As some of you may know, the 60th birthday of the steam train is creeping up upon us. The original opening day of the steam train took place on May 27, 1962. According to Springfield News-Leader, over 4000 people were in attendance to the ribbon-cutting including the GM of the 'real' Frisco Lines, and the only surviving son of Casey Jones.
The locomotive operating at the time was the original 76, commonly referred to as the "Davenport" hence where it was built. That engine recently turned 100 in the month of January (it is 2022). That was the only operating engine for about 3 years until no. 43 (built in 1934 by O&K in Germany) joined the line. 43 still runs to this day.
Though the inaugural run of the railroad was in 1962, most the equipment is much older. The oldest operating engine is 43 (circa 1934) and the newest, still pretty old, is 504 (circa 1941, Prague, Czechoslovakia)
There are 2 sets of passenger cars, 1 being built in the 1970s, and the other being constructed last decade.
The locomotives operating at Silver Dollar City are extremely rare industrial tank engines that originally worked for construction firms and quarries in Germany during the 1940s and 50s. They were all purchased and imported by Jim Valesh from Iowa who sold 4 locomotives to Silver Dollar City in the mid-late 60s. The locomotives purchased from Minnesota in 2016 also have ties to Valesh.
The Silver Dollar Line is an extremely historic and recognizable attraction, being a pioneer in theme park railroading. I think this line deserves some kind of a special event to celebrate 60 years of steam. I have sent letters to a few SDC personnel regarding this topic, but I have not received very promising replies.
I know a few of the engineers would like to see a double/triple/quadrupleheader. I personally want an event that is a bit different but doesn't involve the train actually running.
What are everyone's thoughts on this? If we can get enough support, this event might be able to happen.