Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Since Dan over at No Facilities blog reminded his followers about National Train Day last year I have been looking for trains to photograph and saving them up for future National Train Day Posts. This year I’d like to share a little Red Engine that I’ve been saving since last September.
Some friends and I spent 3 days on Route 66. Our base was in Barstow, California. Not far from Barstow, CA is the Ghost town of Calico, CA. We spent an afternoon and evening there. For the History Buffs I’ve gleaned some information from Wikipedia about the Ghost Town, and the railroad that once operated there.
It was once a bustling mining town. “It was founded in 1881 which is when the largest silver strike was found in California. Over a 12 year span, Calico has 500 mines which produced over $20 million in silver ore. Unfortunately Calico lost it population in the mid-1890s because silver lost its value. “~Wikipedia
In the 1950’s Walter Knott bought Calico and restored it as a Living Museum. He restored the architecture to look like it did in the 1880’s. Several of the original buildings and railroad equipment were moved to Knotts Berry Farm’s “ghost town” exhibit, but most of it remains in the town. The Calico Ghost Town is now part of San Bernadino’s County Regional Park System.
We missed the train actually running but I did grab a shot of the little red engine.
“The Calico & Odessa Railroad is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge[1] heritage railroad in the ghost town of Calico, California, headquartered in Yermo, California. It was named for the town and mountain range of Calico and the nearby Odessa Canyon.[2]
It is a remake of the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Waterloo Mining Railroad, the original narrow gauge railroad line that hauled silver ore (and later borax) from Calico to the mills of Daggett in the 1880s, although the present-day tracks do not follow the trackbed of the original one.”~ Wikipedia
I hope everyone has a wonderful week-end!
Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm| Delkin Digital Film| PS CC 2017
More to come…
Circadianreflections Blog 
Nice!
Thank you Gordon!
Congrats on your new lens, Deborah.
If you love old railroads, you could check out Roaring Camp in Felton. I remember riding on the train there when my now-in-college nephew was waist-high. The photo-op might be worth the drive and parking fee. But tickets on the steam train have gotten expensive, so only take your grandson if he won’t pester you to buy tickets.
See http://www.roaringcamp.com/
I would rather meet you at Gamble Gardens than shoot trains.
Thank you Nancy! It’s a great lens and camera.
I have been on the train in Felton at Roaring Camps twice. I thought about going there to photograph just the train, and also the Steamie in Niles Canyon that runs to Sunol. It’s a great old train too, but did neither in time for National Train Day. I went whale watching instead. 🙂
I have Thursday and Monday free to go to the Gamble Gardens are you free either of those days?
Thanks for participating in Train Day, Deborah and I’m impressed that you were able to hang onto that beautiful photo for that long. That’s a great little loco. So much work was done in this country by those narrow gauge railroads. I’d love to see that little guy running.
Thank you for the reminder and prompt! I love trains; especially the “steamies”. 🙂
I’m glad you liked the post, and history.
I’d like to see that little train running too. I wanted to ride it. Sadly I got around to it too late in the day and then found I was too late. 😦
I like old steam engines and quaint old towns with history galore! This is a really great article informing us of a few details we may never have known. It is cool that Mr. Knott saved this shell of a town and restored it’s legacy. Thank you, Deborah for sharing the research! 🙂
Hope you are enjoying your weekend! Youngest daughter Felicia treated us to steak, beets and blue cheese salad with cold pressed coffee, then we went to see silly (but not quite as raunchy as we expected) “Snatched.” It has a redemptive story and a sweet moment when a brother is involved. Goldie Hawn was terrific and warm; Amy Schumer was fun and yet, a little more well rounded in her character, this time. 🙂
Wine and chocolates were my “take home gifts” which was far too much from this one’s budget. Other grown children planning a different day tomorrow. . . xo
Your dinner, and entertainment from youngest sounded delightful!
I hope you’re having a wonderful day today too.
I’m being a bit lazy. I was out all day yesterday doing my “photography” thing.
I’m glad Mr. Knott saved this town and made it a living museum too. It’s pretty neat. I hope to go back and spend more time there one day.
Dan may single-handedly manage to resurrect train day. Nice pic too!
LOL! He just might! 🙂
Thank you so much Katie!
Dan should be over the moon with this one. Nice job, Deborah.
🙂 I hope so! Thank you so much John!
🙂
I’d love to visit there, Deborah. What a cute engine! I can almost hear, “I think I can, I think I can.” 🙂
janet
Yes! “I think I can, I think I can!” I love that thought. 🙂
I hope you are able to visit it one day. I too would like to go back one day! So many places to see, and so little time and money! GRRR!
I know!!