New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC

sdcfan88 · May 22, 2016, 04:08:22 PM

Silver Dollar City has received some new steam engines. Makes me wonder if they are gonna build a new railway or expand the existing one somehow.

STORY HERE:
http://www.startribune.com/steam-engines-that-gave-children-rides-sold-to-theme-park/380374971/

Swoosh · May 22, 2016, 04:23:55 PM

Oh thank goodness this story finally broke - been sitting on this for awhile. The first engine (504) arrived Thursday and is on the backlot. The park also bought narrow gauge track - not sure what the long term plans for it is though

sdcfan88 · May 22, 2016, 04:47:37 PM

This is an interesting and unexpected development to say the least. I assume that's where some of the projected 40 million investment went. I did not think they would be doing two projects simultaneously. Between the two projects this is definitely looking like the largest overall expansion project for the park to date.

shavethewhales · May 22, 2016, 07:25:16 PM

I wouldn't expect them to change the track at all. I would guess this might give them the ability to run three trains with a shortened or eliminated show. They also might just simply have taken the opportunity to "stock up" since WWII narrow gage steam engines don't come around every day.

Lots and lots of history behind these engines, just like the others at SDC. I'd like to see the park make a bigger deal about the engines themselves, but then they'd probably get people mad that they aren't in a museum. It's unfortunate that the guy who had them passed away, it sounds like he had an amazing setup that is being torn apart.

dkparks · May 22, 2016, 07:46:05 PM

A few thoughts about this. 1) I wonder what they will number them? 2) 1 must already have arrived in PA for rebuild. I wonder who would be doing that? (sarcastic) 3) Why would they need so many engines now? They already have a spare. 4) Why buy the track also? If they bought it all, what did the article say? A little over a mile? I am guessing they are panels. 5) Why? I mean this must surely be a large expenditure even if they got a good deal. And then to spend the money to completely rebuild one for next year. Someone correct me if I am wrong but that means they will have 3 basically completely rebuilt engines? Don't get me wrong, I am a rail fan and I love the FSDL. I just feel for them to do this must mean they have some serious plans in the future regarding expansion. Again, someone correct me if I am wrong but I don't believe their will ever be a way for them to completely eliminate the robbery due to the track grading. Still, I am very excited about the investment they are putting into SDC with this.

Swoosh · May 22, 2016, 07:59:21 PM

1. I imagine the engine called 504 will remain as such.
2. No idea.
3. A spare. If they run 3 trains daily you'll need more than just 2.
4. Obviously some reconfiguration will need to occur at the round house to house 5 engines.
5. Who says they'll all stay at SDC? Some could go to Wild Adventures or Stone Mountain

Duelist · May 22, 2016, 09:30:36 PM

That's pretty cool they're from Northfield, MN: home of the James/Younger Gang's last hurrah at the Northfield National Bank therefore providing another link to Missouri.

Junior, too! · May 22, 2016, 09:48:13 PM

A great bit of news! I have noticed the longer lines the last few years at the train, so perhaps they will run a third train on busy days. I am not sure they have enough property to extend the track, but we will see.

joshblakebran · May 22, 2016, 10:16:13 PM

Would they ever think about putting in another train ride on the opposite side of the park to help relieve the crowds for the current one (especially during OTC)? I wouldn't think so. I'm not sure if they would be willing to dedicate more of the park space to do something like that or commit to the extra staff it would take to run it but could it be a possibility? I defer this question to those of you who are way more knowledgeable of SDC and how theme parks work.

sdcfan88 · May 22, 2016, 11:06:07 PM

I wouldn't mind a 2nd train to be used as a shuttle railway format to supplement the Trams and Buses getting to and from the parking lot. Or an even more ambitious idea would be to use part of the old CC site as a station/roundhouse for a mountainside train journey from the park to Branson. But the latter would likely be a cost prohibitive maintenance nightmare as I have gathered these engines don't handle hills all too well.

Swoosh · May 22, 2016, 11:34:58 PM

These are DOCK locomotives. They were used by the Nazis in WWII to help with moving items on the docks, which is why they are narrow gauge. They were never intended to be used in a steep grade environment.

chittlins · May 23, 2016, 09:57:38 AM

Now, all they need to do is build a period style roundhouse with a turn table, so that the whole train maintenance area can be in plain sight and an attraction to itself.

In action:
http://youtu.be/93JC0Tab70k

shavethewhales · May 23, 2016, 10:10:40 AM

^I'm going to laugh if they do someday build a roundhouse. They'd owe you a fee at this point for all the times you've pushed the idea. It's definitely a good one, but impractical for them to accomplish until they are ready to completely re-arrange the entire maintenance area of the park.

There's no way they will add a second train ride anywhere in the park (unless they added a little kiddie train at some point). The current train ride is a huge logistical operation all on it's own. Not to mention all the land it takes.

chittlins · May 23, 2016, 10:18:10 AM

Quote from: shavethewhales on May 23, 2016, 10:10:40 AM
^I'm going to laugh if they do someday build a roundhouse. They'd owe you a fee at this point for all the times you've pushed the idea. It's definitely a good one, but impractical for them to accomplish until they are ready to completely re-arrange the entire maintenance area of the park.

There's no way they will add a second train ride anywhere in the park (unless they added a little kiddie train at some point). The current train ride is a huge logistical operation all on it's own. Not to mention all the land it takes.

It would save them a ton of space.

Pudgy Jones · May 23, 2016, 10:52:50 AM

If they ever build an on-site resort, it would be a cool feature to transport guests to and from the City via steam train...SDC's version of Disney's monorail.