McCormick - Stillman Railroad Park

Guide to Arizona's Miniature Railroads

Featuring

Paradise and Pacific Railroad

Paradise and Pacific Railroad





McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park's Paradise and Pacific Railroad in Scottsdale, Arizona

          The Paradise and Pacific Railroad is a live steam, 15 inch gauge, railroad located within the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park at the southeast corner of Scottsdale and Indian Bend roads in Scottsdale, Arizona. The eighty acre site which was once a ranch far beyond the northern outskirts of town is now right in the middle of burgeoning Scottsdale. The park and its railroad equipment are the legacy of the late Guy Stillman, who donated family land to the City of Scottsdale and created through his non-profit Scottsdale Railroad and Mechanical Society a well-funded organization to maintain and preserve the scale railroad far into the future.



Paradise & Pacific RR

Paradise & Pacific RR

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park



          Operated by the City of Scottsdale since 1975, the Paradise and Pacific Railroad features 3800 feet of mainline track, 1400 feet of sidetracks, multiple trestles, a tunnel, passenger loading platform, turntable, water tank, two Allan Herschell crossing signals and an extensive engine house and machine shop. The real treat of the P & P isn’t the top quality track work or wonderful track side amenities or even the ride, but the exquisite locomotives and the beautifully crafted rolling stock. The locomotives were all either built or rebuilt by master craftsman Bill Daney of Pueblo, Colorado. Known for his attention to detail and meticulous use of scale, the equipment is patterned after turn-of-the-century Colorado narrow gauge equipment. The locomotives and cars are built to 5/12 scale and the rolling stock is lettered for the RGS, C & S, DRGW, Carson & Colorado and other railroads of historical significance.



No. 10

Number 10 built by Bill Daney in 1980

No. 11

Number 11 built by Bill Daney in 1956

Loading Platform

Loading Platform

turntable

Turntable at the Entrance to the Shop

Original Water Tank

Orginal Stillman Water Tank

New Water Tank

New Water Tank



          Three beautifully crafted live steam engines, Nos. 10, 11 and 12 and three diesel engines, 207, 208, & 209 comprise the motive power of the P & P. The typical train consists of eight gondolas, a cattle car and a caboose pulled by a diesel engine during the week and live steam on the weekends. A second train is operated on the busier weekends. The length of the ride is roughly eight minutes and is a great value at the ticket price.



No. 10

Number 10

No. 11

Number 11

No. 12

Number 12 awaits restoration in the shop

Number 207

The newly restored number 207


Number 208

Number 208


209

Number 209



          The hours of operation vary by month, but the park generally opens at 10:00 a.m. and remains open until just before dark. During June, July and August, the train runs from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. and then again from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. The park is open daily except Christmas Day and Thanksgiving.

          What started in the early 1950’s as a private railroad for family and friends on the Stillman estate with a locomotive, a speeder, tank car, two gondolas and a caboose has grown to include the six engines noted previously as well as approximately 25 gondola cars, the tank car, a handful of cattle cars, a flatcar, beautifully-detailed combination coach, trolley, 2 handcars, speeder, and several other work cars of all varieties. The train which transported Guy Stillman and his children around their ranch now carries more than 300,000 passengers per year.



Gondola

Gondola

Cattle Car

Cattle Car

P & P Gondola

P & P Gondola

C & C Gondola

Carson & Colorado Gondola

Coach

Coach

Trolley

Trolley Car

Caboose

Small Caboose

Large Caboose

Large Caboose



          McCormick–Stillman Railroad Park also houses several full size railroad attractions. Stillman Station is a full scale replica of the beautiful Southern Pacific Railroad station in Clifton, Arizona. Three authentic wood-framed depots are also resident at McCormick–Stillman Park. The Aguila depot, built in 1907 by the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway, and the Peoria depot built in 1895 by the same railway, were acquired and moved to the park in the 1970’s where they have been restored and now house specialty shops. The Maricopa depot built in the 1930's by the Southern Pacific Railroad was moved to the park in 2003.



Stillman Station

Stillman Station

Stillman Station

Stillman Station Rear View

Aguila Depot

Aguila Depot from the SFP&P RY

Peoria Depot

Peoria Depot

Maricopa Depot Being Restored

Maricopa Depot Undergoing Restoration

Maricopa Depot

Maricopa Depot restored in 2004



          A 1907 vintage 2-6-0 Baldwin steam engine sits in static display on the rail in front of Stillman Station and coupled behind are a Pullman dining car built in 1914 which houses a small museum and another Pullman car, the Roald Amundsen, which was build in 1928. The Amundsen, which on different occasions reportedly carried Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower, houses displays of railroad china and depicts a leisurely and luxurious way of travel long past.



Baldwin

1907 Baldwin 2-6-0

Roald Amundsen

Roald Amundsen



          Other railroad items of interest at the park include several cabooses, Arizona’s Forty and Eight French boxcar which was filled with gifts from the French people with gratitude after their liberation at the end of WWII, a live steam club of 7 ½ inch gauge trains which offer free rides on weekends and a clubhouse filled with model trains of virtually every gauge.

          A classic Allan Herschell carousel constructed in 1950, numerous grass volleyball courts, picnic ramadas, Indian hogans, an extensive xeriscape display and railroad-themed snack bar are among the other attractions at the park.



French forty and eight

French Forty and Eight Car

Herschell Carousel

1950 Allan Herschell Carousel

Ramada

One of Several Picnic Ramadas

Playground

Old West Themed Playground








Paradise & Pacific Railroad Engine Roster:


Engine No. Type Builder Construction Date
No. 10 4-6-0 Bill Daney 1980
No. 11 2-8-2 Bill Daney 1956
No. 12* 2-6-2 Texas & Pacific RY Shops 1943/Reblt. 1967 Bill Daney
No. 207** SW8 Guy Stillman/Schlosser 1953
No. 208 GP7 Chuck Schlosser 1960/Reblt. 1980 P & P RR
No. 209 GP38 Custom Loco/P & P RR 2002


* Locomotive No. 12 is disassembled for a major rebuild which is planned to start in 2005.

** No. 207 just completed an extensive rebuild in 2004. A new cab has been fabricated as the unit was converted to a cab forward design. The engine was also converted to be completely electric and utilizes a series of 12 car batteries. It generates 65 hp and maintains 28 hp consistently.






Rare Double Header

Rare Double Header

Headlight

The Baldwin's headlight can be seen from Stillman station









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