This page covers PARK TRAINS around the U.S., of which there are "oodles"
of, both past and present. If we make an attempt to include all
of the park trains of yesteryear, this page will never be complete (not that
it is anywhere complete now :-)
For instance, in my home town of Baltimore, the Baltimore Zoo used
to have a stainless steel train, patterned after the GM Aerotrain of the
early 60's. That was sold to a fellow out in Sykesville MD around 1990
or so, and the train (when I stopped by around 2009), was still in his barn.
And before that, there was Gwynn Oak Park, which closed in the
mid 70's - that train was sold to the Luskin family, and at last report, the
train was somewhere south of Baltimore in a storage location where the roof
was caving in and the train was going to sh... This came from the fellow
that used to own PURKEY's train store in Sykesville MD, and he had seen the train
in person in the early 2000's.
If you are into monorails, I have a few listed here, but there are quite a few
more. Monorails.org list these as the currently operating systems of
North America, most of which are commercial endeavors:
-- * Disneyland - Anaheim CA (1959)
-- * Disney World - Orlando FL (1971)
-- Jacksonville FL (1997)
-- * La Ronde Amusement Park - Ontario Canada (1967)
-- Las Vegas NV (1995)
-- * Miami Zoo - Miami FL (1982)
-- Newark International Airport - Newark NJ (1996)
-- Pearlridge Center Mall - Aiea / Honolulu HI (1976)
-- Seattle WA (1962)
-- Tampa International Airport - Tampa FL (1991)
According to coaster101.com, there are at least 13 park monorails that no longer exist,
their page is here:
-- Cedar Point Monorail (1959-1965) Sandusky OH
-- Skyrail – Busch Gardens California (1966 – 1979) Van Nuys CA
-- Eagle One – Busch Gardens Williamsburg (1975 – 1998) Williamsburg VA
-- Trans-Veldt Monorail – Busch Gardens Tampa (1966 – 1999) Tampa FL
-- Fun Pier/Wildwoods by the Sea Monorail (1960s to 1970s) Wildwood NJ
-- Ocean Playland Park Monorail (1965 – 1981) Ocean City MD
-- Carowinds Monorail (1973 – 1994) Charlotte NC/Ft Mill SC (although it is 9mi south of Charlotte)
-- Bellaire Express (1969 – 2006) Geauga Lake-Aurora/Bainbridge OH
-- Kings Island Monorail (1974-1993) Mason OH
-- Wild Animal Safari Monorail (1975 – 1993) Kings Dominion/Doswell VA
-- Six Flags Magic Mountain Metro (1971-2001) Valencia CA
-- Bumble Bee Monorail at Santa’s Village (1962 – 1998) Skyforest CA
-- Monorail at Riverside Park (1959 – 1996) Agawam MA
GPS Coordinates:
As needed
Acknowledgements:
Denver Todd
canadianrailwayobservations.com, for the pix of WP&Y #71 and #72
coaster101.com
Wikipedia
Google Maps
Open Street Map
Open Railway Map
Considering the small size of the railroad in comparison to the size of the park,
Dorney has two great looking trains.
The Zephyr started in 1935, and is supposedly the saving grace for the park,
allowing the park to remain open during the Great Depression. It's a
shame that the train doesn't go around the entire park :-(
Kings Dominion opened in 1974 as basically a country safari ride using a monorail, opening as a
"full-fledged" theme park the following year on May 3rd with 16
rides. The park included a
steam train ride called the Old Dominion Line train
ride.
Kings Dominion had purchased two steam engines, #552, the Stonewall Jackson,
and #601, the Patrick Henry. The trains lasted thru the 1995, and
after which the track was removed, along with the Skyride,
a cable-car ride. Looks like the monorail was taken out
of service in 1993. Both of
the above pages have a really nice accounting of the trains. I visited
the park on several occasions back in the 80's, and never took pictures of
the trains or monorail for some reason, kick me :-)
Two early maps of Kings Dominion, neither of which show the train, darnit....
Adventureland is a small park tucked away amongst the urbanized landscape of
the North East. It opened in 1962 and is still going strong! Not
sure what name the train ride goes by today, but upon opening, it was the
Iron Horse train.
If you are a railfan, and try to do railfanning in
much of the North East, say northern New Jersey north to Boston, you will
know exactly what I mean when I say "tucked". Almost everything is an
ordeal to get good pictures off :-).
Adventureland was also the name of an amusement park located in Addison IL, which operated from 1961 to 1977,
and also the name of a movie that came out in 2009. The park has been
featured in oodles of films, HBO's TV show Sucession, and a music video.
