Southern Oregon Chapter, NRHS

The Southern Oregon Chapter of National Railway Historical Society was founded in 1976. It is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the railroad history of Southern Oregon. The Chapter was directly responsible for the initiation and early development of the Medford Railroad Park and continues as a partner in the management of the park in cooperation with the Southern Oregon Live Steamers, the Rogue Valley Model Railroad Club, Southern Oregon Large Scale Trains, the Morse Telegraphy Club, and the City of Medford.

What we do.

It is the long term goal of the Chapter to rebuild and operate as a tourist excursion railroad a segment of what was once the Medford Corporation (Medco) logging railroad, using locomotives and other equipment originally used in the region. Our objective in undertaking this project is to create a living railroad museum in its original forested environment. As part of this larger project, the Chapter has acquired two of the remaining four Medco locomotives. These are the Medco No. 4, a Willamette locomotive built in 1925 and the Medco No. 8, a Baldwin S-8 diesel-electric switcher built in 1952. Over the years the Chapter has also acquired several other pieces of rolling stock which have also been moved into the Medford Railroad Park along with the Medco #4 locomotive, or stored elsewhere. The cars on display at the Park include a box car, a flat car, a hopper (ore) car, four cabooses, and a flanger. Of these eight cars, three will be restored and modified to carry passengers when the tourist railroad is established.

Our projects:

MEDCO 4 Willamette Geared Steam Locomotive
MEDCO 8 Baldwin S-8 Diesel
THE CARS Assorted cabooses, freight and MOW cars
THE OTHER "STUFF" We got stuff!
THE PARK The Medford Railroad Park and how to get there