Roaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad

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Roaring Camp Railroads

Reporting marks	RCBT
Locale	Santa Cruz County, California
Dates of operation	1963–present
Track gauge	3 ft (914 mm)
Headquarters	Felton, California

The Roaring Camp & Big Trees Railroad is a narrow gauge tourist railroad in California that starts from the Roaring Camp depot in Felton, California and runs up steep grades to the top of nearby Bear Mountain, a distance of about 2.5 miles. The travel is through second-growth redwood forest.

1 History
2 Locomotives
3 Access to the operation
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

The burned trestle, with damage to sleepers and rails

Roaring Camp Railroads operations began in 1963 under the guidance of F. Norman Clark (1935-1985), who was the founder and owner. Clark's wife, Georgiana, assumed the ownership and management responsibilities following his death.

Originally, two large trestles formed a "corkscrew" loop at Spring Canyon, but these were destroyed by a 1976 fire. Within six months, a switchback was constructed to bypass the severed loop and the entire line was returned to service. The length of the tail tracks in the switchback restricts the trains that may be operated to six cars or fewer.

[edit] Locomotives

The railroad owns several locomotives in various states of repair. Regular service is typically handled by the railroad's two Shays locomotives, with occasional appearances by the Heisler. 0-4-2T "Kahuku," the oldest locomotive on the roster, is used in shuttle service on special occasions. Due to its small size, it is not capable of hauling trains up the mountain.

Number	Name	Builder	Type	Works Number	Built	Acquired	Notes
#1	Dixiana	Lima Locomotive Corp.	2-truck Shay	#2593	1912	October 1962	Ex-Coal Processing Corp. #3 at Dixiana, Virginia. Operable and in regular service
#2	Tuolumne	Stearns Manufacturing Company	2-truck Heisler	#1041	1899	1963	ex-West Side Lumber Company #3. Operable
#3	Kahuku	Baldwin	0-4-2T		1890	1966	ex-Kahuku Plantation #1 "Keana." Operable on special occasions
#4	Waipahu	Baldwin	0-6-2T	unknown	1897	1977	Sold to Western Village theme park, Nikkō, Japan, in 1988. Ex-Oahu Sugar #1)
#5	Bloomsburg	Climax Manufacturing Company	2-truck Climax	#1692	1928	1975	Ex-Elk River Coal & Lumber Company #3. Acquired from Carroll Park & Western Railroad, Bloomsburg, PA. Inoperable, plans are to rebuild.
#6	Daisy	Lima Locomotive Corp	2-truck Shay			1988	ex-WM Ritter #7. Inoperable.
#7	Sonora	Lima Locomotive Corp	3-truck Shay	#2465	1911	1986	ex-West Side Lumber Company #7 Operable and in regular service
#40		Plymouth	14-ton Diesel				ex-Kaiser Steel, Fontana, CA Operable
#50		General Electric	25-ton Diesel Electric				ex-Bethlehem Steel, Los Angeles, CA Operable
#60		General Electric	56-ton Diesel Electric				ex-Bethlehem Steel, Los Angeles, CA Inoperable
#10		Milwaukee	Motorcar (formerly "Critter")				ex-West Side Lumber Company. Operable

Locomotive #1, Dixiana

Locomotive #2, Tuolumne

Locomotive # 7 Sonora

[edit] Access to the operation

The railroad parking lot may be accessed directly from Graham Hill Road off State Highway 9. The standard-gauge Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway reaches the railroad from Santa Cruz. Visitors to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, which contains large old-growth redwood trees, picnic facilities, and river beachfront, may easily walk to the train operation.