Railtown 1897
While heading through the Sierras, I suddenly randomly saw a sign for Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, so obviously had to stop. Glad I did, as the timing worked out perfectly to be able to tour their steam era roundhouse! Pretty neat. They still actively use the space and many of the tools to maintain their steam and diesel fleet. Engine #2 seen in the third pic is a special type of locomotive, called a "shay" which I had never heard of before. Instead of steam cylinders mounted horizontally and driving the wheels by crank rods, a shay has 3 vertically mounted pistons that drive the wheels by gears! All wheels are powered on a shay too, which made it suitable for extreme heavy duty pulling applications 🚂 Railtown is also home to other steam engines which are famous for their use in hundreds of Hollywood films over the years, including Back To The Future III
