Like You To Meet
Like You To Meet
The Redwood Valley Railway
Would it surprise you to know that one of the Bay Area’s most family friendly attractions can be found in Berkeley? And that it has been in operation for more than 50 years?
Both are true.
Let me introduce you to the Redwood Valley Railway. Set in Tilden Park in the hills above Berkeley, this attraction has been a favorite of families for generations. Don’t be fooled by the small size of the trains. They pull just like their big brothers, carrying full loads of passengers on weekends year round and all week long during the summer months - weather permitting.
The RVR was designed by someone who knew the business of railroading well. Erich Thomsen worked in the engineering department of the Western Pacific Railroad. Applying skills from the full-sized railway, he designed a line that passes through the hills offering some wonderful views of the San Francisco Bay. And with some serious efforts in landscaping, transformed almost 50 acres of open hills into a lush coastal range forest with madrone, laurel and even redwoods.
The trains are 5 inch to the foot in scale. The locomotives and passenger cars create a railroad that would not have been out of place around the turn of the Twentieth Century bringing both freight and passengers to a number of coastal communities. As those railroads vanished, the Redwood Valley carries on the traditions of those years, much to the delight of passengers of all ages. It is an easy guess that many of the adults bringing children to ride did so with their parents or grandparents years before.
Erich Thomsen had a good crew of people helping him over the years building the RVR into what it is today. The main station of Army Camp was indeed that at one time - home to one of the Nike missile bases that ringed the Bay Area hills. Yet you would never know it today. The Grand Scale railroad has been expanded in length several times by a mostly volunteer track crew. Even locomotives and cars were all built by hand - many in the railroad’s own shop. Thomsen created a set of design standards that many people building similar railroads draw upon.
One such locomotive based on the RVR standards is seen above. Chris Allan, whose own railroad career started off running RVR trains one summer, built the number 18 (a hearty little locomotive) mostly in the garage of his home in Southern California.
Call it the lure of a convenient size if you like, but the Redwood Valley Railway is all heart in bringing good simple entertainment to the folks who come for a ride every weekend. Who would ask for more?
If you would like to visit the Redwood Valley Railway, this link offers directions. A single ride ticket is only $2.00 or a five ride ticket (which can be used for more than one person) is a bargain at only $8.00.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010