Steam & Excursion > Silverwood Does It Right

Today, we got home from our trip to Silverwood amusement park in Athol, ID. Sorry to disappoint the foamers, but I got almost no pictures or video of the train. We were having too much fun. The train and its crew definitely deserve some recognition, though. The locomotive's paint scheme was flashy but well done. For an amusement park, I thought the red, black, and brass looked great. And it was spotless. They ran their loop hourly, with a five car train. With the exception of the last train of the day, they all looked full. And the ride was thoroughly enjoyed by our kids. I actually encouraged them to go on more rides rather than the train but they insisted and I was not disappointed. I managed to squeeze in a minute asking the locomotive crew a few questions and they actually seemed excited to answer. We had to wait at a crossing for them several times. Each time, our kids would do the whistle hand signal. And each time, the engineer would point at anyone giving the signal and blow the whistle "for them". I assumed blowing for their pedestrian crossing was simply part of their rule book, until we were at the top of a water slide tower far from any crossings, and a good 50 yards from the tracks. The fireman spotted our kids signalling for some whistle. He pointed at them, turned and said something to the engineer, then pointed and waved when he blew the whistle. Whoever the train crew is in Silverwood, they all deserve a big salute! They are going above and beyond to make trains fun for all, and it's working.

Posted from Android

Nice little park to visit a good friend of mine used to do the airshow years back for it. They at that time were just getting the train cars done.

It is really nice when the crews and operation truly "get it".

The PR side and imafe of things is more and more essential in this day and age.

Great to hear about this experience. Others can learn a lot from it.