Silver Lake Railroad

slrr1 wrote:Im not sure.. I was talking to the Neil sat, and we thought it was AN a-4, so I am not sure..... I believe it is an a-4.. I will ask bruce next time I tt him..

And what you think the M19 is actually a S-2

Bruce is also working on a third A-6.. Hopefully it'll be finished by next year

The restored one inside? Nice I thought it was an M19 because of the length and I thought it had a ROQ when I looked at it as the S2's are 2' longer but also had and option of an RK engine. So I may have looked at the engine and not noticed the length.

I'm 99.99999999% sure that is an A3 that is sitting on the trailer right now. The A3's used a frame the size of an A4, but they have a wheelbase of 40", much similar to the MT14's 36" so they look like over sized MT14s. The minimum wheelbase on an A4 is 56" and I believe as high as 64". Another easy way if the engine has not been replaced is the is that an A3 will have a Waukesha ICK (compared to the Waukesha FC in the A5's) and a A4 would have a Ford industrial 4cyl.

I just talked t bruce.. apparently it is indeed an a-4 and has a ford industrial 4c.

slrr1 wrote:I just talked t bruce.. apparently it is indeed an a-4 and has a ford industrial 4c.

REALLY!? Woah, wonder if it got a rebuild, theres no way it came from Fairmont with that short of a wheelbase

Have you seen "mad max".. our sickle bar mower? Quite an interesting trimmer....

Looks are not this mowers best attribute... I'll try to post a btr. pic tmw...

Last Saturday (1st) we replaced 2 switch ties to keep the switch operable, and built a fountain in the garden.. Neil and I ran the trains while Bruce Pete and Steve worked on the switch, and also Peter and Cici worked on the fountain.. I'll try to post a few pics tmw, and also a pic of "mad max", and a pic our new mower.. next Sat Is the second weekend of Madison Old Homes Weekend, where Madison, and Cici will be holding a Tea party in our garden.. Train rides sat. and sun. 12 1 2 3, and on the weekend after that cotton valley and the B&M historical society will be coming up, so either of these saturdays would be the best times of the season for folks to come up. I would also like to thank everyone who is showing up.. It is nice to see full trains again.. Full train= More happy people!

here are a couple of photos...
TRAIN RIDES NOW OFFICIALLY TRAVEL 3.5 FROM THE SILVER LAKE STATION, ALL THE WAY TO BOULDER ROAD!!!

The website has also been kept up to date; http://www.freewebs.com/slrr1/

And the volume 2 and three brochures have been released at the SLRR Station...

Hi, I'm back from vacation and getting back to the grind. Had trouble logging in, all set now though. My wife, two boys and I stopped at your Silver Lake Railroad on Sunday and we had a ball riding your train and looking around at stuff. The parking lot was full and we considered ourselves lucky to get seats. We also took the Conway Scenic ride, I can now see why your parking lot is full and theirs is like empty. That's quite a lawn mower buggy you guys have. Never seen the likes of one of those before. Nice place.

Yeah we have been very very busy lately... We are trying to get a second train rolling, cuz one saturday ride (2 pm) we had 54 people.. Thats ridiculous! we fit 40 comfortably.. were you on the train on sunday; the rainy day and the 1pm or 2pm... I was spiking our extension to boulder road for the 1 pm, so i missed that ride... that was our 2nd busiest day of the season.. Like I said, it's nice to see full trains again...

Have you guys considered at all getting larger equipment? I understand it costs money that you may not necessarily have but I wasn't sure if that was the inevitable goal. Something along the tune of a GE 44Tonner or 70Tonner wouldn't be bad eh? The rail tricycle idea Brooks had is also a good plan for you guys maybe?

