About SideTracked Caches
This cache belongs to the SideTracked series. It is not designed to take you to a magical place with a breathtaking view. It's a distraction for the weary traveler, but anyone else can go and find it too. More Information can be found at the SideTracked Website
This cache also qualifies for the Disappearing RR Blues bonus cache. This series highlights the railways of NW Oregon
About Mt Angel Train Depot
Welcome to Mt Angel, Oregon. Mt Angel is famous for two things, Mt Angel Abbey on the Hill and Oktoberfest in September. The town was first named Roy when the narrow-gauge Oregonian Railway arrived around 1880. The railroad was renamed it Fillmore after a railroad official. In 1881, Father Adelhelm Odermatt, along with other monks from the Benedictine Abbey of Engelberg, Switzerland, arrived via train to establish a new abbey. He spotted the perfect site up on the hill as they got off the train. The town was soon renamed after that abbey on the hill. In 1890 the Southern Pacific took over the line, and converted it to standard gauge. The current depot is a standard SP design that dates to around 1900-1910.
The railroad no longer needed the passenger depot since passenger trains had stopped decades ago. At some point, the SP sold the depot to Mt Angel. In 1973, Mt Angel sold the depot to George Schmidt, who added the clock tower to the depot in 1976. The clock is from the Salem City Hall, torn down in 1971. The clock is older than the old city hall, having been installed in the old Marion County Courthouse in 1873.
Did you know at one time, Mt Angel was served by a 2nd railway, an electric railway? Mt Angel was the southern terminus of the Willamette Valley Southern Railway. This was an electric Interurban railway that went to Oregon City. From Mt Angel, it passed through Monitor, Mollala, Liberal, Mulino, and Beaver Creek before arriving at Oregon City, where you could change to another interurban line to Portland. The depot was located on a loop track, just about where the electrical substation (coincidence, probably not) is, where Garfield St. meets Hwy 214 near the Festhalle. The railway was short-lived, only running between 1915 and 1933.
Back to the current Mt Angel Depot. The track in front of the depot is still active and operated by the Willamette Valley Railway (no relation to the interurban line).
The cache is nano and is accessible from the public sidewalk.