniature railway related items that can be found in locations like this