Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, and its operating entity, the

Sierra Railway The Sierra Railroad Corporation is a privately owned common carrier. Its Sierra Northern Railway freight division handles all freight operations for all branches owned by the Sierra Railroad. The company's Mendocino Railway group operates the ...

, 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). The railway's Jamestown locomotive and rolling stock maintenance facilities are remarkably intact and continue to function much as they have for over 100 years. The maintenance facilities are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Sierra Railway Shops Historic District.

History

The Sierra Railway served the

West Side Lumber Company The West Side Lumber Company railway was the last of the narrow-gauge logging railroads operating in the American west. History West Side Flume & Lumber Company The West Side Flume & Lumber Company was founded in May 1898 to log of land o ...

mill at Tuolumne, as well as the Pickering (later Standard) Lumber Company in

Standard, California Standard is an unincorporated community in Tuolumne County, California, United States that lies east-southeast of Sonora. Its post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting ...

. The West Side operated an extensive narrow gauge logging railroad in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

range. It operated into the 1960s, and was the last of the narrow-gauge logging railways operating in the American West. The Pickering Lumber Company operated an extensive logging railroad that extended northeast of Standard all the way north to what is now the South Grove of Big Trees State Park. Since 1929, when '' The Virginian'' was filmed with the Sierra No 3, the Sierra Railway properties have been a major resource to the motion picture industry. Over 200 movies, TV shows, and commercials have featured Railtown and its trains. 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 ''High Noon'' is a 1952 American Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in real time, centers on a town marshal whose sense of ...

'' with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, ''3:10 To Yuma'' (1957) featured #3 in the end of the movie, as well as ''

Back to the Future Part III ''Back to the Future Part III'' is a 1990 American science fiction Western film and the final installment of the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Stee ...

'' with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Television programs that regularly used the Sierra property include '' Wild, Wild West'', '' Iron Horse'', ''

Tales of Wells Fargo ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Western television series starring Dale Robertson that ran from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season, when it expanded to ...

'', and '' Petticoat Junction''. The Sierra No. 3 locomotive and Sierra's coach number 5 were the '' Hooterville Cannonball''. Locomotive No. 3 was also used in numerous episodes of '' Little House on the Prairie''. Sierra Railroad Machine Shop, Jamestown, CA

Sierra Railroad Machine Shop, Jamestown, CA

The Railtown 1897 State Historic Park was one of the 48 California state parks proposed for closure in January 2008 by California's Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

as part of a deficit reduction program, though it did not close. In May 2011, California State Parks announced the closure of Railtown 1897 along with 69 other parks. The closing was anticipated in July 2012, but due to the efforts of locals and enthusiasts, Railtown 1897 remained open and has received funding to make major repairs to the Sierra No. 28, a steam locomotive original to the Sierra Railway and a mainstay of passenger operations for the park. The

California State Railroad Museum The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the state park system of California, United States, interpreting the role of the "iron horse" in connecting California to the rest of the nation. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic ...

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

Operations

In addition to seasonal steam and diesel-powered train rides, the Railtown experience includes tours of the locomotive roundhouse originally built in 1910, the machine shop, and related exhibits. Movie paraphernalia used in filming train sequences is on display. Volunteer opportunities are available to help preserve and educate the public about the park. Duties include giving tours of the roundhouse as well as delivering speeches about the locomotives and the surrounding areas while on a short train-ride tour.

Locomotive roster

References

Bibliography

Warwick Frost (2009). 'Projecting an Image: Film Induced Festivals in the American West'. ''Event Management'' 12:2, pp. 95–103.

External links