Re: 2-6-2 #12 now on static display
| June 24, 2019 12:03PM |
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It's a pretty cool place. When one considers it is city park dedicated to railroads, knowing how well local government and politics can ruin a good thing, it is even better. In addition to the 15" operation there is a 7 1/2" gauge live steam club, various other displays including Magma Arizona 2-6-0 #6, private Pullman car "Roald Admunson"(sp?), a museum in the former ATSF depot that was in Peoria on the the line to Wickenburg, and a real nice model RR building with good sized layouts of O gauge (3-rail), N and HO-HOn3.
The Park recently got voted "America's Favorite Park" on one of those "vote early and vote often" polls like the C&TS has won. Still, I hear it is by far the busiest park in Scottsdale and the busiest city park in the state.
The amount of passengers the 15" hauls still astounds me. On a good day we haul 2500 people. On a slow day (like now - its getting hot) we "only" pulled 650. Daily numbers we would only dream of in Chama. On a busy day we will make 45 trips around the one-mile track. That's 45 miles.... running a 15" gauge train all the way from Durango to Silverton. Think about that. Better yet.. It is all supposedly 5/12 scale. That makes for something like 110 scale miles... All the way from Chama to Durango. It is getting close to being a real railroad. Things wear out, track needs maintenance. Locomotives need annual work. Cars need new wheels. Brake shoes need changing. Ties need replacing. It is a far cry from Guy Stillman's backyard hobby railroad that ran perhaps 10 days a year.
The Holiday Lights operation is when it becomes super big-time 7 days a week - two steam trains running at once.
check it out on the web:
[www.therailroadpark.com]
PS - the shot of the #1 on the trestle is very special to me. Not only is little #12 no longer in service, but all the people on the shot are gone - the big guy running is Hayne Ellis. He jointly owned the 12 along with Guy Stillman. the "old guy" is Leonard Phelps he was the City's CMO at the park. He retired from Rayonier's logging railroad. Both of them are long gone. Lastly the young man riding on the front of the first car is my little brother Rick, who passed away in 1986.
One last pic:
A rather young and long haired yours truly takes Hayne Ellis' 463 around the track back in 1977.
The Park recently got voted "America's Favorite Park" on one of those "vote early and vote often" polls like the C&TS has won. Still, I hear it is by far the busiest park in Scottsdale and the busiest city park in the state.
The amount of passengers the 15" hauls still astounds me. On a good day we haul 2500 people. On a slow day (like now - its getting hot) we "only" pulled 650. Daily numbers we would only dream of in Chama. On a busy day we will make 45 trips around the one-mile track. That's 45 miles.... running a 15" gauge train all the way from Durango to Silverton. Think about that. Better yet.. It is all supposedly 5/12 scale. That makes for something like 110 scale miles... All the way from Chama to Durango. It is getting close to being a real railroad. Things wear out, track needs maintenance. Locomotives need annual work. Cars need new wheels. Brake shoes need changing. Ties need replacing. It is a far cry from Guy Stillman's backyard hobby railroad that ran perhaps 10 days a year.
The Holiday Lights operation is when it becomes super big-time 7 days a week - two steam trains running at once.
check it out on the web:
[www.therailroadpark.com]
PS - the shot of the #1 on the trestle is very special to me. Not only is little #12 no longer in service, but all the people on the shot are gone - the big guy running is Hayne Ellis. He jointly owned the 12 along with Guy Stillman. the "old guy" is Leonard Phelps he was the City's CMO at the park. He retired from Rayonier's logging railroad. Both of them are long gone. Lastly the young man riding on the front of the first car is my little brother Rick, who passed away in 1986.
One last pic:
A rather young and long haired yours truly takes Hayne Ellis' 463 around the track back in 1977.
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488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
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