Hunter Hobby Park - Riverside, CA - Miniature Railroads on Waymarking.com

Taken from the website, "The Hunter Industrial Park neighborhood is located in the northeast corner of the City. The neighborhood is bounded by the City limits and Springbrook Arroyo to the north, Interstate 215 to the west, the Eastside and University neighborhoods to the south and the Box Springs Mountain Reserve to the east. The neighborhood is named after two brothers, Ed and Joe Hunter, both industrialists who invented and manufactured machinery and products used around the world.

The neighborhood consists almost entirely of industrial and commercial office development, with a small single-family residential area situated near the interchange of the 60 Freeway and I-215. The Hunter Industrial Park neighborhood is a premier center for technology-based firms, clean industries and research facilities. Major businesses and facilities within Hunter Park include Bourns Engineering, University Research Park, Trademark Plastics Corporation and Sabert Corporation. In addition, the neighborhood has a variety of retail uses including a number of restaurants that compliment and serve the business park’s daytime workforce population. After hours dining opportunities can also be found within the neighborhood including the upscale Ciao Bella Ristorante. In recent years, the neighborhood has seen development of a number of high quality industrial business park and office buildings, including a 5-story, Class ‘A’ office tower located at the northwest corner of Spruce and Iowa Avenues. The office tower is the home of the Riverside County Economic Development Agency.

In the heart of the neighborhood lies a 32-acre special use park known as the Hunter Hobby Park. In the 1950s Joe Hunter realized that steam locomotives were disappearing from the railroads that passed through Riverside. To ensure that future generations could experience the legacy and history of the steam locomotive, he brought to life his vision to duplicate a steam engine train in miniature. This vision began with the construction of 4,300 feet of track, a locomotive and three cars at the southeast corner of Columbia and Iowa Avenues. Today, Hunter Hobby Park includes 10,000 feet of track and trains which are operated and maintained by a group of railroad enthusiasts known as the Riverside Live Steamers (RLS). The attraction offers free train rides to visitors of all ages on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. As many as 20,000 people each year ride the train. The park also includes softball fields, picnic tables and barbecues.

To the east of the neighborhood and beyond the City limits, the Box Springs Mountain Reserve is a mountains hilly area rising high above the neighborhood. The mountain reserve is a visually prominent feature and open space area offering wildlife, hiking trails and scenic views from the Hunter Industrial Park neighborhood and beyond. A number of fire stations, elementary, middle schools and North High School are located just outside of the neighborhood boundaries, yet conveniently located nearby to serve the neighborhood."

Engine Type: Live Steam Miniature Railroads Web Page: [Web Link] Public Availability: Seasonal Ride Fee: Yes If Yes: $5 Entrance Fee: No If There is an Additional Fee: No Gauge of railway: Not listed

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