Friday, June 03, 2011

Knott's Berry Farm 1955

1955 is probably best known to readers of this blog as the year that Disneyland opened. Knott's Berry Farm had been around for many years at that point, and luckily for us, it did not whither and die when its flashy new neighbor moved in - in fact, it thrived!


Here's a beautiful photo of one of the magnificent steam locomotives. I really love these earlier shots of the trains, when they still had their more subdued, authentic paint schemes. All of today's photos are from stereo slides, but I resisted the temptation to turn them into wiggling (headache-inducing?) animated gifs.


I don't recall seeing photos of the "Lucky Cuss" mine before. This apparatus apparently hoisted up buckets full of ore-laden rock and dirt and dumped it into that wagon. The dirt was then panned by Knott's visitors nearby. I think that might be the ticket booth for the gold panning visible behind the wagon and through the timbers.


And there's Old Betsy! You can still see her at Knott's today.


6 comments:

Vintage Disneyland Tickets said...

Something about the old Knott's Trains - they seem so real, you can feel and smell the steam and grease! I too like the earlier paint jobs!

I "think" the Lucky Cuss thing is still there or something like it, but ToykoMagic would know way better than me.

Connie Moreno said...

Guess where I'm going today???

Wow, that first photo is beautiful! Actually, the train is the reason I'm going to Knott's today. I was there in March and the train wasn't running and I was VERY disappointed.

Allen P said...

The "Lucky Cuss" mine is at the entrance to Boot Hill.

F.Y.I., today would have been Mr. and Mrs. Knott's 100th wedding anniversary. (See my blog at Knott's In Print.)

TokyoMagic! said...

Yep, VDT and Allen P. are right....it's still there. That little structure behind it is also still there and the small structure off in the distance and to the right of it is the Barrel House and it's still standing too. The structure on the far right is the Knife Shop and that has since been torn down.

That wagon is the one that Chief White Eagle would often use to hang feather headdresses on for photo ops with guests.

We could try and take that same shot today, but it would be all junked up in the background with steel pylons and track for the Pony Express ride.

JG said...

Great pics as always Major. This link>>
http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/mother_lode_country/images/coulterville_locomotive.jpg

goes to a photo of a train very similar to Old Betsy.

This train in Coulterville, in the California Gold Country has been a static display for many years beside Hwy 49 on the road to Yosemite.

I remember crawling on this at about the same age as my Knotts visits. I may have a shot of Old Betsy too.

JG

bloefeld said...

Loved climbing all over Old Betsy when I was a good.
Glad to know it's still there.