From Wikipedia: Niagara Amusement Park and Splash World is an 85 acres amusement park in Grand
Island, New York. It features a theme park, water park, and is adjacent to a KOA campground. It started out as Fantasy
Island, and was founded by real estate developer Lawrence Grant, and was opened on July 1, 1961. It was
planned by co-financier and local jeweler Gerald Birzon with buildings designed by Milton Milstein &
Associates. The ownership group was formed under the name Fantasy Land, Inc. before changing soon
after to Fantasy Island, Inc. The group had originally planned to call the park Fantasy Land, but
changed the name for legal reasons after finding out there was already an area of Disneyland called
Fantasyland. Upon opening, the park occupied only 12 acres (0.049 km2) of land that was divided
into five themed areas. On February 19, 2020, following reports that Apex Parks Group had put
the park's rides up for sale, the company confirmed that the park had permanently closed. Gene
Staples, owner of IB Parks & Entertainment, entered a long-term agreement to lease the
property from STORE Capital in May 2021. Staples also owns and operates Clementon Lake Park
and Indiana Beach. The park was renamed Niagara Amusement Park and Splash World and reopened
in August 2021. end wiki-check the Wikipedia page for a more complete history
Knott's Berry farm has two railroads: A "full size" narrow gauge train
(3ft), the Calico RR, and a smaller 2ft gauge train,
the Grand Sierra Railroad.
The Cedar Fair Entertainment Company acquired Knott's Berry Farm from the Knott family in December 1997.
In 2023, Six Flags and Knotts Berry Farm (Cedar Fair) merged.
Knott’s Berry Farm is the home of two authentic turn-of-the-century locomotives
and the Galloping Goose, a gasoline-powered motor car capable of using the
railroad tracks. You ride in a bit of history while taking a 5/8-mile
journey around the park. The Calico Railroad has been in operation at Knott’
s since January 12, 1952 and is an authentic Denver and Rio Grande Narrow
Gauge train used in the early 1900s. It boasts the highest crime rate in
all of Orange County, as notorious Ghost Town bandits still hold-up
every departure from the Calico Square depot.
The Grand Sierra Railroad opened in the 1983 season as part of the opening
of Camp Snoopy, and is a four-minute train ride that
takes guests on a scenic trip around Reflection Lake to Fiesta Village and
back. This miniature replica of an actual steam locomotive similar to the
full-size one in Ghost Town is a fun, leisurely way to take in the sights
of Knott's Berry Farm. The train ride was previously longer prior to the
opening of the Silver Bullet - when it opened on December 7, 2004,
the track layout of the Grand Sierra Railroad was shortened in the Reflection Lake area.
Interesting Side Note: In late 1973, the park received ex-D&RGW K-27 #464,
a Mikado 2-8-2 locomotive. However, due to clearance issues, in 1981,
Knott's donated the locomotive to the
Huckleberry Railroad in Flint, Michigan.
I couldn't find a length of the track for the Grand Sierra RR, so we had to
come up with a number using Google Maps....
According to coaster101.com: The monorail designed by
Universal Design opened at Ocean Playland Park (later just
Playland) in Ocean City, Maryland on June 18, 1965 for their inaugural season and ran until 1981.
The excursion monorail had a single station and encircled the small park, which was only 860 feet long
by 375 feet wide. The straddle monorail vehicles were sold to Geauga Lake since they had their own
Universal Design monorail.
From oceancity.com: In 1965, construction was completed on Ocean Playland Amusement Park on 65th
street bayside, on a large peninsula-type lot that protruded out into the bay at a price tag of
over $2 million. The park was only 860 feet long and 375 feet wide and sat behind a 1000-car
parking lot off of Coastal Highway. The park, which officially opened for its first day of
business on June 18, 1965, was developed by realtor Jim Caine, Oscar Carey, and George
Chandler and was built to offer amusements to those staying in uptown Ocean City. The
park became an immediate success in north Ocean City, which at the time was extremely
underdeveloped and sparse.
Having lived in Towson MD (north of Baltimore MD "in the burbs") since 1966, we
frequented Ocean City quite a few times, as that was the usual destination for
us kids. I never once went to the park, so I never got a chance to see or
ride this monorail. But I could also say this for Kings Dominion, Busch
Gardens Tampa, and probably a few others, darnit :-( I did however get to
visit one park that didn't last very long,
Freedomland,
in Queens NY, due the the fact that my grandparents lived nearby :-)
Dollywood used to be called the Rebel Railroad back in the 60's.
History: In 1957, North Carolina real-estate developer Grover Robbins opened a theme park between Boone and Blowing Rock called the
Tweetsie Railroad with ex-East
Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad 4-6-0 #12. The park was an instant success. In 1961, he acquired two USATC S118 Class 2-8-2s from the White
Pass. The success of Tweetsie prompted him to send one of them, #192, to the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee for a second theme park, called
the Rebel Railroad. The other, #190, was sent to Tweetsie and still operates there.
