Exploring in and around San Francisco

Travel over trestles, through towering redwood groves and up a winding narrow-gauge grade to the summit of Bear Mountain as conductors narrate the history of Roaring Camp, the railroad and the forest. In the 1880s, narrow-gauge steam locomotives were used to haul giant redwood logs out of the mountains. Roaring Camp’s steam engines date from 1890 and are among the oldest and most authentically preserved narrow-gauge steam engines providing regularly scheduled passenger service in America. Felton, Calif. – Among geared locomotives, three companies (Shay, Heisler and Climax) are widely credited with dominating the logging and industrial marketplace. Shay locomotives were designed in 1872 particularly for Western U.S. logging operations. Roaring Camp Railroads owns several Shay locomotives, a Heisler, Climax, and five diesel engines.