Saturday, September 1, 2012
My Cost: $2.50
4400 Crystal Springs Drive
After the Griffith Park Pony Ride, (my previous post,) I thought we would also go for a train ride! This would give little Alex a chance to ride something too, since he's not old enough for the ponies. Plus, it is free for kids under 19 months old, so it was cheaper than a Wagon Ride. (Vivi is four days away from turning 19 months old!)
The
Griffith Park & Southern Railroad is just steps from the ponies. It has a long history, and I learned there has been a train ride in this location for over sixty years! In between the train and pony rides are two snack bars, picnic tables, and even a toy booth. It's a very carnival type atmosphere. And for families with bigger kids than my little tiny ones, they could spend a nice afternoon riding and eating. But I had one child in the front carrier, and I had to hold the other to keep her from running off while I stood in line, and they each weigh at least 20 pounds, so I knew we'd just ride the train and go home, to save me from too much extra stress. Here are the pictures that document the whole experience:
 |
| Next to the train depot is the Pinwheel Palace toy booth, and there's a small scale water tower in the background. |
 |
| The cute Los Feliz Passenger Station, est. 1947, where you buy your tickets. |
 |
| The prices are the same here as at the train ride in Travel Town, and they do take credit, debit and cash. |
 |
The "Colonel Griffith" 2-8-0 locomotive built by Severn Lamb Ltd. in 1983.
Severn Lamb are transportation replica manufacturers who have also built models for the Smithsonian! |
 |
| The locomotive and the engineer! |
 |
| A man in the train car in front of us took a nice picture - finally I get in a picture! |
 |
| A view of the train platform from the train - a little tilty! |
 |
| The view as we passed the snack bars. |
 |
The engineer really sped up into this curve, which was pretty exciting!
And he turns around and waves to the train passengers, which is fun for the kids. |
 |
| The bridge over a tiny creek. (To the right there's a fence and then southbound I-5 traffic speeding by.) |
 |
| Heading into the manmade tunnel. |
 |
| Passing this boxcar reminded me of the Boxcar Children books I used to read as a kid! |
 |
| The depot, Pinwheel Palace, and a snack bar as seen from the far side of the tracks. |
 |
| The train goes through this "Western Town," and there's even a cowboy mannequin coming out of the saloon! |
 |
| The rest of the Western Town dappled in shadows. |
 |
| Coming around the other big curve in the tracks, there's a cactus garden! |
 |
The repair sheds at the end of the line.
They make all the buildings look like part of a town, to fit the ride theme. |
No comments:
Post a Comment