Railroad Forums 

  • Roseland Park miniature train ride

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.

Moderator: Otto Vondrak

 #1503598  by lvrr325
 
Found a great slide of a miniature riding train marked Roseland Park and was trying to place it for sure as Canandaigua but with all the changes there it looks to be impossible. Anyone know where, on a map, that ride was located? Probably going to need a pre-1985 map. Even Lakeshore Drive has been moved.

Whatever happened to that train? It was there long enough to get a postcard. Seems to have been across the road from the main park. But it's not clear from what I could find if it was still there in 1985 for the auction.

I see in San Diego there's a nearly identical train running as the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad. Same Southern Pacific Daylight colors, F3 A-B power, coaches with one solid side and one side cutout for rider entry.
 #1503616  by TB Diamond
 
The Roseland Park train ride was across Lake Shore Drive from the main park. The loop even crossed one of the ponds on a bridge.

Will attempt to find out the manufacturer and disposition from a friend.
 #1503619  by BR&P
 
TBD, you truly are an encyclopedia. Not only the details on the big 'uns, but even the abandonment of the kiddie trains as well. I'm impressed! :-D
 #1503622  by lvrr325
 
The slide is taken of a return loop, with parking at the right, and visible behind the train and apparently across the road a gas station. I don't have a means to scan slides right now unfortunately.
 #1503637  by scottychaos
 
Found an aerial photo of the park here:

http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image ... 81adcba692" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-waymarking- ... 50017.jpeg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But unfortunately the railroad, on the other side of Lake Shore drive, isnt in the photo.
Other photos from that aerial shoot likely exist..somewhere.

Scot
 #1503638  by scottychaos
 
Undated postcard showing the railroad..I would guess 1940's or 50's, before the rollercoaster:

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4x9dQvKiH1Y/ ... d+Park.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

From this page, also with a postcard of the train!
F-unit with stylized SP daylight paint scheme:

https://theothernewyorkststate.blogspot ... y-now.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Scot
 #1503670  by lvrr325
 
yes, I went through Pinterest, looked at vintage aerials, I couldn't find any shots that showed the train ride in relation to the rest of the park.

I'm looking at buying a digital body that will work on my slide duplicator, I think that's the cheapest way out into reasonable quality digitization.
 #1503699  by TB Diamond
 
The Roseland Park miniature train was a Model G-16 manufactured by the Miniature Train Company in 1948 and delivered to Roseland later that same year. The ride ceased operating M/L 1960s and the train set sat unused until 1972. It was eventually sold to a party in in Pennsylvania where it sits rusting to this very day.The set is for sale but the owner is asking an unreasonable price for it or so I was informed.

The original loop was over one mile in length but was subsequently shortened. The bridge mentioned above stood until the E/1990s.

Info from M. Skipworth who owns a similar miniature train set.
 #1503751  by twinship
 
Yes, I remember riding it as a very little kid. The big bridge was at the start of the ride as the train crossed the pond, then wound around the far side of the pond area. In the original long ride the train passed through some nice landscaping, with cast concrete statuary. One was a very fierce-looking alligator I was a bit anxious about! I can't remember if there was a second bridge or not but I do remember the train passing through a picnic area, then running through its storage shed, which had been modeled to look like a tunnel (which I did not care for!) Then the ride was over!

Many years later I would go fishing around those ponds--although the track was gone some of the statues remained, including the alligator!
 #1503850  by StLouSteve
 
In the little kids' section at the eastern end of the park adjacent to the lake, there was also a mini railroad ride which had individual flat cars that a kid could sit on and propel with hand operated cranks. You could get up some speed and bump someone in front of you. I think it lasted up until the end.
 #1504207  by sd80mac
 
StLouSteve wrote:In the little kids' section at the eastern end of the park adjacent to the lake, there was also a mini railroad ride which had individual flat cars that a kid could sit on and propel with hand operated cranks. You could get up some speed and bump someone in front of you. I think it lasted up until the end.

THANKS! that was what was bothering me since this thread started. I knew that there was something that I did but couldn't pinpoint. Now you mentioned that! I remember now!

However I never saw that train ride. It must had been removed before my family attended to there in early 70's

thanks