Polish rail ingenuity

When you absolutely must place a tourist railroad in operation yesterday, anything is possible! This Polish rail club used a Fiat 126p with steel rail wheels. Last May, two rail fan clubs gathered for a picnic in the Polish town of Moszna. They commemorated the re-opening of a 2-1/2 kilometer section of abandoned railroad. Brush cutting along the line occured between November 2011 and April 2012.

This YouTube video comes courtesy of our Polish railroad brothers (English translation -- for Polish, click here).


Video description: "19.05.12 w Mosznej odbył się pierwszy piknik motoryzacyjno-drezynowy "KIWAJKA 2012". Uczestnikami członkowie "LANCIA KLUB POLSKA", OPOLSKIE STOWARZYSZENIE MIŁOŚNIKÓW KOLEI oraz inne zainteresowane osoby. Krótki film przedstawia przejazd pociągu drezynowego z uczestnikami pikniku odbywający się na świeżo oczyszczonym dwu i pół kilometrowym odcinku nieużywanej linii kolejowej nr 306."

Here's the rough translation: "5/19/12 in Moszna first picnic was held motoryzacyjno-drezynowy "KIWAJKA 2012". The participants of the members of the "POLISH CLUB LANCIA," ASSOCIATION OF RAILWAY ENTHUSIASTS OPOLE and other interested parties. A short video shows the drive train of the participants drezynowego picnic held on the freshly cleaned two and a half kilometer stretch of unused railway line No. 306th." (Translation by Google Translate.)

Train rides for 2013

Come to Shingle Springs this Sunday (January 13, 2013) and help the El Dorado Western Railroad inaugurate train rides for 2013. The EDWR sends a heartfelt thank you to the community as it enters its third year of operation. Your continued support has allowed the railroad to continue to give train rides and preserve this valuable historic resource for future generations.

Highball for the first train is promptly at noon. The last run departs the depot at 3 p.m. Please remember at this time of year, all railroad operations at dependent upon weather. Watch our Facebook page for the latest news as we approach the run day.

The railroad will post its operating schedule soon. Watch for a special train on Saturday, March 30, and Sunday, March 31, out of Shingle Springs. In the meantime, here's the timetable through the end of February:

January 13 -- Shingle Springs Depot
January 20 -- El Dorado Station
January 27 -- Shingle Springs Depot
February 3 -- El Dorado Station
February 10 -- Shingle Springs Depot
February 17 -- El Dorado Station
February 24 -- Shingle Springs Depot

Please mark your calendars. Highball for the El Dorado Western, and we'll see you on the train!

El Dorado Western Railroad Santa Run

Train and stagecoach rides this weekend

Enjoy some holiday happenings on Saturday, December 3 in the historic town of El Dorado.

The El Dorado Western Railroad will give train rides from to noon 4 p.m. Trains depart on the hour and half-hour from the re-created depot on Oriental Street.

You can also ride Davey "Doc" Wiser's stagecoach from noon to 4 p.m.

While you're in El Dorado, stop by and enjoy what these shops have to offer:

Grab a tasty soup and bread (and Gingerbread Man cookies) at Allez! Good Food on the Go! from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Allez! is located at 6180 Pleasant Valley Rd.

Booksigning by local author Cindy Sample for her new book Dying For A Dance, the second book in a series, at Books n' Bears from 1 to 3 p.m. The bookstore is located at 6211-A Pleasant Valley Rd.

Annual favorites, the Suzuki Kids, will perform at 2:00 p.m. at Gallery El Dorado. The gallery is located at 6180 Pleasant Valley Rd.

Santa will be in town, so check to see if you're on the Naughty or Nice list!

The train will also run on Sunday, December 4 from Noon to 4 p.m. Two operating days reamin for 2011 if you can't ride the train this weekend. Come out and support the El Dorado Western Railroad on Sunday, December 11 and Sunday, December 18. We will post our 2012 operating schedule after the first of the year.

From now until Christmas, stroll and shop Historic El Dorado's local merchants for gifts and goodies!

Train rides Saturday and Sunday

Video on the El Dorado Western Railroad

The El Dorado Western Railroad gave train rides to the public on Sunday, June 26, 2011. Passengers boarded at the replica freight depot in El Dorado and rode the Fairmont A-4D gang car (ERWR No. 602) or Kalamazoo Model 57 track inspection car (CP&LP No. 4) to Forni Road. The two cars were hitched for the event.

Train rides on the El Dorado Western Railroad No. 602

Experience good old fashion fun on Sunday, June 26 in historic El Dorado, California. Ride on vintage rail cars, run through town in Davey "Doc" Wiser’s authentic Western stagecoach and walk among classic cars on Main Street. And top the day off with a scoop of refreshing ice cream!

The schedule includes: breakfast at the Community Hall from 8 a.m. to noon, craft fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., classic car show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., train rides and ice cream scoop ($5 donation) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., free stagecoach rides from noon to 4 p.m. ice cream social ($1.50 per scoop) from noon to 4 p.m., music and food.

