How I spent Independence Day

I detest fireworks - for their noise and pollution and dangers, and nearly all recent news has been depressing beyond belief, so while nearly everyone has forgotten nearly everything that Independence Day represents, I decided to ignore it, and instead celebrate some of my favorite things, beginning with the mechanical arts manifested in that thing of beauty and wonder of wonders, the steam-driven train......

That the Redwood Valley Railway still gives joy and delight to children is merely icing on the cake.


“Oak” - a 2-6-2 Prairie-class engine

Scale: 5/12 narrow
Gauge: 15"
Fuel: Oil
Boiler pressure: 175 psi
Drivers: 14"
Truck wheels: 10"
Tractive effort: 975 lbs.
Gross wt: 5 tons
Data from: “Redwood Valley Railway - A Brief History and Technical Specification of the Tilden Park Steam Trains”