# @cowmissing on YouTube - **Type:** Video - **Original URL:** https://youtube.com/watch?v=aE0oIteF6ko - **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/75900973-cowmissing-youtube - **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/531ef2b650.jpg - **Posted:** 2025-06-24T14:25:39.000+00:00 - **Account Owner:** Cow Missing (@CowMissing) — https://gondola.cc/CowMissing ## Caption The Ghost Town & Calico Railway is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad located within Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. Walter Knott began construction in 1951 after acquiring vintage rolling stock and equipment to create a functioning Old West railroad attraction. Service started in November 1951, officially opening on January 12, 1952. Most locomotives and cars originated from the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) and the Rio Grande Southern Railroad (RGS). Notably, D&RGW equipment was painted in "Rio Grande Gold" for the 1949 Chicago Railroad Fair, a color that was also used on “The Silverton” train in 1950. The Ghost Town & Calico Railway adopted this color when it launched operations, though it initially featured overly decorative paint schemes and inaccurately shaped diamond stacks. Efforts have been made to restore the trains to a more historically authentic 1940s appearance. Today, engines feature straight stacks and boiler-tube pilots, and passenger cars are painted Pullman Green—a color mandated during World War I when the government took control of the railroads. However, the equipment dates back to the 1880s, aligning more closely with Walter Knott’s vision of an 1800s Old West town. Initially, the engines had ornate sand domes, wooden pilots, and red-painted passenger cars. The railway's roster includes two Baldwin-built C-19 2-8-0 "Consolidation" steam locomotives from 1881: D&RGW No. 340 Green River (formerly D&RG #400, later "Gold Nugget No. 40") RGS No. 41 Red Cliff (renamed Walter K in 2012) No. 340 was rebuilt in 2016 and rotates in service with No. 41. Knott’s also acquired Galloping Goose No. 3, a hybrid motor rail bus originally used by RGS to carry mail during the Great Depression. Constructed from a Pierce-Arrow limousine frame and later fitted with various surplus engines—including a Cummins Diesel installed in 1997—it runs during the off-season when steam operation isn't viable. The Goose features a bus body retrofitted for passengers and a freight compartment connected via a kingpin over a chain-driven truck. In 1973, Knott’s acquired D&RGW K-27 No. 464, a 2-8-2 Mikado locomotive, but due to size constraints, it was donated in 1981 to the Huckleberry Railroad in Michigan. Around 2010, Knott’s obtained Jennie K., an H.K. Porter 0-4-0ST tank engine from Cedar Point’s railroad. However, it was never restored at Knott’s and was sold in 2017 to Garner Holt Productions, which plans to restore it to working order. When the Ghost Town & Calico Railway opened for passenger service on January 12, 1952, its locomotives pulled several yellow, vintage, closed-vestibule wooden coaches. Leading the consist was No. 103 Parlor Car Chama, which was converted at Knott’s in 1954 into a combination baggage/coach car, renamed Calico. For added thematic flair, the vehicle once featured arrows embedded near the baggage door to simulate an attack, though these have since been removed. Today, the cars are painted in the historically accurate Pullman Green livery of the D&RGW era. The train also includes a gondola (converted from a flatcar for open-air seating) and a stock car (also transformed from a gondola), which features side benches and a wheelchair lift. Rio Grande Southern No. 0402 remains the only caboose on the line and is still in use. Additional cars like the Parlor Car Durango (restored in 2011), the Silverton observation sleeper, and Business Car No. B-20 Edna is typically stored on sidings during normal operations, along with the short "bobber" caboose and D&RGW wooden boxcar No. 3350. The Silverton has since been placed into revenue service as a standard coach, while the bobber caboose is now used for live-action bandit boardings during train rides. Business Car B-20 Edna (formerly San Juan) was initially built for Rio Grande Southern president Otto Mears to serve as a mobile office and temporary living quarters while traveling sidings and spurs to issue track orders. Film at Knott's Berry Farm @knottsberryfarm Sunday, June 22, 2025. © 2025 Cow Missing Productions. All rights reserved. (http://youtube.com/cowmissing/) Please do not reproduce without our expressed written consent. Follow us: X: https://x.com/cowmissing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/cowmissing/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cowmissing/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CowMissingProductions/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/cowmissing/ Discord: https://discord.com/invite/b9hesaBpFm/ #GhostTownAndCalicoRailway #KnottsBerryFarm #NarrowGaugeRailroad #SteamLocomotive #HeritageRailway #WalterKnott #DandRGW #RioGrandeSouthern #GallopingGoose #ParlorCarEdna #PullmanGreen #HistoricTrain #VintageRailroadCars #GhostTownTrain #CaliforniaRailwayHistory #cowmissing ZOIWR5RPPGPO0ZXJ ## Stats - **Views:** 1,227 - **Likes:** 18 - **Shares:** 0 - **Comments:** 7 ## Credits No public credits are recorded here. This does not identify who made the post. ## Tags californiarailwayhistory, riograndesouthern, knottsberryfarm, 400, walterknott, historictrain, ghosttowntrain, cowmissing, dandrgw, parlorcaredna, ghosttownandcalicorailway, pullmangreen, steamlocomotive, narrowgaugerailroad, vintagerailroadcars, heritagerailway, gallopinggoose --- Copyright (c) Gondola