>From the number of messages regarding steam trains, I gather that there are a
lot more of them scattered all over the country than I had ever imagined. In
some cases steam engines are left out in the weather to eventually rot because
they are used as decorator items, kinda like painted saws. We have a big 8
wheeler sitting at the entrance to Fairmount Park here in Riverside. It is
fenced off to keep kids away. It has been parked on a short section of track
since before I came here in the middle 50's. Every so often it will get really
ugly and the city will throw on a coat of black paint. It has never been
maintained. The powers that be think it is just a wonderful decorator thing
sitting there looking ugly.

 I don't think I have seen mentioned the train that takes visitors from Williams
AZ to the Grand Canyon. You can drive your car to the Grand Canyon, but in
tourist season it is a real hassle to park.

Then there is the Railway Museum in Perris CA where they have a mess of steam
engine stuff and a short train ride. Several old time Boilermakers and
Machinists volunteer there to do maintenance.

I rode a narrow gauge logging train, I believe at Felton Ca, (maybe not, it has
been a very long time ago) where the train has to go forward and backward in
see-saw fashion to get up and down the mountainside. A train can't climb a very
steep grade. I am told this is common where there is no way to go around the
mountain, but I had never seen it before. I had always imagined that trains were
for long distance transport. I never thought about getting up and down the side
of a mountain range that goes on forever.

On May 24, 2012, at 10:07 PM, nicknaylo@a... wrote:

> http://www.redwoodvalleyrailway.com/
> 
> The Redwood Valley Railway is a ridable miniature railroad in Tilden Regional
Park near Berkeley, California, has to 1.25 miles of track and over 160,000
passengers a year. The railroad uses 5" scale model live steam locomotives on a
15 in (381 mm) narrow gauge track. Rides last approximately 12 minutes.
> 
> the above from the wikipedia entry, discussing more about train bits and
gauges than I'll ever know,
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redwood_Valley_Railway
> 
> But I DO know it was a favorite weekend haunt for the GIT and I when she was
tiny up thru elementary school. We'd go at least monthly and ride in the open
cars thru the hills above the UC campus, Everyone yells thru the tunnel! great
fun.
> 
> By the time she was seven she only wanted to ride in the covered caboose cars,
sometimes a bit a squeeze for her dad.
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/10735775@N.../7265893180/in/photostream
> 
> Michael S
> 
> 
> 
> I thought they had a steam engine at one time... All of times I've been
> over (since ~92 or so), it's been diesel.
> 
> Ed
> 
> On 5/25/2012 12:07 AM, Roy wrote:
>> On Thu, 24 May 2012 17:58:50 -0500, you wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> The one I was familiar with, the Hocking Valley Railway in SE Ohio has
>> apparently switched to diesel since I left town.  Maybe when they 
> complete the
>> rebuild their steamer it will be put back in service.
>> 
> 
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