#steamtrain #jamestown #railtown1897 #sacramentotrainmuseum #sierrarailway #sierrarailway3 #jamestowncalifornia #california #tuolumnecounty #tourism

At Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, California, history comes to life with vintage steam trains, a working roundhouse, and the timeless Sierra Railway Shops, a designated California Historical Landmark.

Relive the magical journey of THE POLAR EXPRESS on an hour-long train ride to the North Pole. Enjoy hot-hot-hot chocolate and yummy cookies as you ride along with many of the story’s characters. Once you reach the North Pole, the jolly old elf – Santa himself – will come on board to give each passenger a silver sleighbell, the “first gift of Christmas.”

Ride behind a historic steam or diesel locomotive on a train trip through California’s scenic Gold Country. Your 6-mile, 45-minute roundtrip train ride will take you past the water tower from Petticoat Junction, and transport you from the backyards of Jamestown to the rugged hillsides of California’s Mother Lode country. At the end of the line (Rock Spur), your train will pause as the locomotive uncouples, runs around your car on a side track, then re-couples to the train’s opposite end for the return trip to Railtown.

The Sierra Railway served the West Side Lumber Company mill at Tuolumne, as well as the Pickering (later Standard) Lumber Company) in Standard, California. The West Side operated an extensive 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge logging railroad in the Sierra Nevada range. It operated into the 1960s, and was the last of the narrow-gauge logging railways operating in the American West. The Pickering Lumber Company operated an extensive logging railroad that extended northeast of Standard all the way north to what is now the South Grove of Big Trees State Park.[1][2]

In addition to seasonal steam and diesel-powered train rides, the Railtown experience includes tours of the locomotive roundhouse originally built in 1910,[3] the machine shop, and related exhibits. Movie paraphernalia used in filming train sequences is on display.

Volunteer opportunities are available to help preserve and educate the public about the park. Duties include giving tours of the roundhouse as well as delivering speeches about the locomotives and the surrounding areas while on a short train-ride tour.[4]

Since 1929, when The Virginian was filmed with the Sierra No 3, the Sierra Railway properties have been a major resource to the motion picture industry. Over 200 movies, TV shows, and commercials have featured Railtown and its trains.[5] 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 Part 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.[6] The Sierra No. 3 locomotive and Sierra's coach number 5 were the Hooterville Cannonball.[7][8] Locomotive No. 3 was also used in numerous episodes of Little House on the Prairie.

Proposed closure[edit]

Sierra Railway machine shop. Hand car and wheel press are in foreground. Shaper and engine lathes in background. Machines are driven by an overhead, flat-belt line shaft.
The Railtown 1897 State Historic Park was 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, though it did not close.[9]

In May 2011, California State Parks announced the closure of Railtown 1897 along with 69 other parks. The closing was anticipated in July 2012,[10] but due to the efforts of locals and enthusiasts, Railtown 1897 will be open indefinitely, and has received funding to make major repairs to the Sierra No. 28, a steam locomotive original to the Sierra Railway and a mainstay of passenger operations for the park.

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