- Billy Jones
Billy Jones (1884-1968), a seasoned veteran of the steam era who established the Wildcat Railroad in
Los Gatos, California , was born the son of ateamster in the town ofBen Lomond, California , USA.Jones found
employment as an engine wiper at the tender age of 13 with the narrow-gaugeSouth Pacific Coast Railroad atBoulder Creek, California . At 17, Jones was promoted tofireman , and later became anengineer . The South Pacific Coast Railroad, which had been acquired by theSouthern Pacific Railroad , was converted to astandard gauge road by 1909. Jones was among the first to work the first standard-gauge portions of the line out of San Jose, ultimately advancing to theCoast Daylight (SP) run betweenSan Francisco andSan Luis Obispo . AfterWorld War II , he was in charge of the reassembly of the preserved locomotive "Gov. Stanford " forStanford University ; the locomotive is currently on display at theCalifornia State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. [cite book| author=Diebert, Timothy S. and Strapac, Joseph A.| title=Southern Pacific Company Steam Locomotive Conpendium| publisher=Shade Tree Books| year=1987| id=ISBN 0-930742-12-5]Jones married Geraldine McGrady, the schoolteacher at Wright's Station, located south of
Los Gatos, CA . After settling down in Los Gatos on a nine-acre pruneorchard known as "The Ranch", the Jones family grew to include two sons, Robert and Neal, and two daughters, Betty and Geraldine. The Ranch was located at the corner of Daves Avenue and the Santa Clara-Los Gatos Road (today's Winchester Boulevard).The "Wildcat Railroad"
On the docks of
San Francisco in 1939, Jones discovered asteam locomotive built in 1905 and designed to run on theVenice Railway inVenice Beach, California . He bought the little engine for $100 and got it running again on a railroad he and his railroad buddies constructed on the ranch, dubbed the "Wildcat Railroad ". Sons Robert and Neal were victims ofWorld War II , and Jones operated his "Wildcat Railroad" for the neighborhood children, every Sunday until his death in 1968, in memory of his two lost sons. The railroad attracted people from across the valley and beyond, includingWalt Disney , who considered purchasing some of Jones' collection of miniature railway equipment. The two became friends, and Jones was behind the throttle of Disney'snarrow-gauge locomotives on opening weekend at Disneyland in 1955.Jones retired from the Southern Pacific Company in 1949. In January of 1959, it is said Jones ceremoniously ran the last train out of Los Gatos before the rails were taken up throughout the town.
Jones died of leukemia in 1968 at the age of 83, and his "Wildcat Railroad" was purchased by local residents who formed a non-profit organization to relocate and operate it at nearby Oak Meadow and
Vasona Park s. The railroad, among the most popular Fact|date=February 2007 attractions inLos Gatos , continues operation today.References
2.^ Kelley, Edward and Conaway, Peggy (2006). Images of Rail: Railroads of Los Gatos. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-4661-5 External links
* [http://www.bjwrr.org/bj-biography.html Billy Jones Biography]
* [http://www.tsgmultimedia.com/common/product_info.php?part_number=10030 Video about Billy Jones Wilcat Railroad]
* [http://www.bjwrr.org/ Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad web site]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.