Greetings family, friends, and train buddies! We remember our dad today, Wiiliam Henry Ralph, who was born in Philadelphia on this date 111 years ago. He was a life-long fan of railroads and theme parks, an interest passed along to many members of his ever extending family, and greatly enjoyed visits to the nearby Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad......Bill
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RAILROAD POSTCARDS OF THE PAST
DIXIANA SHAY
The Dixiana Shay, famous narrow-gauge passenger locomotive pauses for a formal portrait on the three-foot gauge rails of the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow-Gauge Railroad near Felton, Santa Cruz County, California. The RC&BTNGRR is the last steam passenger railroad in the Far West.
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Norman Clark located the first locomotive for his envisioned 1880’s railroad town and tourist railroad sitting under a coal tipple at Coal Processing Corporation’s railroad in Dixiana, Virginia. The 50 year old two-truck Shay-type geared 42 ton steam engine was built by the Lima Locomotive Works in 1912 and already had a full career in the logging and coal industries serving six short line railroads. Clark had the well used aging engine shipped back to the California aboard a standard gauge flat car where it arrived 50 years to the day after being out shopped from the Lima. The old shay was carefully restored outdoors in front of the freight shed in Felton for temporary operation as a construction locomotive as well as providing passenger service on Bear Mountain. In addition to mechanical restoration, the locomotive received a new tender tank, paint job, and renaming “Dixiana”. Work was soon underway to construct 4 open passenger cars and complete track work through the redwood forest and over a corkscrew loop trestle on the steep climb to the summit of Bear Mountain. 44 visitors were on hand in April of 1963 to explore the scattering of western structures and attractions and be the first of thousands of eager passengers to ride behind the “Dixiana” shay, Roaring Camp and Big Tree’s Locomotive #1
Circa 1960’s Post Card from the Collection of Bill Ralph
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