The Nut Tree Railroad is a mini-railroad within the

Nut Tree Nut Tree is a mixed-use development in Vacaville, California near the intersection of Interstate 80 and Interstate 505. The original Nut Tree History The original Nut Tree opened in 1921 on the Lincoln Highway (old U.S. Route 40). It was c ...

Plaza in

Vacaville, California Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it ...

History

The Original Nut Tree Railroad

The Nut Tree Railroad was started in 1953 to serve the customers of Vacaville's

Restaurant. Two years later its tracks were extended to the

Nut Tree Airport Nut Tree Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) northeast of the central business district of Vacaville, in Solano County, California, United States. The airport is near the junction of Interstates ...

to shuttle pilots to and from the restaurant. The railroad's main station was the Nut Tree Toy Shop where riders would purchase their tickets. Famous riders of the Nut Tree train included

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

, California governor

Pat Brown Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he w ...

, champion boxer

Max Baer Max Baer may refer to: * Max Baer (boxer) (1909–1959), American boxing world champion ** Max Baer Jr. Maximilian Adelbert Baer Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, producer, comedian, and director widely known for his role as ...

Bozo the Clown Bozo the Clown, sometimes billed as "Bozo, The World's Most Famous Clown", is a clown character created for children's entertainment, widely popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946, and to te ...

, and

Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American cooking teacher, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, '' ...

. Following the 1955 expansion of the Nut Tree Railroad to the Nut Tree Airport, the route at the original Nut Tree included a tunnel and a bridge.

Closure and Reopening

When the Nut Tree closed in 1996, the train was driven into the railroad's tunnel and sealed in. During those years the train, Engine Number 5, was purchased by the City of Vacaville to ensure its preservation while many of the other buildings did not survive. As developer after developer tried to purchase the Nut Tree property from Vacaville, each one was told it could have the land as long as the Nut Tree Railroad was reopened. Finally in 2006, developer Snell & Co. reopened the railroad in the Nut Tree Family Park. In January 2009, the Family Park closed again. In July 2009, developer Westrust bought the property and reopened the Nut Tree Railroad, adding a carousel and children's park to the Nut Tree Plaza that August. As of 2021, the Nut Tree Train is back and sporting an environmentally friendly "green"

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engine.

References

External links

Nut Tree Plaza website
{{coord missing, Solano County, California Railroads of amusement parks in the United States Vacaville, California Tourist attractions in Solano County, California 1953 establishments in California