Proceeds benefit the El Dorado Western Railway Foundation.

Garret Augustus operates the Fairmont speeder on a test run today. The El Dorado Western Railroad has designated the Fairmount A-4D as No. 602. This follows the Trackmobile, which is No. 601.

The A-car is named the "Peabody" after George Peabody, a longtime historian and writer in El Dorado County.

A-car ready for train rides

I heard from Keith Berry that the Fairmont A-car has a fresh coat of paint on it. She'll be looking good for train rides this Sunday in historic El Dorado.

A $5 donation gets you a stagecoach ride, train ride and scoop of ice cream. Come out and support the El Dorado County RR Park on Sunday, June 26.

Coming events for June

Please continue to watch the El Dorado Western Railway blog and Facebook pages. The railroad has three exciting events on the horizon.

They include:

• El Dorado County Fair, June 16 to 19, 100 Plaverville Dr., Plaverville, California. Crew members will be on hand from opening each day until 8 p.m. On Saturday, the crew pull the Diamond and Caldor No. 4 Shay locomotive out of the engine house.
• Train rides in the historic town of El Dorado, June 26, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Follow the signs for tickets.
• New Southern Pacific caboose to be moved to the El Dorado railroad park soon. The caboose, Southern Pacific No. 1094 from the 1940s, will be placed in service for train rides next year.

Watch these pages for more news.

Death Valley No. 5 Brill car at Laws

Death Valley No. 5 Brill Car being operated at the Laws Railroad Museum with Motorman Keith Berry and Conductor Paul Thompson. Photography by James N. Saylor. Last Day of Operations for 2010 season.

Wedding train

The readers of the El Dorado Western Railway blog may not know this little know fact: One of our board members was married on a train. The nuptials were held on Bear Mountain on the Roaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad in Felton, California, some 10 years ago.

A photograph, with the happy couple posing for the photographer on the brakeman's footrest of the Dixiana No. 1, greets me each I visit the couple. The shotgun stack, as it reaches for the sky in the bright afternoon light of the Coast Range, always catches my eye as I enter their country home. (No pun intended ... the tall, narrow smokestack is called a shotgun stack because of its resemblance to a shotgun barrel.)

The Shay was a fitting venue for their wedding. As one of the railway's longest running volunteers, this board member dates back to the early days of the renovation of the Diamond and Caldor No. 4 Shay.

I'm sometimes envious of my friends. They did something that I would've loved to have done. Since I'm nearly 30 years into my marriage, I doubt I'll have opportunity to get married on a train. Besides, my wife may have something to say about it!

Unless family tradition dictates otherwise, I highly recommend a special train wedding to our loyal railfans. A Facebook posting alerted me to this Portland wedding on-board the Oregon Pacific yesterday:

"A special train operated Saturday in Portland. But this is a special train in a different sort of way because a couple in our railfan community were married aboard! Leia and George charted this Oregon Pacific train for their ceremony which as long time railfans this was a perfect way for them to have their wedding and celebrate their day!"

Click over to Dogcaught: A Railroad Blog for the rest of the story and more photographs.

Who knows, maybe the El Dorado Western Railway will offer the occasional wedding special soon.

You know it's a railroad wedding when ...

It seems the commissary crew at the Pacific Coast Railroad has been getting a lot of practice lately. I've reported on the culinary delights prepared by Patti LaRose, Mary Harlow and Karell Reader at least three times this year. These ladies cook more than I do on the El Dorado Western.

The railroad, which is located on a private Santa Margarita Ranch, found another reason to barbecue chicken and give up train rides.

Commissary crew member Patti "Cookie" LaRose tied the knot with fellow railroader Dennis Thurman, a trail crewman on the PCRR. The ceremony occurred at the nearby Bittercreek Western Railroad, a 7-1/2-inch gauge steam railroad park in Arroyo Grande, California.

One aspect of the nuptials stand out when you read the blog article. It's not "sight of steam engines lined up in the steaming bays and circling the miles of track" or the "delicious chicken barbecue."

Like a railroading couple I know, Patti and Dennis experienced a true railroader's wedding, down to the bride's conductor "wedding gown" and her bouquet.

Since Patti's bridal bouquet was a signal lantern and could not be tossed easily, the lantern was passed to Stephanie, Karl's sweetheart. Everyone had a wonderful time and wished the newlyweds well on their honeymoon to northern California. Congratulations and lots of love to Patti and Dennis.

It looks like the ladies will soon have a couple reasons to put some good railroading vittles. I'm certain they'll fire up the coals once the fire danger passes.

And Stephanie and Karl may just tie the knot themselves. That's reason enough to cook in my book.

No weddings are on the horizon at our Northern California railroad. But I'm sure I'll find sufficient reason to cook for the El Dorado Western soon.

Cross-posted at the 'Round the Chuckbox.