Adobe Western, Phoenix

The Adobe Western is the name of the railroad operated by the Maricopa Live Steamers, a non-profit organization. Although they are a private club they offer rides to the public on Sunday afternoons until summer when it gets too hot. There is no charge but they accept donations. The layout of their facility was well organized and allows members to store their equipment on site but retrieve it easily. The ride is through the desert and includes a view of a neighboring go-cart track. There is even a siding called Racewatch. Prairie dogs keep an eye on everything and an alert by the young man in front of me of a lion on the prowl turned out to be a large dog.

Freestone Park, Gilbert

The Freestone Park Railroad was the first of several in city owned parks. Gilbert is one of many towns that make up the greater Phoenix area. There was a bit of a crisis when I arrived and the locomotive was up on jacks and missing its front truck. A spot of welding fixed the problem and service started about 20 minutes late. The train wanders through the park in a loop to loop configuration that I found common among these small railroads.

Schnepf Farms, down home good ...

The folks at Schnepf farms are just the nicest you would ever want to meet. Friendly and helpful and they make great pies. The lady engineer for the railroad is very proud of her Union Pacific engine. Schnepf Farms used to ship much of their produce by rail and UP still has a spur into their farm. The ride is a pleasant one, covering many areas of a working farm/family experience. At 8 AM Sunday morning, I had the train to myself but noticed a second train parked which I found is used during the busy fall season.

The "other" train at McCormick-Stillman ...

The is the small "live steam" operation at McCormick-Stillman park. My train was not pulled by a steamer but the surrounding facilities indicated that they have a large stable of motive power and rolling stock. This operation is run by the Scottsdale Live Steamers.

By the time I get to Phoenix ...

Tucson to Phoenix was an easy drive for a change. I stopped off at the Arizona Railroad Museum in Chandler then headed to The Tiffany RV Park and with the help of the owner, Bobby Diggins, I got set up. A quick lunch and then on to the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale.

A city park, they have some of the usual park amenities such as picnic areas and playgrounds but the overall theme is railroads. They have a small park train that makes a dog bone loop around the park and a much smaller, "live steam" operation run by a local club.

Tucson is a longer drive than I thought ...

I made it to Tucson but between a late start, and a 30 minute construction delay a block from the RV park, I only rode the Old Pueblo Trolley today out of the three things I knew about in Tucson. The Trolley is a class act though, going to great lengths to recreate the historic aspects of the trolley business. The people I met were very friendly and proud of the work they are doing. The area they serve was well chosen, with an eclectic mix of restaurants, shops and bars lining the street from the trolley barn to the University entrance.


SOME day, I will try to get back to Trail Dust Town and the Old Tucson Studios for their park trains.

The best laid plans ...

Well my trip didn't get off to a very auspicious start. Tuesday night, just as it got dark, the 12 volt system on my RV dropped off line. The 12 volt system runs pretty much everything important on an RV so I hurriedly moved stuff out of the refrigerator/freezer and Wednesday morning, when I'm suppose to be on my way to Fort Stockton I called the RV factory and started debugging stuff over the phone. Turned out that after 5 years of working fine, the ground strap connection to the trailer frame had lost contact. 8 hours to find, 10 minutes to fix. But now, without even getting started, I'm a day behind. Wednesday night, after studying the alternatives, I decided to make it all up in one day. It is possible to drive all the way to El Paso in one day (11 hours) with a 14,000 lb. trailer in tow so here I am in El Paso. Tomorrow I go on to Tucson and ride my first rails.