Knott's Berry Farm Steam Train C-19 2-8-0 "Consolidation" steam locomotives built by Baldwin 4K HDR

Knott's Berry Farm Steam Train C-19 2-8-0 "Consolidation" steam locomotives built by Baldwin 4K HDR
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Walter Knott began grading and laying a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad at his Knotts Berry Farm in 1951. He had acquired a collection of vintage rolling stock and other railroad equipment, and wanted to create a railroad experience to run it on. Service started that November, and the railroad formally opened on January 12, 1952.

The engines and most of the cars came from the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad and the Rio Grande Southern Railroad.

The D&RG painted a narrow-gauge engine and a few narrow-gauge cars, in a color called Rio Grande Gold, for the Chicago Railroad Fair of 1949. The color was so popular that the company painted the equipment for “The Silverton” (which ran between Durango and Silverton, Colorado) the same color in 1950. The GT&C rolling stock was painted this color when it commenced operations in 1952. The engine was fitted with a diamond stack (that was the wrong shaped diamond) and an overly gaudy paint scheme.

In an effort to make it more authentic, the train has since been restored to its appearance in the 1940s. So, for example, the engines now have a boiler-tube pilot and straight stack. The passenger cars are painted in Pullman Green (which was mandated by the government when it took over the railroads during World War I).

However, the engines were built in 1881, and the cars are from that time period also. And, Walter Knott’s objective in creating Ghost Town was to create an Old West town of the 1800s, not the 1940s.

The engines, which were coal-burners, originally had diamond stacks (to catch the coal cinders), a wooden pilot, and a sand dome that was a bit more ornate (see accompanying photos). The passenger cars have been modified slightly over the years, but they largely retain their original appearance, except for the paint scheme. They were originally painted in Passenger Car Red, rather than Pullman Green.

Locomotives
The roster includes two C-19 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotives built by Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Denver & Rio Grande in 1881. When retired from service in Colorado, they were D&RGW No. 340 Green River (formerly D&RG #400, named Gold Nugget No. 40 for many years on the GT&C) from the Denver & Rio Grande Western and RGS No. 41 Red Cliff (recently renamed Walter K at the 60th anniversary ceremony January 12, 2012) from the Rio Grande Southern. D&RGW No. 340 was rebuilt in 2016 and is in use, alternating service with RGS No. 41.

A GT&C engine today, restored to its 1940s appearance (with a straight stack, boiler-tube pilot and plain sand dome).

GT&C engine #340 (GT&C 340 was originally D&RG 400) as it appeared in the late 1800s (with a diamond stack, wooden pilot and more elaborate sand dome). It probably had decorative trim on both the sand dome and the steam dome originally.
"Galloping Goose" motor rail buses kept the Rio Grande Southern Railroad viable from the 1930s by carrying mail. Their last use was to scrap their own line in 1953. Knott purchased the RGS Motor #3, which is run on the GT&C during the off-season – when ridership is too insufficient to justify hostling a steam locomotive. The Galloping Goose was constructed from a Pierce-Arrow limousine frame, engine, radiator, cowling and body with a four-wheel truck at the front and putting flanged wheels on the rear axle. Later a bogie truck replaced the rear axle, linked to the front truck by a chain drive. A RGS shop-built freight box (converted with trolley seats for passenger service in 1950) articulates on the kingpin over the chain driven center truck. The wooden limousine body was replaced after World War II with a 1939 Wayne military-surplus bus body with both left and right doors. The Pierce-Arrow gasoline engine has been replaced, first with a war-surplus GMC gasoline engine at the RGS, then at Knott's with a war-surplus 6 cylinder in-line Diamond-Reo gasoline engine. In 1997 the engine was replaced once more with a Cummins Diesel engine supported with an I-beam frame extension salvaged from the demolished Windjammer Surf Racers roller coaster.

This photo of a Rio Grande Southern business-car train in the 1800s shows what the Ghost Town & Calico engines looked like in the 1800s (e.g., diamond stack, wooden pilot, and trim on the sand dome and steam dome). The business car next to the engine is the "Rico," which is now at the Colorado Railroad Museum. The other business car appears to be the "Edna," which is now at Knott's Berry Farm.
In late 1973, the park received ex-D&RGW K-27 #464, a Mikado 2-8-2 locomotive. However, due to clearance issues, in 1981, Knott's donated the locomotive to the Huckleberry Railroad in Flint, Michigan.