This page covers the numerous PARK TRAINS around the U.S., of which there have been "oodles", both past and present. If we make an attempt to include all
of the park trains of yesteryear, this page may never be complete! 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, and had seen the train
in the early 2000's. If you have any "inside" information such as
this, please check out my contact page
here.
Acknowledgements:
Denver Todd
Websites and other additional information sources of interest:
None Yet.......
What used to be called the Rebel Railroad back in the 60's, is what we now call Dollywood.
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 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.
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 1977, Goldrush Junction was sold to Jack and Pete Herschend, of Herschend Enterprises, and renamed 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.
In 1986, Dolly Parton partnered with the Herschends and together they reopened the park under the name, Dollywood.
I love trains, and I love signals. I am not an expert. My webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page. This is something I have fun with while
trying to help others.
Please Note: Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them.
For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, myindexa page has a list of almost everything railroad oriented
I can think of to provide you with at least a few pictures to help you detail your pike.
If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made to make sure that the information contained on this map and in this railfan guide is correct. Once in a while,
an error may creep in :-)
My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand words, especially for railfanning. Text descriptions only get you so far, especially if you get lost or
disoriented. Take along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still better if you get lost! I belong to AAA, which allows you to get
local maps for free when you visit the local branches. ADC puts out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their state maps do not have the
railroads on them. If you can find em, I like the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise graphics, and they do a really good job
of showing you where tourist type attractions are, although they too lack the railroads. Other notes about specific areas will show up on that page if known.
Aerial shots were taken from either Google Maps or www.bing.com/maps as noted. Screen captures are made
with Snagit, a Techsmith product... a great tool if you have never used it!
By the way, floobydust is a term I picked up 30-40 years ago from a National Semiconductor data book, and means miscellaneous
and/or other stuff.
Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or correct.... credit
is always given! Please be NICE!!! Contact info is here
Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as being possibly being inaccurate, wrong, or not true.