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.

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. Since 1923, when the silent film epic "The Virginian" was filmed, 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, "Back to the Future III" with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Television programs that regularly used the Sierra property include "Wild, Wild West", "The Iron Horse", "Tales of Wells Fargo", and perhaps most famously, "Petticoat Junction". Locomotive No. 3 was used in Season 2, Episode 17 of Little House on the Prairie. Sierra's historic locomotive No.3 (presently under major restoration at Jamestown) and one of the line's preserved historic coaches were the "Hooterville Cannonball."

The California State Railroad Museum (CSRM), headquartered in Old Sacramento, assumed responsibility for Railtown 1897 State Historic Park on July 1, 1992.

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. [ [http://cbs5.com/local/California.parks.budget.2.627476.html CBS5.com: List Of Calif. Parks To Close In Budget Proposal] ]

ee also

*Locomotive
*List of heritage railways

References

External links

* [http://csrmf.org/railtown/default.asp Official site]
* [http://parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=491 Official government site]
* [http://www.railtown1897.com/railtown/default.asp Home page]