Steam & Excursion > Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad is 46 years old today

On July 26, 1970, the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad opened in Los Gatos.   The community had spent the previous year and a half moving the material from the Jones ranch to Vasona Park, rebuilding the equipment and constructing track.  During the last 46 years, the 18" guage line has carried more than 2 million and has introduced an operating stream locomotive to many riders...with a few of those becoming involved with other steam operations. 

The first image was taken just after the golden spike ceremony, July 26, 1970, as the locomotive is being turned to take the first trip.
Second image was taken last Sunday, July 24, 2016, during "Billy Jones Day" when both steam locomotives were operated resulting in rare opportunity of double-headed trains.

It is a special place for many of us.

 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/16 12:49 by KMiddlebrook.

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The tickets being only $2.00 per ride is a great deal and encourages familys to ride.  How many things can a family of four do for under $10.00? 

My family has been riding the Wildcat for three generations, starting at Billy Jones' orchard in the early 1950s.

My first exposure to steam was Billy Jones in the late 1970s and we continued to visit throughout the 1980s and I have periodically made return visits since then.

I consider the two-spot to be the most beautiful park locomotive ever constructed. Johnson Machine Works had a way with proportions that few other park train manufacturers had.

The first photo is at the Jones Ranch on Daves Ave in Los Gatos. Here you can see the former Venice Miniature Railway #2, at that time operating without its trailing truck, which appeared and disappeared during the early years.

In the background, the woman with the two children is my grandmother. On the right is my dad and on the left is his sister.

The second photo is more recent, from 2011.

Along the way I have made many friends through the live steam community who have been involved with the operation in one way or another. Some well known steam engineers have come up through the ranks there and moved on to other operations as Ken has mentioned. The next generation has capably taken the reigns, with many of the engineers like C.J., Scott etc. in their early to mid-20s.

With the new locomotive from Merrick to help relieve some of the daily pressure off of the two-spot, the future of the Wildcat is assured for many years to come.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/16 11:32 by Harlock.

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Photo 1: The two spot at the Venice Miniature Railway in Venice Beach, CA.

Photo 2: The VMRR actually had a transfer point with the Pacific Electric!

Photo 3: Another VMRR era photo. All of these are in the early 1900s, before 1925 or so.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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Some more VMRR historical images.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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Last couple in Venice, including a rare double header photo.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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Photo 1: the two-spot, missing her tender, up for sale at a scrap yard. Spotted by Billy during a break from his duties as engineer for the Coast Daylight, he told the dealer he wanted to use it as a mailbox, to help drive the perceived value down.

Photo 2: In the 1950s the two-spot had a daylight paint scheme on it. This was quite a popular thing to do with park trains at the time (see Knotts Berry Farm) but Billy had perhaps a more legitimate reason than most - he was a retired Daylight engineer. He had started with the narrow gauge South Pacific Coast Railroad as a young teenager, and by the end of his career his senority afforded him the pick of the most pretigious routes at the SP.

Photo 3: another with the daylight photo scheme at the Jones ranch.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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Photo 1: One of the most interesting visitors to the Jones Ranch was Walt Disney. Walt was looking for park trains for Disneyland and apparently made an offer to buy the collection, which Billy politely declined. Still, Walt had a terrific time at the Ranch as can be seen in the photo.

Photo 2: A calling card or postcard for the Ranch.

photo 3: The two-spot in the background with Louis MacDermot's 19" gauge 0-6-0 from the Overfaire Railway (1915 Panama Pacific exposition). For a time Billy owned all of the Overfaire equipment and planned to re-gauge his railroad so he could run the large 1/3 scale pacifics there. In the end the property was not big enough to accommodate the larger radius curves needed for the overfaire equipment and the plan was abandoned. He sold off the equipment and it was all later all reunited by Al Smith of Orchard Supply Hardware. The three Pacifics and the 0-6-0 reside at the Swanton Ranch in Davenport CA. where they operate several times a year.

Anyhow, hope you all enjoyed some pre-Vasona history of the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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One more interesting photo. This is Venice Miniature Railway #1 during its time at an operation at Eastlake Park in Los Angeles, post VMRR days.

The #1 is a twin to the two-spot. It is currently owned by the McCoy family, stored serviceable in Southern California. Perhaps one day it will be reunited with its sister. For now, it sleeps.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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Thank You Guys,I too spent many days at the park riding the train...3 generations so far...I have two grandsons, that will make 4  
Mike Jr



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/16 12:36 by spicolli1864.

Ken --Thank you for this thread.  Happy 46th Anniversary
to everyone at the BJWRR!!  I wish all of you many more
happy years of operation!

Harlock/Mike ---
Thank you VERY much for this incredible and VERY interessting
series of photos!  Beyond priceless!  And the Venice RR even
had a direct connection with the PE??    How wonderful!  If only
that klnd of thing could happen nowdays..... And that photo of
Walt Disney is incredible.  I am glad Billy did not sell all his
equipment to Walt.

I have been to the Billy Jones Wildcat RR a few times, but not
often -- my loss.    It is wonderful that it is doing so very well.

I had forgotten that Billy Jones was a "Coast Daylight" engineer. 
That is a very interesting paint scheme he put on the Two Spot!
And, yes, she is a very good-looking locomotvie.

 

I like the tender and trucks Billy made better than the original ones.

Thanks for sharing. In the third photo with the two kids standing next to their mother, they both look like they are biting their nails! <G>

Victor A. Baird
​http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

It would be nice to see more pictures f the first revenue train at Oak Meadow Park/Vasona.  My sister and I were on it and it would be nice to see a picture of us.  Our parents were racing sail boats on Lake Vasona and we went over there early so that we could be on the first train.

Ken & Mike -

Thanks for this salute to Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad. The old Venice photos are amazing. Billy Jones not only has historic #2, but made history again by commissioning the building of 4-6-2 #5 from Merrick Light Railway Equipment Works, delivered in 2013.

Many old steam locomotives from parks and zoos can still be seen preserved and operating around the world, thanks to the efforts of groups and individuals just like those who keep the big stuff going. Billy Jones, Riverside & Great Northern, Whiskey River, Milwaukee Zoo, Michigan AuSable Valley, Chippewa Valley, Arborway TT & Northwestern, Redwood Valley, and Eden Springs at House of David are examples of preservation and operation that I've visited and appreciated. There are many others, and anyone who enjoys big steam will also find much to like with this size. 

Steve Mitchell
yardgoatimages.com 

Are the engines at Lakeside Amusement park in Denver still running?

-Fred-