The Beautiful Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad at Vasona Park - 18 gauge Live Steam in Los Gatos - 60p
William Billy Jones' railroad began in 1939, when as a regular engineer on the Coast Daylight run, he spotted a derelict miniature locomotive in a scrap yard during a layover in San Francisco. Purchasing it for the princely sum of $100, he moved it back to his prune orchard on Daves Avenue in Los Gatos.
That locomotive turned out to be Venice Miniature Railway #2, formerly operated in Venice Beach, CA. during the heydey of Abbot Kinney's artist-community development on the beachfront west of Los Angeles. Designed by John Coit and built by the Johnson Machine Works of Los Angeles in 1905, the now over 100 year old locomotive has hauled thousands if not millions of happy children and adults over its long career.
Billy Jones operated the 18 gauge 2-6-2 Prairie type locomotive on a loop around his orchard from 1942 to 1967, always for free, to the delight of local kids and families.
Billy Jones passed away after a brief battle with leukemia, and in 1968 local volunteers began planning to rescue the equipment and re-locate it to a new home at Vasona and Oak Meadow Parks. The Wildcat began operations at Vasona Park in July of 1969 and has been open to the public ever since. The railroad now also has a second, larger steam locomotive and a diesel locomotive to help the aging two-spot with its duties.
This footage was shot in 2006 shortly after the #2 received a new boiler. The original scotch 'marine' boiler is on display in front of the engine house.
The logo seen at the beginning was designed by Disney animator Ward Kimball.
For more information and historical photographs, I recommend Ed Kelley's Arcadia Publishing book, Railroads of Los Gatos.
Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad Holiday Train
The Lights of Vasona Park attract thousands of visitors to drive through the lighted park that shows a bright and happy holiday season. However an even better way to see the lights is by train. The line to get in for the cars can take over an hour and a half and if you want to enjoy the leisure of viewing the lights, rail is the way to go. The Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, which is a miniature railroad that takes people through the park, decorated their train in bright lights and runs it over the line where passengers can view the lights. With Diesel #2502 on the head, this train takes people through the magical lights and brightens the holiday season. Here are some shots I took of the train around the station with #2502 on the head. So enjoy this treefrogflag Production and make sure to comment, like and subscribe and make sure to check out the treefrogflag Facebook Page!
Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad & W.E. “Bill” Mason Carousel
The Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad operates in Oak Meadow Park and in Vasona Park, Los Gatos, California. It was founded in 1968.
W.E. “Bill” Mason Carousel was originally manufactured by Savage in Great Britain for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition.
Whole history is here
====
August 21, 2016
Myron (22 months old) is a huge fan of trains.
Los Gatos State of the Town - Community Vision
Mayor Diane McNutt presents details about the Town's vision for the future as part of the State of the Town Address.
Vasona Park, Los Gatos, CA
Weekend(2009,1,17)Fun at Vasona Park, Los Gatos, CA
DVD - California Steam Stories
Watch an enhanced version here -
3 Chapters:
- Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad
- Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad
- Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
Add California Steam Stories to your collection now -
Thanks for watching!
Steve Mitchell,
Subscribe to TheYardGoat Channel!
Train Ride @ Oak Meadow Park
Picnic @ Oak Meadow Park
on May 22nd 2016
Vasona Lake County Park, Los Gatos
Los Gatos is a very beautiful town in CA near SanFran. The park is in the hear of the small town.
Los Gatos Holiday Parade 2011
Video clips from the 55th Annual Los Gatos Holiday Parade, December 3, 2011. Great mix of bands, floats, cars, and performances, including: the Leigh High School Marching Band, Jiffy Market Bike Jump w/ Ryan Nyquist, Cuccuzza Squash Drill Team, and the Stanford University Band. Always a great time.
For a complete listing of participants featured in this year's parade:
Vasona State Park in Los Gatos. California, USA
ПОДПИШИСЬ НА МОЙ КАНАЛ, СКУЧНО НЕ БУДЕТ! НАЖМИТЕ КНОПКУ — ЕЩЕ — Парк округа Вазона Лейк. Прекрасный парк. Воздух наполнен ароматом цветущих деревьев (очень много здесь деревьев магнолий и мимозы) и цветов. И нам повезло быть здесь в рабочий день, потому что в выходные и праздники в парке отдыхает половина Силиконовой Долины. А название Вазона получила по имени мула из Висконсина, которого привез инициатор устройства станции железной дороги в Лос Гатос. Здесь много велосипедных маршрутов и можно насладиться тем, насколько чистый и приятный парк! Озеро безмятежно с большим количеством птиц. Иногда можно увидеть как подскакивает рыба. Это место действительно хорошее, есть много развлечений.
