Re: Ray maker steam outlines

From 1963 to 1995 a Ray Maker-built 24" gauge Aerotrain streamliner operated at the Oakland zoo. Here is a video:






The story is the train went to a large ranch and is restored to operation.

Ray Maker was an Oakland park train builder. Apparently many of his streamliners were built to 18" gauge, and one at least at 16" gauge. I think he also made the 24" trains (a shay and a 4-4-0, both steam outline) that
operated at Kennedy Park in Alameda. These later went to a guy in Oroville and then were sold to a guy a mile or two north of Gridley.
They operate there for some kind of train ride for kids recovering from illness.

An 18" gauge silver streamliner was said to be operating at Pastorino's Pumpkin Patch, at least as of about 8 years ago.
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,1029978

As of about 10 years ago, there was a Ray Maker steam outline in 18" gauge at the Opportunity Village in Las Vegas.

There was a ALCO PA train with three cars made for Santa's Kitchen in Santa Claus, CA (between Carpenteria and Montecito). About 15 years ago Ed Kelley said this about the train on another forum:

Quote
Ed Kelley
This train is credited to a fellow in Oakland by the name of Ray Maker. His stuff has been driving miniature railway researchers such as myself insane trying to piece together all the clues! Maker built several miniature trains over the years, the most common we've seen (researchers) were 16" and 18" gauge streamliners such as this. Another was up at Erich Thomsen's shop in Oakland (he moved it up to Tilden Park much later) and sold to a pumpkin farm in Half Moon Bay, which is still there and running every October in some form. The 2' "Aerotrain" at the Oakland Zoo, which was replaced 10-15 years ago, was also credited to him. He also built more than one steam profile locomotive, apparently one along the lines of an SP GS-class was stored by the City of Half Moon Bay until fairly recently, and another still in storage in Hayward (ran at a Kennedy Park up there). A pumpkin patch up in Oregon still has a Maker train, and there's another in an Oakland-area backyard.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,911262
He later says the train is in Half Moon Bay in storage.

I recall an Newspaper article that was at on time on a google server about Ray Maker, showing details of his shop. I think the date was April 20 1981, and was probably an Oakland paper talking about rebuilding the Oakland train.

There is an 18" train down in Merced that I think is credited to Ray Maker.

Another source of some info I have not parsed all of which at the time...
http://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/mystery-park-1965.html
I might find some more about this, but it is all I have at the time.
We probably have more in the archives at the 18inch discussion group (you will need to join in order to search):
https://groups.io/g/18inch



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2020 08:51AM by o anderson.