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In 2022, I was riding in a taxi in Cagayan de Oro, and at this point having spent about
There’s not much room at ground level where a light railway could be added, and the city’s location close to sea level would make a subway difficult or impractical, to say nothing of the cost of tunneling. But I thought that an elevated light railway, although still expensive, might be a solution for Cagayan de Oro.
It’s just an idea—not a proposal, not engineered in any way. As an operable simulated system, it will be available for free download on Trainsim.com and operated using Open Rails, another free download on Trainsim.com.
Oro elevated light rail station
A repaint by Steve Dunham of Tim Blythman’s 3D computer model of a Melbourne, Australia, tram, done with Tim’s permission. This Oro tram does not represent a real-world vehicle, only an idea for rapid transit to serve Cagayan de Oro. My repaint uses the colors of the Philippines flag, emphasizing the gold (oro).
A conceptual 3D model of an elevated Oro light rail station. No engineering done—I wouldn’t know how. Just an idea. For economy of maintenance and operation, it uses ramps and stairs to access the platforms. Since the Philippines economy relies heavily on cash, the station design is based on cash fare payment on board the trams.
The stairway end of the same station.
A side view of the station.
The underside of the station.
This is just an idea for stations and routes—not necessarily the best places for stations or the best route structure. The Mindanao Railway may be built in the future. Oro connects with this possible line in Cagayan de Oro and Gusa. For a view of places on the line as seen in the route simulation, please take the Oro system tour.
These are screen shots from the Oro computer simulation, to be available as a free download on Trainsim.com and operated using Open Rails, another free download on Trainsim.com.
Ferry Terminal and Ports Authority building.
Ferry Terminal station and container ship facility.
Tram passing Mindanao Railway station.
Market City station.
Oro and Mindanao Railway stations in Gusa.
Capitol U. Medical Ctr.
Oasis station.
Maria Reyna-Xavier U. Hospital.
Shopwise at the Limketkai Ctr.
Science & Technology U..
Gaisano and the Nazareno shrine at Centrio.
Centrio Mall.
Northern Mindanao Medical Ctr. and Centrio.
Avida Towers.
Gaston Park, the city museum, and the cathedral.
Crossing the Cagayan de Oro River alongside the orange Governor Ysalina Bridge.
Gaisano Carmen station.
Madonna & Child Hospital station.
Carmen Public Market.
Liceo de Cagayan U.
Savemore and Casa Mira towers.
Polymedic station.
S&R Shopping station.
Bulua, with the bus terminal on the left and City Mall on the right.
Liceo de Cagayan Paso Rio.
Macanhan: one of three ground-level stations.
SM Uptown.
St. Francis Doctors Hospital.
Gaisano Uptown.
A sign (imaginary) outside a gated subdivision.
This route was created by Steve Dunham using Microsoft Train Simulator. The track, some structures, some buildings, some vehicles, the white train on the Mindanao Railway, and other elements are default parts of the original Train Simulator package.
The light rail stations and elevated structures were created by Steve Dunham using Google Sketchup, as were custom 3D models of jeepneys, generic buses, and buildings in Cagayan de Oro. All of these may be reused without permission; credit is requested. Beware that these are simplified models of the buildings, meant to establish a sense of place. Sometimes the sides of the buildings away from the railway are not detailed. However, the models may be altered as desired. Let Steve Dunham know if you want the Sketchup files for any of the models he made.
The light rail tram is a repaint by Steve Dunham of Tim Blythman's 3D computer model of a Melbourne, Australia, tram, done with Tim Blythman's permission. The tram is a real-world vehicle, but the Oro paint scheme is imaginary.
Other people's work used with permission (my apologies to anyone I have failed to credit):
Apartments bt Akshay Mistry
Bloggz store by Mark Holdin
Brown warehouse by K Falls
Building complex by Ranjit Ramchandra Pendse
Crane by Marek Lemow
Concrete texture by Dmitriy Chugai
Container ship by Marek Lemow
Container Stacks by K Falls
Corrugated metal texture by Dmitriy Chugai
Dock Cranes by K Falls
Docks by K Falls
Harbor cranes and their tracks by Rail-Fan Marcel
Indian building by Karthik Iyer
Palm trees by Michael Sinclair
Plywood texture by Dmitriy Chugai
Radio mast by Teemu Vehkaoja
Retail park by Ian Morgan
Russian buildings and fences by Irina Kirill
Russian vehicles by Irina Kirill
Ship Rangatira by Captain Bazza
Silver bus by Ian Jenkins
Store by Paul Charland
Store house by Steve Y
Textures by Ron Picardi
Trucks by Dieter Penzel
Trucks by Ron Picardi
Water towers by Ron Picardi
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