Cresta Creek Model Railroad

In 1890 plans were put together in a small town named Barrelton, this would be the beginning of a monumental undertaking to build a railroad for the town to expand. By 1892 work had begun, track was laid to the West of the town towards the base of the Buffalo Mountains. The plan was to extend out to the Cresta Mountains but this would be no easy task. It soon became clear that one man stood out. He was of Irish descent. His name was Cormac Cody, known as Cutter. He had a nose for the land and made it clear that a bridge would be needed to span the Barrelton river as the valley beyond untouched would be rich with minerals. Resources were few. And after some time it was agreed and a makeshift bridge would be put in place until Girders could be spanned, he was right as they moved into the valley deposits of coal and later iron ore would be found. It would not take long for a local entrepreneur by the name of Maximilian Pittman to establish two mines, extracting coal and ore. It would later be known as the El Minero Valley. On leaving the valley, there was an accident where an unexpected dynamite explosion occurred, blowing track and derailing a locomotive which fell into a ravine, killing the crew along with other workers including Cormac Cody This was a disaster and work would stop for a short period. Eventually the rocks would be blasted, opening a somewhat flat area. This would make for an ideal trading post. The year was now 1894 and the trading post had been built in memory of the men who had lost their lives. It was named Cutter’s Crag As work progressed, crossing creeks and moving ever closer to the base of the Cresta Mountains. Finally, their goal was insight to climb the Cresta. Over the next year thousands of tons of dynamite would be brought to the mountain as they made their way up her slopes. Many men would become casualties of her relentless nature. Eventually, by the end of 1895 there would be a way through to a stable area where a much earned rest would