RC&BT is a nice train ride, and from Palo Alto area, where I lived from 1980-85, it was a fun trip on my Honda CB750F. The day I took that photo was in the later part of the summer, probably in 1983 (I'll have to go look for the slide that has the date). That was probably a Sunday afternoon, and they were running two trains, being very busy. I was also in fairly good shape so I could chase the train on foot and beat it on the different levels as it climbed the mountain. The disadvantage to that is the area is full of poison oak, and the next day, I was a mess.
I do remember this train also had the diesel on the other end and they had to stop at the switch back to allow the steam pressure to get back up.
Someday, I'll have to post all my photos from the RC&BT.
Bill Kepner