Restored trains

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Restored trains are operated by a museum, a club, or by a private company, for entertainment and historical purposes. The trains usually follow a route (or part of a route) used in the past for more utilitarian reasons. A restored train (in this article) is operational, not a static exhibit. Although kept for historical reasons, these trains are primarily used by tourists who provided the bulk of the revenue required for further restoration or maintenance.

Two examples on the West Coast of the United States are the Roaring Camp Railroads (Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway and Roaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad), near Santa Cruz, California, and the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train, in the Seattle, Washington area.

In Australia, famous examples include the "Puffing Billy" railway on the outskirts of Melbourne, the Zig Zag Railway west of Sydney and the Walhalla Goldfields Railway. 3801 Limited operate the 38 class locomotives 3801 and 3830 over the New South Wales rail network. The New South Wales Rail Transport Museum has a small railway near the museum, and also operates mainline tours under the brand "Heritage Express".