Do you have a live steam operation near you???

[Anonymous]

No,but I do have a live streetcar operation at about seven minutes walk from home,It is running Amsterdam-Bovenkerk(Holland) and there is a large collection of streetcars(trams) from all over Holland of course,but from Germany and Austria also.
Cheers ,Bart.

[Anonymous]

This is more or less a test to see if I can post a pic here. This is our steam barn at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union Illinois, showing the beginning construction of a 51 foot extension.

[cnw4001]

About an hour from where I live is Dennison, Ohio starting point for many of Ohio Central's steam trips.

They are not operating steam this summer and it's unclear if they'll be operating next year although the NRHS is listing that area as the location for their 2006 convention. Probably more will be learned after this year's NRHS convention.

[Slick]

Yepper, The New Hope and Ivyland RR and (someday again) The Black River and Western.

[espee]

I live in the center of Colorado so I am within a 2 hour drive or less to 4 steam operations.

[mheilmann]

I have the 1880 Train located in Hill City, SD (about 20 miles from home--Rapid City).

[SSW9389]

The Kentucky Railroad Museum has the L&N #152 Pacific type about an hour from me. This steam locomotive is 100 years old this year.

[Anonymous]

Living here in Pineola, NC, I'm about 30 minutes from Tweetsie Railroad, 2 hours from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, 2 1/2 Hours from Dollywood, and about 4 hours from North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer. Tennessee Valley RR Museum is within a days drive.

Area steam loco roster:

Tweetsie Railroad, Boone, NC
ET&WNC 4-6-0 #12 Named "Tweetsie" (Narrow Gauge)
WP&Y 2-8-2 #190 Named "Yukon Queen" (Narrow Gauge)

Dollywood Theme Park, Pigeon Forge, TN
WP&Y 2-8-2 #70 Named "Cinderella" (Narrow Gauge)
WP&Y 2-8-2 #71 Named "Beatrice" (Narrow Gauge) *restoration
WP&Y 2-8-2 #192 Named "Klondike Katie" (Narrow Gauge)
SMOKY MOUNTAIN RR 2-8-0 #107 (Standard Gauge) *display

Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, Dilsboro, NC
US ARMY 2-8-0 #1702 (Standard Gauge)
SOUTHERN RY #722 (Standard Gauge) *restoration

North Carolina Transportation Museum, Spencer, NC
BUFFALO CREEK AND GULLY #604 (Standard Gauge)
GRAHAM COUNTY RR #1925 (Standard Gauge)
SOUTHERN RY #542 (Standard Gauge) *restoration
(Bunch of other smaller steam locos on display as well)

No big operations, but it's steam. I visit these RRs whenever I can. :)

[TomDiehl]

I'm about 45 minutes from Steamtown NHS in Scranton, PA I also volunteer up there in the backshops, so I get up close and personal with the locomotives.

[wa1lbk]

Actually, nearest live steam is my back yard! [:D] (My Accucraft 1:20.3 scale, G-Gauge 3-cylinder Shay!) [:P]



I live about 45 minutes from Edaville RR. (not sure if they're running steam at this time, or only diesel power).

If they're not, Valley Railroad's "Essex Steam Train" is only about an hour-&-1/2 drive away. Tom

[enr2099]

Lets see, there's the Alberni Pacific Railway in Port Alberni, and the Cowichan Valley Railway(BC Forest Museum) in Duncan.

Alberni Pacific has an ex-McMillan Bloedel (no.7)2-8-2T that has the distinction of being the last steam engine used to haul logs in revenue service, last summer.

The Cowichan Valley Railway has 3 narrow gauge steam locomotives and 2 standard guage locies. No.1 a 25-ton 2-truck Shay, No.24 (Susie) an 0-4-0T, and No. 25(Sampson) another 0-4-0T. Currently both the No.1 and No. 24 are out of service, the No.1 is getting its boiler rebuilt. The Standard Gauge locomotives are No.9 a 2-truck Climax that used to belong to the Hillcrest Lumber Co. and No.3 a 2-truck shay that used to belong to the Mayo Lumber Co. and is currently in Summerland, BC on the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. The standard gauge locomotives aren't used as the Cowichan Valley Rwy. is narrow gauge.

[emmar]

Yes, if you can call three hours away near me. The Chehalis Centralia Railroad in near Chehalis,WA. It is a great tourist railroad that has a line that goes through some farm fields and along a river. It is a great ride. If you ever go on it definitly ride in the open car for part of the time. It is usually the first car behind the locomotive on the way out and at the end of the train on the way back.

[Gunns]

Well for me its the D&S in Durango Colorado, or the C&TS in Chama NM, and we are restoring the 2926 in downtown Albuqurque. Also there have been rumbleings that we might get the 3751 out to Albuqurque for our Tricentenial Festivitys <on going right now through next year> but it is still in the unconfirmed speculation stage, the AT&SF Barellas shops were here in town and had a huge effect on the history of the city.
Gunns

[littleboom]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Bucksco

I grew up riding on the Strasburg railroad in Lacaster Pa. and the New Hope and Ivyland in New Hope PA. I've also been to steam town in Scranton years ago and rode thier excursion train .

We are in steam heaven here in PA! I'm no more the 2 hours from East Broad Top, Wannamaker Kempton & Southern, Steamtown, Strasburg and probably a few others. The family and I took an afternoon of beautiful weather last week to ride at Kempton and got covered in soot, it was wonderful! There is truly nothing quite like a living breathing steam engine up close.

