I have always loved Disneyland's trains, and as my appreciation for them grew over the years, I found that other trains (especially steam locomotives) were pretty appealing too. My guess is that more than a few of the GDB readers feel the same way. So… here are three photos of different trains from around the country.
This first one shows a cute little train. "Edaville", what's that? Mr. Wikipedia sez, "Edaville Railroad is a heritage railroad in South Carver, Massachusetts. Opened in 1947, Edaville Railroad is generally regarded as one of the oldest heritage railroads in the United States. Edaville Railroad is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge line that operates excursion trains for tourists. It was built by the late Ellis D. Atwood (initials E.D.A, for which Edaville is named) on his sprawling cranberry plantation on the inland end of Cape Cod".
Of interest to me is the fact that C.V. Wood, infamous for helping Walt Disney to realize his dream of Disneyland (and later stricken from the official record for taking too much of the credit) leased some of the Edaville equipment for Freedomland U.S.A., and Pleasure Island.
Here's a neat photo from 1950, taken at the "Duluth and Iron Range" Company Depot on Sixth Street in Two Harbors, Minnesota. On display outside the depot is the #3 locomotive (with a 2-6-0 configuration), which was built in 1883 at the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. Isn't it a beauty? It has an interesting history, which you can read about HERE if you like! Happily, the locomotive can still be found in Two Harbors, where it is undergoing restoration.
And just for the halibut, I figured I would include this one, even though I have precious little information about what we are looking at (other than a bunch of trains). It reminds me very much of Travel Town, located in beautiful Griffith Park in Los Angeles (though it could be someplace else, of course - chime in if you know anything!). Meanwhile, you can still visit Travel Town and walk among many gigantic old trains and trolleys, and you can even climb on them. I still remember seeing an episode of "The Monkees" in which the Prefab Four clowned around on the trains during one of their musical numbers.
Give me a second...need to wipe the drool from my keyboard...
ReplyDeleteNice set this morning! Always good to see Edaville equipment in operation, whether it's in its native habitat or on loan to C.V. Wood.
I have a couple of friends (no - really!) who are huge fans of the Maine two-foot roads. They've made a couple of pilgrimages to the area over the years, and both have kitbashed or built respectable models of the equipment and layouts to operate them on.
That third photo looks like any one of about five railroad museums I've been to in the US and Canada. Is there any other identifying context - year, other locations in the slide deck, etc.?
I made an absolutely terrible James Bond spoof video in Drama class my senior year in high school. One of the sequences was a sped-up, Monkees-inspired madcap chase on and about a steam locomotive on display in a city park (set to "Last Train to Clarksville," of course).
Many fond memories of Edaville Railroad as a kid, and of course hearing the train whistle at Pleasure Island, which was a mile from my house. That last picture reminds me a bit of the old "Engine City" area at Pleasure Island, but the clothing of the picture, particularly the woman in the mini skirt and mod boots probably dates it later than the time "Engine City" was there.
ReplyDeleteDisney also attempted to buy the Edaville railroad in the early 1950s to serve as the Disneyland railroad.
ReplyDeleteChuck, I had no idea that Maine had so many two-foot gauge railroads. I suppose trains were the lifeblood of much of the country, though. The third photo might very well NOT be Travel Town, but I want it to be! Someday I'll post actual pictures of TT, which I love. I wish I could remember which song the Monkees were frolicking to when they were there.
ReplyDeleteNorbost, very cool that you remember the Edaville RR as a kid. I'll have to look up "Engine City", never heard of it! The trees in the background look awfully barren to be SoCal, but it's so hard to tell.
Dean Finder, very interesting! It must have to do with that C.V. Wood connection, don't you think?
Here's a link to the "Engine City" on the Friends of Pleasure Island website
ReplyDeletehttp://friendsofpleasureisland.org/attractions/engine-city.htm