Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
Parks Directory of the United States:
Top
Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
US State Park, California
c/o Capital District Office
101 J St
Sacramento, CA 95814
www.railtown1897.org
Phone: 209-984-3953
Size: 24.2 acres. Location: At 5th Avenue and Reservoir Road in Jamestown, 3 miles south of Sonora. Facilities: Historical buildings and exhibits, interpretive center, gift shop, picnic areas (
) Activities: Steam train excursion rides (seasonal), guided tours. Special Features: Park is home to the Historic Jamestown Shops and Roundhouse—an intact and still-functioning steam locomotive repair and maintenance facility, portions of which date back to 1897. This one-of-a-kind attraction combines industrial heritage and railroad history with the lore of Hollywood's film industry -- the park's historic locomotives and railroad cars have appeared in more than 200 films, TV productions, and commercials.
Related Videos:
Top
Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, and its operating entity, the Sierra Railway, is known as "The Movie Railroad." Both entities are a heritage railway and are a unit of the California State Park System. Railtown 1897 is located in Jamestown, California. The entire park preserves the historic core of the original Sierra Railway of California (later reincorporated as the Sierra Railroad Company). The railway's Jamestown locomotive and rolling stock maintenance facilities are remarkably intact and continue to function much as they have for the last 100-plus years.
The California State Railroad Museum (CSRM), headquartered in Old Sacramento, assumed responsibility for Railtown 1897 State Historic Park on July 1, 1992.
The Sierra Railway served the West Side Lumber Company mill at Tuolumne. The West Side operated an extensive narrow gauge (36") logging railroad in the Sierras. It operated into the 1960's, and was the last of the narrow-gauge logging railways operating in the American West.[1][2]
In addition to seasonal steam and diesel-powered train rides, the Railtown experience includes tours of the circa 1920s locomotive roundhouse and machine shop and related exhibits. Movie paraphernalia used in filming train sequences is on display.
|
Contents
|
Movie heritage
Since 1929, when The Virginian (the first talkie filmed outside a movie studio)[citation needed] was filmed with the Sierra locomotive number 3, the Sierra Railway properties have been a major resource to the motion picture industry. Sierra's tracks, locomotives and cars have long been seen on the silver screen; film credits include Go West with the Marx Brothers, High Noon with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, 3:10 To Yuma (1957) featured #3 in the end of the movie, as well as Back to the Future III with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Television programs that regularly used the Sierra property include Wild, Wild West, Iron Horse, Tales of Wells Fargo, and perhaps most famously, Petticoat Junction.[3][4] The Sierra No. 3 locomotive and Sierra's coach number 5 were the Hooterville Cannonball.[5][6][3] Locomotive No. 3 was also used in Season 2, Episode 17 of Little House on the Prairie.
Proposed for closure
The Railtown 1897 State Historic Park is one of the 48 California state parks proposed for closure in January 2008 by California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a deficit reduction program.[7], though it didn't happen.
In May 2011, California State Parks announced to close Railtown 1897 along with other 69 parks. Full closure is anticipated in July 2012[8].
See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Railtown 1897 |
References
- ^ Ferrell, Mallory Hope, West Side: Narrow Gauge in the Sierra, pp. 1-32, 293-312, Pacific Fast Mail, 1979.
- ^ "West Side Lumber Company," Tuolumne City Memorial Museum Web site (http://tuolumnecity.wordpress.com/4-museum-exhibits/westside-lumber-company/), Retrieved 9-22-2011.
- ^ a b Petticoat Junction at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Bienick, David (July 1, 2010). "Movie Locomotive Restored To Old Glory". Sacramento, California (field report from Jamestown): KCRA. http://www.kcra.com/video/24116982/detail.html. Retrieved 01-28-2012.
- ^ Stein, Dave (2005). "Petticoat Junction Hooterville Cannonball". http://petticoat.topcities.com/hooterville_cannonball.htm. Retrieved 01-28-2012.
- ^ "Railtown 1897 State Historic Park - Welcome". Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. http://www.railtown1897.com/railtown/default.asp. Retrieved 01-28-2012. "Known as “The Movie Railroad,” Railtown 1897, its historic locomotives and cars have starred in hundreds of film and TV productions, including High Noon, Back to the Future 3, and Petticoat Junction."
- ^ CBS5.com: List Of Calif. Parks To Close In Budget Proposal
- ^ http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=26685
Warwick Frost (2009). 'Projecting an Image: Film Induced Festivals in the American West'. Event Management 12:2, pp. 95-103.
External links
- Official Railtown 1897 Historic Park website
- CSP: Official California Railtown 1897 State Historic Park website
- Railtown 1897: Home page
Coordinates: 37°57′3.54″N 120°25′3.75″W / 37.9509833°N 120.4177083°W
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
Parks Directory of the United States
Parks Directory of the United States. Copyright © 2007 by Omnigraphics, Inc. All rights reserved.
Read more