Well 5 years ago the state tried to sell Neil (owner of SLRR) a 44 tonner... Neil didn't want any part of it.. The expense of renovating the line, and running the train would be way too great.. we have never had the man power to do so either... Re-doing 2 switch ties was a big enough whole day job.. forget about the whole line.. It would be nice, but what we have is great.. people seem to get an enjoyable train ride, and it feels like riding in nature, not just through it... about the rail bike thing.. what was that idea? GETTING BACK TO THE FULL SIZED TRAIN THING we would have to charge a fee to keep cost off set.. As you may already know we do not have the best location, although great for what we do now, not great for 200 to 400 passenger capacity trains.. And also even though in my opinion, we have better scenery than the CSRR valley train, we just could not compete with the CSRR.. The costs are way too high, and in turn we would not generate a great enough profit to stay in business.. Look what happened to the Wolfeboro railroad.. So what we have running now will pretty much be all... Was this explanation clear.. I am attempting to explain this best as possible.. So if there are any questions, i will try my best.

capecoddah2 wrote:Hi, I'm back from vacation and getting back to the grind. Had trouble logging in, all set now though. My wife, two boys and I stopped at your Silver Lake Railroad on Sunday and we had a ball riding your train and looking around at stuff. The parking lot was full and we considered ourselves lucky to get seats. We also took the Conway Scenic ride, I can now see why your parking lot is full and theirs is like empty. That's quite a lawn mower buggy you guys have. Never seen the likes of one of those before. Nice place.

I must say that about 99% of the people who come off our train have a smile on their face.. I guess everyone loves our train simply due to the charge, the charm, scenery, volunteers, trains, crazy mowers.. haha, and the overall experience they get on the train. Now Neil himself is not a train buff, Bruce and I are, but the one who pays the bills is not.. he enjoys restoring old things, and he is fortunate to have the luxury of not worrying about money.. he drives the train, not for his love of trains, but for the love of making people happy, and seeing them smile, and clap as they get off the train.. I was amazed at the large standing ovation we got on our first train to boulder road.. 2pm train sunday afternoon... Now that is what Neil likes.

"I must say that about 99% of the people who come off our train have a smile on their face.. I think we have given more smiles in our 3 years of operating than CSRR has gotten in their last 33 or so years.. "


Why the negative bash on the Conway Scenic? It is really uncalled for. The foresight of the founders of the Conway Scenic and their success to preserve the line and the station is an incredible story. And the fact that they have survived for 30+ years says something about their ability to manage well. I wish you would re-think your comments.

Steve Delaney

Hi SLRR1, I guess it was a 2PM train we were on. I don't know your area road names but when you mentioned about all the clapping of hands and cheering then I guess we were on the right train alright. We were packed in like sardines. Was the donation of $30 enough to cover 2 adults and 2 young boys? What are these railbike things?

capecoddah2 wrote:Hi SLRR1, I guess it was a 2PM train we were on. I don't know your area road names but when you mentioned about all the clapping of hands and cheering then I guess we were on the right train alright. We were packed in like sardines. Was the donation of $30 enough to cover 2 adults and 2 young boys? What are these railbike things?

30$ is a very generous donation for a family of four! Thank you... And lucky pick of trains alright.. First train to boulder road.. Added 3/8ths of a mile to the trip.. Rail bikes or rail-riders are basically bicycles modified to go on the rails, or special made bicycles made to go on the rails.. I am working on one now, and hope to have it up and running soon!.. As to that idea.. what was that?

highrail wrote:"I must say that about 99% of the people who come off our train have a smile on their face.. I think we have given more smiles in our 3 years of operating than CSRR has gotten in their last 33 or so years.. "


Why the negative bash on the Conway Scenic? It is really uncalled for. The foresight of the founders of the Conway Scenic and their success to preserve the line and the station is an incredible story. And the fact that they have survived for 30+ years says something about their ability to manage well. I wish you would re-think your comments.

Steve Delaney

I have to give a lot to CSRR to be able to stay in business for so long.. But over this past spring-summer i have had a couple of run-in's with their crew-members/aka. volunteers.. I think that the way they are running things lately is not the same old CSRR. Everyone is uptight, some are frankly just rude. I have a hard time comprehending why a railroad would keep personnel that can be just plain nasty to a group of customers that just paid $$$$ for the notch train. Now don't get me wrong.. There are many nice, and kind people @ CSRR, but it just seems that I as a train fan myself.. I come off that train with a blank face.... It is just not the same happy place it was years ago...

Ok.. So I would like to hear some reply and comments.. What are your thoughts on slrr starting a facebook profile.. How many people of this forum have a facebook.. A yes or no answer is good enough.. This is just to kind of survey if there are enough people interested to make it worthy of my time.. ---Thanks Will

Well i would still like to hear comments but I went ahead and made a facebook page; Silver Lake Railroad ... Friend it please!!!! lets see how many freinds we can get up to shall we!!