Grizzly Flats 2-6-0 Mogul Emma Nevada Locomotive
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member brwhiz
N 33° 45.730 W 117° 13.961
11S E 478452 N 3735810
This small steam locomotive is currently being restored to operational condition in Engine House No. 6 (Grizzly Flats Collection) at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris.
Waymark Code: WMJK0M
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 11/26/2013
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member NW_history_buff
Views: 1

From the OERM web site:

The story of the Grizzly Flats Railroad began in 1938, in the backyard of Ward and Betty Kimball's San Gabriel, California orange grove. Ward, an animator for the Walt Disney Studios and part-time railroad hobbyist, decided to purchase the last remaining passenger coach from Southern Pacific's narrow gauge railroad. About the same time, a railfan friend suggested the Kimballs should have an engine to go with their "new" 1881 coach. The historic Nevada Central Railroad was about to be abandoned, and had for sale a nice, vintage Mogul-type steam locomotive, numbered 2 and once named "Sidney Dillon", which had operated in the Nevada desert since 1881.

The rest is history. The newly-acquired locomotive and coach were brought to Southern California by rail and by truck, and soon were resting on a short section of track among the Kimball orange trees. Ward and Betty decided to name their new operation the Grizzly Flats Railroad, and heralded it as the "Scenic Wonder of the West".

Friends and family helped to restore and refinish locomotive number 2 to its former glory and Ward renamed it "Emma Nevada" after a famous opera star of the late 1800s. Coach 5 was colorfully painted and its Southern Pacific letterboard re-lettered to "Grizzly Flats Railroad". This activity all took place on weekends during the late1930's and early 40's. The intervening years saw additional rolling stock added and a Baldwin plantation locomotive arrived from Hawaii. More track was laid and a Victorian railroad depot that was a leftover from a Disney movie set became the line's station.

Locomotive Type: (required): Steam

If "other" what is the engine type? (optional):
None


Do you need to pay an entrance fee to view this locomotive? (required): No

If a fee is required what is the approximate cost for admittance? (optional):
0.00


How accessible is this locomotive display? (Required): Only touching is allowed.

Visit Instructions:
Waymark creators for this category are encouraged to create a visit verification question for visitors. See individual waymarks for specific logging criteria.

Photos of visits are encouraged but not required for this category.

Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Locomotives
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
There are no logs for this waymark yet.