Okay, I know SteamFreak is going to like this. And, I am sorry, but the fact that no one knew this should make us all question our knowledge of SDC.
I found out some more information regarding the steam locomotive that is on display across from the station. I think it was Steam that even found a postcard on ebay recently showing it in use at SDC in a different paint that what it currently is in. Well, this information comes from... wait for it... The Story of Silver Dollar City by Crystal Payton. A friend of mine bought a copy of this last time we all were down there.
I was at there house tonight (bored) flipping through the book and found this on page 54-58:
"From the beginning the Herschends took their projets and reinvested them in the City. Adventure Town of Alexandria Bay, New York, a frontier-themed amusement park, was making way for a golf course and their equipment was for sale. Pete saw the ad in Amusement Business magazine so they sent him to buy a train. He brought the Davy Crockett Express, a narrow gauge railroad including locomotive and tender ($15,000) and their two stagecoaches ($5,000) back to the City for the 1962 season.
The coaches each had a story: one had been made in New Hampshire in 1888; the other was a Tally-Ho road coach once owned by the Vanderbilts. They had been held up on every trip through Adventure Town. The train was something special. It had been used by Henry Ford's grandchildren to learn the rudiments of steam locomotive operation. According to the Greenfield Museum at Dearborn, Michigan, it had cost Henry Ford over $60,000 to re-design this locomotive to duplicate the 4-4-2 engine. A favorite attraction at Adventure Town, it, too, had been held up by masked men on horses on every outing.
The train was a dandy addition to the young city but it took some time and ingenuity to get it into operation. It couldn't quite climb the grade back up to its new station. It kept sliding back down the hill, wheels churning furiously, setting fire to the surrounding trees. The problem was solved in a classic frontier-theme-park style when it whistled into operation in 1962. While the boilers built up steam for the uphill push, Ozark outlow Alf Bolin, and his gang held up the train's passengers. "
Okay, there we go. There is a good picture on page 54 in this book. I will try to scan it in this week and post it. There also are a couple of pictures of it on the website of Adventure Town:
http://www.adventuretown.net/The first picture you can see the cars in the distance in the background. A little further down the page, you can see a good picture of the train and the robbery.
Now, I guess the big question is: What happened to the original two passenger cars?
SteamFreak, you want to take this homework assignment?
