RIDIN' THE RAILS: HISTORIC TRAIN EXCURSIONS COAST TO COAST
True West|July - August 2022
From North Carolina to California, Montana to Texas, "ridin' the rails" is reminiscent of days gone by, when trains were the fastest mode of transportation. Passengers sat back, relaxed and marveled at the scenery or engaged in delightful conversation with fellow travelers. Those days are not gone, and now you can enjoy them, too.
MELODY GROVES
RIDIN' THE RAILS: HISTORIC TRAIN EXCURSIONS COAST TO COAST

FELTON, CALIFORNIA

Named for San Francisco Judge John B. Felton, this historic logging community (SantaCruzMountains.com) served as the lower terminus of the San Lorenzo Valley Logging Flume. Expanded by a rail line transporting logs to the Santa Cruz wharf, lime kilns and forests in this area provided repair materials for the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

The area's first railroad, Santa Cruz & Felton, began carrying tourists to the Big Trees and the beach in 1875. Roaring Camp Railroads (RoaringCamp.com) offer two excursionsRedwood Forest Steam Train and the Santa Cruz Beach Train.

Using 1890 steam engines, the trains travel over trestles, through redwood groves and up a winding 9.5-percent grade to Bear Mountain summit. Conductors narrate the use of narrow-gauge steam locomotives.

The Beach Train departs Santa Cruz Mountains, travels through Redwoods State Park, down the San Lorenzo River Gorge, across a 1909 steel truss bridge and through an 1875 tunnel, arriving at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

SEEING AND DOING

The unique Bigfoot Discovery Museum (Bigfoot Discovery Project.com) showcases facts about mystery primates, including Bigfoot. San Lorenzo Valley Museum (SLVMuseum.com) is housed in an historic church.

Stroll across the pedestrian-only 1892 Felton Covered Bridge, believed the tallest such bridge in the U.S. Nature enthusiasts can explore the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park offering many outdoor activities.

EATING AND SLEEPING

With "portions big enough for a cowboy," the Cowboy Bar & Grill (FeltonCowboy.com) serves food ranging from prawns to tacos. "One of the legends of the Santa Cruz Mountains" is Monty's Log Cabin (Montys-Log-Cabin.edan.io).

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July - August 2022 من True West.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July - August 2022 من True West.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من TRUE WEST مشاهدة الكل
Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.
True West

Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.

Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist? Up to a dozen members of the Reno Gang stopped a Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis train at a watering station in southern Indiana. The outlaws had prior intelligence about its main load: express car safes held about $97,000 in government bonds and notes. In the process of the job, one of the crew was killed and two others hurt. The gang made a clean getaway with the loot.

time-read
2 mins  |
July - August 2024
Hero of Horsepower -  Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
True West

Hero of Horsepower - Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.

Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.

time-read
7 mins  |
July - August 2024
From the Basin to the Plains
True West

From the Basin to the Plains

Discover Wyoming on a road trip to Cody, Casper and Cheyenne.

time-read
4 mins  |
July - August 2024
COLLECTING AMERICAN OUTLAWS
True West

COLLECTING AMERICAN OUTLAWS

Wilbur Zink has preserved the Younger Gang's history in more ways than one.

time-read
3 mins  |
July - August 2024
Spencer's West
True West

Spencer's West

After the Civil War, savvy frontiersmen chose the Spencer repeating carbine.

time-read
4 mins  |
July - August 2024
Firearms With a Storied Past
True West

Firearms With a Storied Past

Rock Island gavels off high profits from historic firearms.

time-read
2 mins  |
July - August 2024
She Means Business!
True West

She Means Business!

An energetic and ambitious woman has come to Lincoln, New Mexico, to restore the town's legendary Ellis Store.

time-read
2 mins  |
July - August 2024
Ride that Train!
True West

Ride that Train!

HERITAGE RAILROADS KEEP THE OLD WEST ALIVE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

time-read
5 mins  |
July - August 2024
Saddle Up with a Western
True West

Saddle Up with a Western

Old West fiction and nonfiction are the perfect genres to fill your summer reading list.

time-read
7 mins  |
July - August 2024
RENEGADES OF THE RAILS
True West

RENEGADES OF THE RAILS

RAILROADS WERE OPEN SEASON FOR OKLAHOMA AND INDIAN TERRITORY OUTLAW GANGS.

time-read
6 mins  |
July - August 2024