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Great Train Ride


29yrswithaGApass

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It's a shame the park doesn't have a train ride anymore. I never even knew this ride existed before joining the site.

 

A train ride is the perfect example of a tranquil family ride that basically anyone can ride. The park is really lacking those type of rides and it would be nice to see a new train ride added along with antique cars.

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I was really excited to finally get info on The Great Train Ride, I've been an member and engineer for the Pine Creek RR for 6 years and it was nice to see us mentioned in the spotlight. My one big question is, does anybody know where the 4 Locomotives are right now? Boneyard? Other Parks?

 

 

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The Great Train is a ride that I was always anxious to feature in the Spotlight but we initially didn't have enough material to do it right so we put it off. I am glad we did because as you can see we were able to gather a pretty nice selection of material on the train ride. Besides, Christmas and miniature trains seem to go hand-in-hand! :)

 

The rolling stock for the ride remained in the maintenance yard for several years and it was rumored that the engines were being stored in the white bubble-like building in the boneyard. Unfortunately we haven't been able to confirm those rumors just yet.

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Nice spotlight, I really wanted to see a spotlight about the trains since I never saw then. They are smaller than I thought they would be. It is sad they were removed but live steam is expensive, even the real railroads switched to diesel locomotives after WW2. That's why most theme park trains you see are usually internal combustion locomotives but disguised as steam locomotives such as the Cedar Creek RR at Dorney Park. This is a good example of a family type ride that GAdv is lacking so very much in.

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I was really excited to finally get info on The Great Train Ride, I've been an member and engineer for the Pine Creek RR for 6 years and it was nice to see us mentioned in the spotlight. My one big question is, does anybody know where the 4 Locomotives are right now? Boneyard? Other Parks?

 

Then you know my Dad, Pete Benton :)

 

While we haven't been able to find out anything concrete about the whereabouts of the equipment, my personal theory is it was sold to Lagoon in Utah. It's a small park with a set of four Crown 2' gauge trains according to the Park Trains website. For a small park to have four it seems like they must have got them as some kind of package deal...and that just happens to match GA's trains.

 

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Then you know my Dad, Pete Benton :)

 

While we haven't been able to find out anything concrete about the whereabouts of the equipment, my personal theory is it was sold to Lagoon in Utah. It's a small park with a set of four Crown 2' gauge trains according to the Park Trains website. For a small park to have four it seems like they must have got them as some kind of package deal...and that just happens to match GA's trains.

 

Yes I do very well......I may have met you too if you are the one who helps out events......That is a good theory and I agree that the locos could have been installed in The Lagoon later.....It's funny how there is hardly any good articles on the where abouts.......I thought they would be used as a shelf by now in the boneyard seeing that alot of defunct rides from the past are still there.....

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 months later...

When it comes to this site I have often used the tag line "Putting together all the pieces of the Great Adventure History puzzle." Well, I just found a corner-piece in that puzzle! Here is the track layout for the Great Train Ride!

 

(I know, I know, I am probably the only one who gets excited about this kind of stuff.)

 

gallery_2_43_39976.jpg

 

Here is the same area today:

 

gallery_2_43_472905.jpg

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  • 5 weeks later...

Our member jeffholm submitted this great shot of the Great Train Ride from inside the track loop looking outward.

 

I have to agree with Jeff when he said "I find it hard to believe an amusement park IS an amusement without a train ride...GA lost something special to me the day they removed the train ride."

 

gallery_2_4_111404.jpg

 

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  • 3 months later...

I've been visiting this site for years hoping to find some new info on the Crown Metals Trains at Great Adventure. I haven't visited in a while and was excited to see all of the new Info and Photos! Earlier in this thread there were people thinking that Lagoon has 1 or more of the Great Adventure Crowns. I can say without a doubt that they are not. While I was an Area Lead over the The Wild Kingdom Train at Lagoon, I was able to track down the History of Lagoon's Crowns.

 

One thing I'm very interested in is finding the Serial Numbers of the Four Great Adventure Crown Locomotives.

 

The Complete History of Lagoon's Crowns can be Found at http://www.lagoonisfun.com

 

Here's a Quick Run Down on the Lagoon Crowns:

Merriweather -

Serial Number 8-54-24 Built in 1968, was built for Pixieland Amusement Park, Otis, Oregon.

 

Houston -

Serial Number 0-61-24 Built in 1970, was built for Busch Gardens Houston, Houston, Texas.

 

The Green Train -

Serial Number 3-80-24 Built in 1973, was built for Orville Gunther, American Fork, Utah.

 

- Sid

Salt Lake City, UT

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  • 4 years later...

I recently learned some interesting news about the construction of the Great Train ride back in 1974. The train ride, or "Choo-Choo Train" as it was referred to during park construction, was one of the more difficult projects to supervise because the crews were deep in the woods and because the project had stopped and started at various stages. The original surveying teams assigned to the train were pulled off the job for other projects in the park and as a result the train tracks were designed freestyle in the field which caused increased costs. Work was also delayed because of a dispute of who should lay the tracks - the ironworkers (because of the rails) and the carpenters (because of the railroad ties) both felt the project was theirs. In the end, the ironworkers won out but were often found sleeping in the woods causing further delays.

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That was such a fun ride to go on back in the day. Used to ride it at least 1-2 times per visit. Once in the middle of the afternoon to take a break from all the walking and standing on lines. And then again at night before the park closed. Was cool to see the lights from all of the other nearby rides (Bg Wheel, Lightning Loops, Grand Prix, Roundup and Calypso, etc.) when coming back to the station. Just for fun, it would be cool if they had a similar train ride that would go completely around the park.

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