Roaring Camp Railroad: Redwood Forest Steam Train

Experience the journey of Dixiana, a Shay locomotive built in 1912, traveling through a redwood forest of the Santa Cruz Mountains. From one of the tightest train trestles to the towering redwood groves, Dixiana works up the narrow-gauge grade to the summit of Bear Mountain at Roaring Camp Railroad.

In the 1880s, narrow-gauge steam locomotives like the ones at Roaring Camp were used to haul giant redwood logs out of the mountains. Roaring Camp Railroads boasts an impressive collection of historic steam locomotives, including Shay, Heisler, and Climax engines, renowned for their role in logging and industrial operations.

Dixiana, also known as Roaring Camp Engine #1, is one of three engines designated as a National Mechanical Engineering Historical Landmark. Built by Lima Locomotive Works on October 12, 1912, Dixiana has a rich history, serving on six different short line railroads before arriving in California. It gained its name from a narrow-gauge mining railroad in Dixiana, Virginia. This two-truck engine, weighing 42 tons with a tractive effort of 17,330 lbs., was the first locomotive acquired by F. Norman Clark, who started steam train service at Roaring Camp on April 6, 1963.

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