The Rebel Railroad, which opened in 1961, was designed as a tribute to the Smoky Mountain way of life. Besides the steam train named Klondike Katie,
the small park also featured a general store, a blacksmith, and a saloon. Although the park would soon change owners in 1970, the spirit of tradition would remain
at the Robbins’ park even into the present day.
The railroad runs along a 2.5 mile loop-to-loop track from the Village to the top of the mountain Dollywood borders to the north. It is pulled by two
ex-White Pass & Yukon Route 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotives, each burning five tons of coal each day. It is the oldest attraction in Dollywood,
opening at the theme park "Rebel Railroad" in 1961. It is also one of the signature attractions at Dollywood, appearing in almost all advertising.
In 1970, the Rebel Railroad was purchased by Art Modell, the owner of the NFL team, the
Cleveland Browns. He renamed the park Goldrush Junction and
expanded it along the same Appalachia theme laid out by the Robbins Brothers. Now known as “Tennessee’s Million Dollar Fun Attraction,” the much larger park
featured new attractions such as a saw mill, an outdoor theater, log cabins, and a campground, as well as many children’s rides. Modell also added a small chapel
named after the Sevier County doctor who delivered Dolly Parton. This chapel was just one of the many connections to the park and county that led Parton to
eventually buy into it and give it her name.
In 1976/77, Goldrush Junction was sold to Jack and Pete Herschend, of Herschend Enterprises, and renamed
it Silver Dollar City Tennessee. The Herschend
brothers were looking to build upon the success of their original Silver Dollar City in Branson MO. Just like the Tennessee park that they had just acquired, Silver
Dollar City in Branson paid homage to the unique history of the area, featuring frontier-style buildings and other period specific attractions. In 1983 Silver Dollar
City opened the first working grist mill Tennessee had seen in over 100 years. Also in 1977, the
railroad added two new steam locomotives, the #70 and the #71,
plus the remains of engine #72 for spare parts, from the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad.
In 1986, Dolly Parton partnered with the Herschends and together they reopened the park under the name, Dollywood,
and renamed the railroad the Dollywood Express.
from the Gold Rush era
Built in 1939, #71 toiled on the WP&Y until 1963. #71 now resides at the Dollywood Theme Park. Photo Royal British Columbia Museum
White Pass & Yukon #72 around 1947, soon after the delivery of #72 and #73.
Busch Gardens in Tampa also used to have a suspended type of monorail called
the Trans-Veldt. The monorail opened in 1966, and lasted till 1987, when it
was closed for updating. The small suspended system operated boxy trains
that used two propane fired, air cooled, aluminum Corvair engines per train
to produce the AC power necessary for the electric motors. The monorail
re-opened in 1988, using bus-bars added to the overhead track for power
instead of the onboard system. Tinting of the windows was increased to help
keep the interior cool.
The train takes about 20 minutes to make a complete tour of the park, and,
you are not required to get off at any particular station, their website
says you can ride as long as you desire.
This is a "kiddie" type of park train that used to run on a circle of track.
I acquired the train in 2020, but the chap I purchased it from, had already
disposed of the track that he got with the train, darnit. He said the
train came from Gwynn Oak Park in Baltimore MD, but a local Gwynn Oak expert
said he did not recognize the train.
If anyone can identify where the train came from, it would be greatly
appreciated.
The train ran on a circle of track, maybe about 30 feet in diameter, using a
120VAC single speed motor for power. When he acquired the train, the
motor was already burned up. He got rid of both the motor and
track in a -property cleaning event- he had about a year before I bought it.
At least he kept the transaxle from it, but finding a motor that will mate
up to it will be next to impossible, not that running from a single speed AC
motor is a very desirable option.
It would be nice to retrofit the cars and engine to fit on standard "Live
Steam" 7-1/2" gauge track, so we could take it over to the Chesapeake &
Allegheny Live Steamers who have a track in Leakin Park in Baltimore.
To accomplish this, I would opt to using a pair of standard 7-1/2" gauge
trucks under each car, making one set powered using something like the
powered trucks from Plum Cove. The locomotive would be unpowered,
housing only the batteries and controller. Substituting a straight
axle to mount the large driver wheels on would also make the engine somewhat
lighter to deal with, as the transaxle probably weighs as much as the whole
engine! :-( I would design the mods so that the original wheel set
could still be put under the loco and cars. Although it would not be
original, the addition of a tender would give the operator a place to sit
(the seats are pretty narrow, and really only sized for kids). The
power trucks could then be mounted under the tender, along with the
batteries. Just thinking out loud.
Disclaimers:
New format 10/26/23: Please check out my disclaimer page for my standard
dribble and contact info here
the Steel Colt Kiddie Train
from coaster101.com
from oceancity.com
from oceancity.com
from oceancity.com
from the Gold Rush era