Mike

[Anonymous]

Living in the Denver Metro Area, I have several in state as mentioned in another post, The Durango Silverton, the Cumbres Toltec, The Georgetown Loop, and the Colorado Railroad Museum which has a library and cars and Engines, maintained by volunteers, ) they recently had taggers and they burned two nearly resotred box cars). It has a lot of Steam Engines, both standard and Narrow Gauge. We also have the Forney Musem that has one of the "Big Boy's" in it. Both musems are within the Denver metro area and the Georgetown Loop is about and hours drive west on I-70. As the other poster wrote, tis a pleasure and a joy to live in Colorado COcolumbine

[BNSFGP38]

I have a live steam operation about 20 feet behind my house. G scale though, although 18 gauge does get more appealing as time goes on LOL.[xx(]

[Anonymous]

Closest thing to me is the Tanfield Railway, a former colliery wagonway in the north east of England. The line runs over the Causey Arch, a stone viaduct from the 1760s and has quite a few industrial steam locos that proliferated the north east's coal mines.. Alas, no longer..

www.tanfield-railway.co.uk/

[ChooChooMike]

QUOTE: Originally posted by barndad

QUOTE: Originally posted by arnstg

Closest one is the IRM in Union,IL. One of the largest collections around.

their site is: www.irm.org

Suggest you pick up the May, 2005 Trains Magazine if you are not a subscriber. They have their annual "Recreational Railroading" guide inserted which may give you some ideas.

Unfortunately, The IRM will not be running steam engines in 2005. I'm a member to the "Steam Team", and we're going to need a year to get a steam engine operational. We're also renovating our UP424, and it's coming along nicely!

What happened to the Frisco 1630 from last summer ? When I was at IRM last August, I believe a firebox grate bracket had busted that morning and had just been repaired. The guys were prepping the engine to be run the next day (Sunday).

So given your above info, did something more catastrophic happen to the 1630 ? Bummer [sigh] whatever happened? What's the steam outlook for this very cool museum ??

[Anonymous]

Also in wisconsin, we have Camp 5 at Laona but that is way up north from here.

http://www.camp5museum.org/

We also have Mid-Continent but all their steam is down for repairs. In the next year or so they should get at least one of the 4 completed and running I hope.

http://www.mcrwy.com/

Little A-Merrick-A has a 1/3 scale railroad

http://www.littleamerricka.com/default.aspx?c=3

Soo Line 2719 ran a few times up in Spooner, WI, but I hear it will be at Superior, WI at the museum.

http://www.2719.com/

Soo Line 1003 is now in private ownership in Hartford, WI at a museum and runs occasionally.

http://my.execpc.com/~amueller/soo1003.html

Paul

[Durango4Life]

Durango and Silverton is a day's drive. Cumbres and Toltec a half day. Georgetown Loop a couple of hours. 'Tis a priviledge to live in Colorado.

[Anonymous]

Yes, in New Hope,Pa.

[mhurley87f]

QUOTE: Originally posted by thomas1234

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE & SUNDERLAND both have steam clubs, but what do you expect after all we invented the steam engine here on Tyneside.
My granpa drove steam engines he is 87 and remembers them well. His brother and father also drove steam from Berwick Upon Tweed thats in Scotland. Granpa drove steam in WW2 in Iraq, Italy, Russia and India. His storys are better than Star Wars or Harry Potter any day.

Hang on now, shouldn't that be the Penydarren Tramway from Merthyr Tydfil to Abercynon in South Wales, where Trevithick's engine won a big bet for Sam Homfray??

[Attaboy]

I live near the Strasburg Railroad too. But imho, the East Broad Top in Franklin County is better and about the same distance from me.

[Anonymous]

I live near the coast in southern UK, there are two within a 20 mile radius, the 9 mile long 'Bluebelle' line and the 1 mile long 'Lavender' Line, at about a 60 mile radius are another three, the 10.5 mile long 'Kent & East Sussex' Line, the 13.5 mile long small scale 'Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch' Railway and the 2 mile long 'East Kent' Railway.
The best two to visit are the 'Bluebelle' and the 'R.H & D' if your ever in this part of the world.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by arnstg

Closest one is the IRM in Union,IL. One of the largest collections around.

their site is: www.irm.org

Suggest you pick up the May, 2005 Trains Magazine if you are not a subscriber. They have their annual "Recreational Railroading" guide inserted which may give you some ideas.

Unfortunately, The IRM will not be running steam engines in 2005. I'm a member to the "Steam Team", and we're going to need a year to get a steam engine operational. We're also renovating our UP424, and it's coming along nicely!

[Anonymous]

This poll is still running?

[nickinwestwales]

On the doorstep I`ve got the Gwili and the Teifi Valley,two hours up country to the Vale of Rheidol,another hour,the Tal-Y-Lyn & Corris,another hour,the rest of the "Great Little Trains of Wales"--how good can it get ???

[Torpedo]

I live about 65 miles from the Grand Canyon Railway which is in Williams AZ. They run #4960, a Baldwin Mikado, #29 a Mikado (I don't know builder) and they recently retired #18, a Consolidation built by ALCO. It was the smallest and oldest (1910) and my favorite. I have photos if someone tells me how to attach them.

[bowlerp]

We have 1:1 steam running on the Ohio Central, though nothing in 2005 for various reasons.

We have a live steam club running in miniature at penitentiary Glen State park in Geauga County, open to the public for rides for nominal fee. I forget which gauge they have, but it is large enough to ride.