Mt. Tamalpais Scenic Railroad coming soon to the Civic Center Library! (2016)
by Fred Codoni and Fred Runner
Railroad historian Fred Codoni is thrilled to report:
“After 86 years, the 1/10th scale model Shay locomotive crafted by an employee of the Mt. Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railroad in 1911 has returned to Marin and will soon be on display at the Civic Center branch of the Marin County Free Library and later at the Gravity Car Barn museum at Mt. Tamalpais State Park.”
“Thanks to the efforts of Fred Runner, Richard Torney, Arlene Halligan and other Scenic Railway buffs, the model was rescued from a scrap dealer’s basement in Illinois and shipped to Marin, arriving at master model craftsman Phil Gazzano’s San Anselmo workshop on February 4th. Gazzano said the model must have over 2,000 hours in its construction because of all the details, including dozens of nuts and bolts and moving parts. It’s ‘way above and beyond anything built at that time. The craftsmanship is incredible. The details are through the roof.’”
Fred Runner, author and historian of the Mt. Tamalpais Scenic Railway, fills us in on the history of this remarkable scale model:
“The model was first on display in the Scenic Railway’s San Francisco ticket office on Market Street at Christmas time in 1911. From the beginning it drew crowds. Like so many artifacts from that era, the year ‘1915’ is marked in numerous places on the model’s engine. The year ‘1915’ was meant to publicize the coming World’s Fair (Panama Pacific International Exposition) and to also suggest that 1915 was a great time to ride Mt. Tam’s ‘Crookedest Railroad.’”
“In 1915, the model was moved to San Francisco’s Ferry Building where nearly 19 million people from around the world came streaming in, on their way to the World’s Fair. The model did its job as 1915 proved to be the Scenic Railway’s most successful year yet, with an average of 700 passengers a day during the summer months; that’s over 20,000 passengers per month!”
“After the fair, the model was returned to the ticket office window and stayed there until Mt. Tam’s Scenic Railroad was abandoned in 1930. That year, Hyman-Michaels scrapped the railroad and carried the model back to their Chicago offices where it has been ever since — for 86 years.”
(Courtesy The Headlight, Northwestern Pacific Railroad Historical Society. March-April, 2016. Volume 32, Number 2).
EDITOR’S NOTE: Starting in the middle of April 2016 (date to be announced soon!) the beautifully-restored 86-year old Shay locomotive model will be on display at the Civic Center Library. Please join us on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at 12 noon when Fred Runner gives an illustrated talk and a brief docent tour of this remarkable survival of Mt. Tam’s Scenic Railroad days.
Originally published at https://annetkent.kontribune.com.
