Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad facts for kids

Roaring Camp Railroads

The Dixiana at Roaring Camp in 2023
Overview
Headquarters	Felton, California
Reporting mark	RCBT
Locale	Santa Cruz County, California, US
Dates of operation	1963–present
Technical
Track gauge	3 ft (914 mm)

The Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad is a special tourist train in California. It runs on tracks that are 3 ft (914 mm) wide, which is called "narrow-gauge." The train starts from the Roaring Camp station in Felton, California.

It travels up steep hills through beautiful redwood forests. The journey goes all the way to the top of Bear Mountain, covering about 3.25 miles. Most of the trains are pulled by old steam locomotives. Some of these engines are from the 1890s! They are among the oldest narrow-gauge steam engines still carrying passengers in the United States.

In 1988, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers honored three of the railroad's locomotives. They were named "Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark" #134. This shows how important these old engines are.

Discovering the Roaring Camp Railroads' Past

How the Roaring Camp Railroads Began

The land where the railroad now runs was once called the Big Trees Ranch. In 1867, a businessman from San Francisco named Joseph Warren Welch bought it. His goal was to protect the giant redwood trees from being cut down. This was the first time someone bought land in California just to save trees.

Later, in 1930, the Welch family sold some of the property. This land became part of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.

The Roaring Camp Railroads started running in 1963. A man named F. Norman Clark (1935–1985) was the founder and owner. He wanted to continue his family's tradition of building railroads. He also hoped to "bring the romance and color of steam railroading back to America."

In 1958, Clark found an old engine named Dixiana. It was abandoned near a coal mine far away in the Appalachian Mountains. He said it looked like a "rusty pile of junk." But Dixiana was fixed up and started working in 1963. Its tracks were very old, shipped around Cape Horn in 1881. The railway was planned carefully. Clark bought 170 acres and leased the rest of the Big Trees Ranch for 99 years. He made sure to cut as few trees as possible for the tracks.

Changes to the Train Route Over Time

The original train route had two big bridges that made a "corkscrew" loop at Spring Canyon. But in 1976, a fire destroyed these bridges. The smoke from the fire was so big it could be seen from San Francisco.

Within six months, a new section of track was built. This new section is called a switchback. It allowed trains to go around the destroyed loop. The switchback is very steep, with a 10.5% grade. Because of its design, trains using the switchback can only have six cars or fewer. Longer trains need an extra diesel engine to help move the cars.

After F. Norman Clark passed away in 1985, his wife, Georgiana, took over the railroad. She became the Vice President of Operations. In 2003, the railroad held its first "Day Out with Thomas" event. This event was a huge success. About 25,000 people visited over three days. On December 28, 2015, a train had an incident with a stop block on the switchback. Several people had minor injuries. This happened because of a mix of human error and a mechanical problem with the engine.

The Amazing Locomotives of Roaring Camp

The railroad has several locomotives. Some are ready to run, while others are being repaired. The trains usually use two Shay locomotives for regular trips. Sometimes, a Heisler engine is also used. The oldest engine, "Kahuku," is used for short shuttle rides on special days. It is too small to pull trains up the mountain.

Special Engines: Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks

In August 1988, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers gave a special honor to three of Roaring Camp's engines. These were the Shay, Climax, and Heisler locomotives. They were named a "National Mechanical Engineering Historical Landmark." This was because they are great examples of small, slow-moving geared locomotives from the 1800s.

• Locomotive #1: Dixiana'

This engine was built in 1912. It first worked for a lumber company in Tennessee. The Dixiana is named after a small mining railroad that no longer exists. This engine looks a bit lopsided. Its boiler is set to the left to balance the weight of the engine. It is also thought to be the only working two-truck Shay engine in the world.

• Locomotive #2: Tuolumne'

Built in 1899, this engine was first used at a sawmill in California. It was bought for Roaring Camp in 1962 for $7,000. This engine was the last steam engine used for cutting lumber in Tuolumne, California. It is also the oldest Heisler engine that is still working today.

• Locomotive #5: Bloomsburg'

The Bloomsburg was built in 1928. It worked for several lumber companies over the years. Roaring Camp bought it in 1975. People believe this is the last Climax engine of its kind that was made for logging in the western United States.

See also

• List of heritage railroads in the United States
• Logging railroad
• Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway
• Santa Cruz Railroad

Images for kids

• 

  The fire-damaged trestle seen in 2023

• 

  Locomotive #2 in 2008