Ghost Town & Calico Railway
Encyclopedia
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
within Knott's Berry Farm
Knott's Berry Farm
Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park in Buena Park, California, now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and a line of jams, jellies, preserves, and other specialty food, now part of The J. M. Smucker Company based in Placentia, California....
, a theme park in Buena Park, California
Buena Park, California
Buena Park is a city in northwestern Orange County, California. As of Census 2010 the population was 80,530. The city is adjacent to the city of Anaheim and is 12 miles northwest of downtown Santa Ana. The Current OMB metropolitan designation for Buena Park and the Orange County Area is "Santa...
.
Unlike many other theme park railroads, the locomotives and most of the other equipment of the Ghost Town & Calico have been restored to original paint schemes and appearance on Colorado's Rio Grande Southern Railroad
Rio Grande Southern Railroad
The Rio Grande Southern Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad which ran from Durango to Ridgway in the western part of the US state of Colorado...
and Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
. Also unlike most theme park railroads, it travels in a circle and riders get off at the same place they got on.
Walter Knott
Walter Knott
Walter Marvin Knott was an American farmer who created the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in California....
began acquiring the equipment in 1951 with service starting that November. The railroad's opening ceremony commenced on January 12, 1952. The roster includes two Class C-19 Consolidation (2-8-0) locomotives, both originally constructed for the Denver & Rio Grande in 1881. When retired from service in Colorado, they were D&RGW #340 and RGS #41. Knott also purchased one of the famed Rio Grande Southern "Galloping Goose
Galloping Goose
Galloping Goose is the popular name given to a series of seven railcars, built in the 1930s by the Rio Grande Southern Railroad and operated until the end of service on the line in the early 1950s....
" rail buses used on the line when patronage did not justify an entire train. These unique rail vehicles kept the railroad viable from the 1930s until the line was scrapped in 1953. The Goose #3 soldiers on at the GT&C on quieter days during the off-season.
In late 1973, the park received ex-D&RGW K-27 #464, a Mikado (2-8-2
2-8-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
) locomotive. However, due to clearance issues, Knotts later donated the locomotive to the current owner and place of operation, the Huckleberry Railroad
Huckleberry Railroad
The Huckleberry Railroad is a narrow gauge heritage railroad located in Flint, Michigan, just north of Flint.The railroad received its name due to its slowness; it was said a person could jump off the train, pick huckleberries, and re-board the train as it traveled without difficulty.Former Denver...
in Flint, Michigan
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
.
Also rostered are several closed-vestibule coaches, the parlor cars "Chama" and "Durango", a short (formerly a "bobber") caboose, several freight cars, and the business car B-20 "Edna" (formerly "San Juan",) used by Otto Mears
Otto Mears
Otto Mears was a famous Colorado railroad builder and entrepreneur who played a major role in the early development of southwestern Colorado....
, president of the Rio Grande Southern.
A ride on the GT&C features a trip around Ghost Town and Boardwalk areas of Knotts, punctuated by a holdup by masked robbers, who have been known to announce their intentions by shouting, "This is a tax audit!" or similar tongue-in-cheek comments.
See also
- Calico, CA
- Calico & Odessa Railroad
- Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RailroadCumbres and Toltec Scenic RailroadThe Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a narrow gauge heritage railroad running between Chama, New Mexico and Antonito, Colorado. It runs over the Cumbres Pass, the highest point on a US passenger railway....
- Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge RailroadDurango and Silverton Narrow Gauge RailroadThe Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is a narrow gauge heritage railroad that operates of track between Durango and Silverton, in the US state of Colorado...
- List of heritage railroads in the United States