Special Guest Post: Knott's Berry Farm Locomotives - Part 1

I'm happy to present a Special Guest Post - the first of three - from GDB pal Steve DeGaetano. Normally you'd expect to learn some cool facts about the Disneyland Railroad, but for this Special Guest Posts, he's focusing on the narrow-gauge locomotives from Knott's Berry Farm, primarily in postcard form. This is right up my alley, so I was thrilled when Steve came up with the concept, and did  all the work (which allowed me to watch more daytime TV and eat bonbons)! Let's get to it. Here's Steve:

While the Disneyland trains are personal favorites of mine, the trains just a few miles up the road in Buena Park are very close seconds! Knott’s Berry Farm’s narrow-gauge trains hold a special place for me, because of their amazing histories and because of how close to the locomotives you used to be able to get—close enough to feel the heat from the boilers! The big locomotives of the Ghost Town & Calico Railway also allowed me for the first time to closely examine the mechanical parts of a steam locomotive in operation, as I was able to walk beside the departing train for 100 feet or so watching the rhythmic action of the side rods and valve gear.

Though I predominately collect DRR items, I have amassed a small collection of Knott’s postcards featuring the trains. I have no doubt my collection is incomplete, but through these we can follow the history of this small railroad through the years. This isn’t meant to be a definitive history of the Knott’s trains, and actually focusses on the locomotives. Some of these cards are hard to date, but I’ll try to post them in a more-or-less chronological order. I am no Knott’s or postcard expert, so please feel free to correct me or add to the discussion! But first!

Knott's 1: I thought it might be fun for us to see one of the Knott’s engines in its “native habitat.” This is No. 41, Red Cliff, on the Rio Grande Southern Railway (RGS) in Colorado as she appeared around the time Walter Knott might have first seen her in the early 1950s. There are RGS history books that indicate the name Red Cliff was original to the locomotive when built.

Knott's 2: Red Cliff was originally numbered 409, part of an order of 12 identical “Class 70” locomotives from Baldwin built for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (They weighed about 70,000 pounds). The engine was re-numbered “41” when RGS bought the locomotive from the D&RG in 1916.

To my knowledge, this is the earliest postcard from the GT&C. Engine 41 and the passenger cars are painted in the predominately yellow and black “Bumble Bee” scheme, popular at the time and perhaps meant to tie in with locomotives in the movie “Denver & Rio Grande,” which would be released in May, 1952. The GT&C RR. was built in late 1951, and dedicated in January1952 with a “Golden Spike” ceremony. The engine has been converted to burn diesel oil instead of coal.

Knott's 3: This card seems to predate the Calico Mine Ride, placing it in the mid-to late 1950s. This also seems to be the most numerically available card out there, probably appearing 10 times for every other card, at least on eBay. We can see the first passenger car, parlor car Chama, hasn’t yet been converted to a combination baggage/passenger car. Chuck, I apologize, but you’re about to see MANY postcards of the locomotive in this particular paint scheme, which I know is a personal favorite of yours.

Knott's 4: I have no idea about the date of this card, and am unfamiliar with the western building on the left, but it does seem to predate the Calico Mine Ride as well. We get our first view of No. 40, then named Gold Nugget. I couldn’t find much history on No. 40. She, too, was part of the initial order of 12 engines for the D&RG, originally No. 400, but was later renumbered 340. Knott’s probably renumbered her to No. 40 to keep her in sequence with No. 41. Unlike No. 41, No. 40 wasn’t sold to the RGS and remained a D&RGW locomotive until purchased by Knott’s.  I don’t think Knott’s purchased it at the same time as No. 41, but perhaps a year or two later. She’s mentioned (and photographed) in a 1953 Knott’s booklet about the railroad.

Knott's 5: It’s almost like no new post cards were made until the 1960s, but this may just be a gap in my collection.  Hand-dated 1964, this card features No. 41, and even thought we can’t see the number, we know it’s Red Cliff not only from the paint job, but from the straight brass handrail across the front of the smokebox. Caption reads, “The Ghost Town Marshall at Knott’s Berry Farm gets a big assist from two of his ‘deputies.’ They have just captured the bandits who robbed the narrow gauge passenger train, the Ghost Town & Calico Railroad.”

Knott's 6: This next card is dated 1966, and features the elaborate, if not quite authentic, paint scheme that Chuck is so fond of, with a false diamond smokestack and box surrounding her cylindrical headlight. The caption reads “Old 41 pulling her load of passengers on her daily run steams and puffs past Boot Hill at Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, California.”

Alright! This ends Part One, with Part Two coming next Tuesday. MANY thanks to Steve DeGaetano for taking the time to scan his postcards and to do such an excellent write-up to accompany them. I admit that I am now feeling the urge to collect some of these postcards! I have some KBF cards in my collection, but I never acquired them in an organized manner. And of course Steve's context makes them much more interesting!