Steam Trains Given Green Light

All aboard! The steam trains will run again!

MyMotherLode.com has just learned steam excursion trains at Railtown 1897 are scheduled to operate during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

A dispute over track maintenance — between the Sierra Northern Railroad, which owns the tracks from Oakdale to Standard and the California State Railroad Museum, which operates the Railtown facility in Jamestown — has been resolved.

The track had been down graded late this summer and because of that, Railtown’s excursion passenger trains were not allowed to run over that portion of right of way.

Kathy Taylor Director with the California State RailRoad Museum in Sacramento sent out an internal memo to alert state staff and Railtown personnel of the latest news. She was unavailable for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Track ties have been replaced and the track inspected by the Federal Railroad Administration and reported to be approved to have passengers ride over the rails again. Sierra Northern Railroad freight trains had been allowed to travel over the track during this time.

Railtown runs hour-long excursion trains between Jamestown and Rock Siding to the west during weekends and holidays.