Back before I had even heard the term 'Blog', I wrote some recollections of my time at Woodland Park. It's been a few years, and if you've read all of these, just let me know. It's a multi-part series.
Dad
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Woodland Park was (and is) a large combination Zoo and Open space (picnic, sports field) park in Seattle Washington. The park is split by Hwy. 99 (Aurora Ave) with 3 foot bridges that span that 6 lane road. The train ride was built on site, as near as I can determine, in the late 40's, and operated until that MTC (Miniature Train Company) train was damaged beyond repair in the late 70's.
I was one of the teenage ride operators that worked at the park in the 1966-68 time span. (I was actually driving the train, before I had a license to drive a car! We need to keep that quiet, as it was likely not in compliance with some rule or other. Just between us!)
At first, the train ride was a stand alone attraction, running the rather large loop starting at a replica train station, complete with office and a covered platform that extended both directions from the central ticket booth/office. The train was joined in the mid 60's by a pretty decent amusement park that was constructed in the area within the tracks at the South end of the loop.
The amusement park started as primarily a kids ride area but added some more robust rides during it's operation. The area maintained it's railroad centric theme by using a retired caboose as the rest rooms, and the area was adjacent to the static display of the Great Northern 4-8-0 Steam locomotive display.
The MTC train was a G-16, A-B with 4 passenger cars. At the time, I didn't appreciate the special quality of my job, but I do remember it as a great way to earn date money!
The train was not new by any means during the time I was the engineer, but it was pretty reliable, and always started in the mornings without too much coaxing. It had the standard V-4 Wisconsin Air Cooled engines. Those engines as many of you know had a splash oil crankcase, 6 volt electrical, and vacuum controls and braking systems. The operators cab, was in the rear of the B-Unit and had a angled, flat steel seat (augmented by a pad that we found somewhere), with adequate leg room for my 6 foot frame.
Typically, I would start my run by sitting backwards on top of the engine, with my feet in the cab. I'd reach down and either release the brakes allowing the train to begin creeping away from the station platform, or if I felt like it, give it a brief burst of throttle to get the training moving a bit more quickly.
I remained watching backwards for the first few yards to check that people were not trying to jump on and see that the departure went smoothly. Just locking eyes with latecomers who were thinking of jumping on the moving train was often all that was needed to avoid that activity.
If the ridership load was light, and especially when cute girls were on my train, I might decide to mischievously stand next to my train and slyly release the brake lever. The slight incline and idling Wisconsin's would slowly cause the train to creep forward, slowly gaining speed.
I always enjoyed the panicked look on the girls faces as they realized that the train was moving and I was (apparently) paying no attention. They had the brief feeling that they were going to be on a runaway train with all of the drama that teenaged girls could imagine. I'd look astonished, and nimbly hop onto the engine and take my proper place, with a quick look of forced relief back at the targets of my little act.
(more later)
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