More Silver Dollar City, August 1970
Today I'm sharing the last five scans from Silver Dollar City, near Branson, MO. Be sure to see the first part - I'd link to it, but as I am composing this second part, the first part has not published yet. Time is a flat circle, whatever that means. Below is another photo of the Flooded Mine attraction, which looks like something they put extra effort into. Notice the train station in the distance - more on that in a sec.
Instead of the standard Western-town gunfight, Silver Dollar City switched things up by having a battle between two strapping ladies. "Kirk was better, you yellow-haired devil!". "Why, you musta drunk too much rotgut, you sidewinder. Picard is better!".
Here's one of the trains from the Frisco Silver Dollar Steam Train. Wikipedia sez: The railroad opened on May 27, 1962, making it the oldest operating ride at Silver Dollar City. It is themed after American railways in the 1800s, more recently and specifically off the Frisco. The ride includes an 1800s themed train depot, a water tower, a trestle overpass bridge, a train wreck scene, a staged train robbery, a tunnel, a rectangular shaped roundhouse and an at-grade railroad crossing. It consists of a total of seven steam locomotives, with four of them in operating condition as of 2023. The railroad is 1.52 miles long.
Oh boy, a stagecoach ride! It appears as if there was a bit of railing to help keep guests from falling off, which is mighty neighborly (but no fun). Again from Wikipedia: In the early years of the park, an authentic stagecoach took guests on a bumpy ride around the perimeter of the town square pulled by sturdy draft horses. It was removed five years after the park opened. I wonder if their stagecoaches ever fell over or collapsed? Or exploded?
Hmmm, those don't look like "sturdy draft horses" to me, in fact they look like mules. Mangy mules, too! Sure, they're flavorful, but they're still mules. I wonder if they would launch three or four coaches at once, since we are eating a coach's dust in the previous image, and serving up some filth in this one?
I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Silver Dollar City!
12 comments:
I love that matching couple in the second pic. They even ‘line up their stripes together.’ That probably takes years of practice and lots of coordination.
I’ll be back later…am looking forward to reading everyone’s comments.
1) Oh yeah, I remember these. At least, I remember the rockwork... and those bent pipes. Not sure we figured out what those were for. Were they just 'old mine decor', or did they serve some practical purpose?
2) Kirk? Picard?... Pffft. Janeway was the best! The lady in pink should be brandishing a rolling pin. I think the gal on the right has lost her skirt (the tan colored one on the ground), and that white garment she's wearing is her bloomers. Identical t-shirts on the couple in the background. [Edit: Dang it, Sue. You beat me to it!] ;-p
3) Those railroad stats are quite impressive. Lots of things going on, in and around, the train.
4) & 5) Major, I'm sure you're right about those "sturdy draft horses" actually being sturdy draft mules. Unless the horses had 'ear extensions' done. I can't imagine why horses would want ear extensions. Ear reductions, yes. But extensions? That's just silly.
Silver Dollar City sounds like it has a lot going for it. And it's still there! (As of 2023). Being close to Branson, I would think that they would have a steady flow of tourists. Thanks, Major.
Love these pics. Silver Dollar City has always appealed to me for its forested setting. And not only is it still there, it was rated the best park in America by USA Today in 2024 (not a single Disney or Universal park made the top 10 because parks usually publicize the survey if they want to win). It's on my bucket list, mostly for the Flooded Mine.
To see Part 1 of the Silver Dollar City photos, click HERE or copy and paste https://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/2024/08/silver-dollar-city-august-1960.html into your favorite browser. Be sure to press “Enter” or “Return” for best results.
I had forgotten the train station was so close to the Flooded Mine. The geography of that park is kind of a jumble in my mind. But I do remember an outstanding serving of BBQ ribs and corn on the cob. Which reminds me - hey, woman - ain’t my oatmeal ready yet? I’s a-gettin’ powerful hungrified, and it ain’t improving’ my mood none, ya hear?
I think SDC released their stagecoaches in “bouquets” of two or three, racing to see which would return to the load area first before falling over, collapsing, or exploding. Exploding Stagecoach is my thrash metal bluegrass bagpipe band.
Andrew, I wouldn’t wait too long on going to see the Flooded Mine. I don’t have any inside information, but you’ve already missed the original Fire in the Hole and who knows what charming old ride will end up on the chopping block next. So glad there are young people like you that are still interested in historic dark rides.
Major, sincerely praying for you and your family’s safety and that you finally have power again today. Thanks again for all you do for us.
When stagecoach lines dispatched multiple coaches together with the same departure time and destination they called it a “BRIGADE”. This was a Conan practice - something never depicted in movies or tv shows. The British called it a “RAKE” … in England , Australia and New Zealand.
…….”The More You know………..”
Conan = common
That steam locomotive may have worn the Frisco herald, but that’s about as European an engine as you could get! The boxy thing along side the boiler is one of the side tanks where the water was carried.
Like Dollywood, Silver Dollar City is on my bucket list as well. Both are managed by Herschend Family Entertainment and in my opinion of higher quality than the average theme parks.
Great pics! Thanks, Major.
Hi everybody, thank you for your patience; power has been restored, and I am very lucky to have not been truly near any wildfire flames (though there was an ominous red glow over the hills as I was driving home last night). I think we’ll be OK, though obviously so many people have suffered terribly. I received a number of messages from Junior Gorillas expressing concern, and I am very grateful for their kind thoughts.
Lou and Sue, I have to admit that the matching stripes is kind of cute! Do you think the couple still wears matching stripes?
JB, the bent pipes were sponsored by PIPE GUYS, INC. Need a weird pipe sticking up for no reason? Call Pipe Guys! I liked Janeway, but come on, “the best”?? I admit that I quite like Captain Pike from “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” too. I like that train, though the stack looks very odd to me. Not the usual balloon stack or diamond stack. I’m glad that my “mule-fu” still works, I could make a fortune! I would go to Branson, but Mel Tillis isn’t there any more, so why even bother?
Andrew, wow, the “best park in America”… pretty amazing! I think you might be on to something about parks publicizing the survey, ha ha.
Chuck, “copy and paste”, what am I, some sort of computer nerd? (Meanwhile, thanks Chuck). I’m surprised how many Junior Gorillas have been to Silver Dollar City, but then I remembered that not everybody lives in SoCal. Outrageous! Yum, BBQ ribs and corn on the cob. And potato salad! A “bouquet” of stagecoaches, so poetic. Robert Frost would be proud. Please send me some MP3s of Exploding Stagecoach’s music! I’m sure Andrew knows all about classic rides vanishing, but you are right, if you want to see one of them, go sooner rather than later. Thank you for your kind words Chuck, I am one of the lucky ones. Boy, did we appreciate having electricity after nearly three days without it!
Mike Cozart, hey, Chuck wasn’t that far off with “bouquet”! I was going to ask about “a Conan practice”, but see that you address it in your next comment. :-)
Mike, I happen to know that Conan O’Brian loves stagecoaches.
Steve DeGaetano, aha, maybe that’s why the train looks a little strange to my eyes? Interesting that it doesn’t have the standard tender for fuel and water (where is the fuel stored? In another tank on the other side of the boiler?).
K. Martinez, it’s nice to know that there are non-Disney amusement parks out there that really make an effort to provide a quality experience for their guests! I hope you get to go to Silver Dollar City soon.
Glad to hear you're doing OK, Major.
Steve, the plus side of that locomotive is that they can do a Thomas the Tank Engine ride with a new coat of paint.
True, Dean.
Major, there were rarely American locomotives with round or oval windows, so that's another European feature that looks odd to us. And we're also not used to that red handle on the center of the smokebox door--usually there's a number plate there. And no headlight? Really, the only effort they made to "Americanize" the engine was to make a balloon smokestack, and add an American-style bell and whistle.
Steam engines need about half as much fuel as water, so I'm guessing there's fuel a tank on board behind the cab that we can't see.
Yeah that locomotive appears to be a German Henschel narrow gauge industrial locomotive. Many were brought back to the USA & Canada after WW 1 and again after WW 2 as war prizes. They were used in larger industrial situations . Since the locomotives were designed for short distance fuel - usually coal or oil and water could be stored on side tanks and didn’t need a fuel tender. Looks like Silver Dollar City did what the Italians did with their spaghetti westerns : take European equipment and modify it with American -esque details ….. the funny thing is so many of that parks guests in the early years would have been American veterans and probably easily recognized the German originals of the “Frisco Old West “ locomotive !! I wonder if other locomotives at Silver Dollar City were also WW 2 war prizes?
By the way the Stagecoaches appear very correct in size and proportions- although the views are only of their ends. Many amusement parks had Frankenstein stagecoaches that were made in a garage built atop a farm wagon chassis …and look horrible.
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