Каждый год здесь проходит мероприятие под названием Fantasy of Lights. Это замечательное событие, предвестник Рождества и Нового Года - фестиваль огней. Проще говоря, в этом парке оборудуют довольно большую территорию под светодиодные инсталляции и ночью это смотрится чудесно. Обычно это длится около двух недель до Рождественских праздников
CA Highway 17: Los Gatos to Santa Cruz very quickly (time lapse)
Music: Kevin MacLeod (track: Highlight Reel)
Santa Cruz Beach Train
We got lucky and saw the Santa Cruz Beach Train pull into the Beach Boardwalk.
Thank you for watching our video. We invite you to follow our Journey and hope you enjoy our Coastside Family Adventures. We will document living our unconventional life, post reviews of products we love and campgrounds all over the country. Besides taking full advantage of our Thousand Trails Campground Membership we will be staying at National and State parks and boondocking on BLM land throughout the Journey. We hope you are inspired by our videos.
Visit our Website at
for Blog posts, Campground Reviews and Product Reviews
our Instagram page at
our Facebook page at
To support our Journey visit us at
Follow the link for all your Amazon Shopping
Our favorite RV camping items
Timber Ridge Mystic Falls 14x12 Screen House
Folding Wagon
WiFi Camp Pro
Inflatable Sport Kayak
Floating Island
Dog travel set
Hydration Backpack
Or throw us a tip if you like at
If you like to write us, our mailing address is
Coastside Family Adventures
P.O.B. 370572
Montara, CA 94037
Thank you so much for watching our videos, we really appreciate your support.
ERM&L Co. #1- The Falk! Cab ride
Ever wonder what it is like to be inside the cab of an 1884 steam locomotive?
Taken at the 2015 Redwood Region Logging Conference, in Eureka CA. March 2015.
Fireman- Corbett Petersen
Engineer- Sean Mitchell
About the engine-
Built in 1884, San Francisco, by Marshutz & Cantrell.
This “gypsy” type locomotive was purchased by Noah Falk in San Francisco and brought by ship to Arcata, CA. It was first used to haul logs at the Dolly Varden Mill in north Arcata until moved to Falk, California in 1885. Used on the Elk River Mill & Lumber Co. railroad, it was the only locomotive until 1903. In 1900 the railroad was extended five miles up a canyon to new timber. The grade required a larger locomotive and No. 1 was relegated to switching duties near the mill when No. 2 arrived in 1903. In 1927 a third locomotive was purchased and the Falk was retired (No. 3 is in the THA collection but in the 1950s it was converted to a diesel–Mutual Plywood No. 54).
The Falk was given to the city of Eureka, California, for use in a 1937 Fourth of July parade operating on street car tracks on Second Street in Eureka. It was then displayed at Fort Humboldt and given to the State of California when the military fort became a state park. Restored by Association volunteer labor and State Parks funding in 1986, it operates monthly during the summer at Fort Humboldt State Historic Park Logging Exhibit. Owned by the City of Eureka, loaned to California State Parks. There are only 12 locomotives anywhere in the U.S. or Canada that are older than the Falk that still operate.
The North Pole Express on the Heber Valley Railroad (former D&RGW Provo Canyon Branch)
A day late for Christmas, but it's up!
In this video we follow the Heber Valley Railroad's North Pole Express with eight cars and two cabooses from Heber to Soldier Hollow, with stops at the Conanville Road crossing, Provo River Bridge and Snake Creek trestle. The locomotive is an EMD-built MRS-1 developed during the Korean War to be used in foreign countries, essentially an SD7 shoved into a much smaller British loading gauge.
Heber Valley Railroad website:
Roaring Camp Railroads
Bei den Roaring Camp Railroads in Kalifornien gibt es 2 verschiedene Museumsbahnen. Die Shay Dampflok mit dem Waldbahnzug und den Santa Cruz Beach Train hinunter ans Meer, gezogen von einer Diesellok.
Fantasy Of Lights in Vasona Park (17min HD drive through video). Light show in Los Gatos CA
UPDATE 2015:
See my other videos for updated 2015:
------------
This is more than Candy Cane Lane. Definitely good for kids and families. $15 per car. Drive through only (can't get out of the car). This is located in Vasona Park, Los Gatos (right off 17). This is a big park that is decorated throughout with many lights and light figures. Some of them are pretty fun to look at. There is sync'ed music on radio that you can tuned to specifically for the event (FM104.1) as you drive you through the park. We went there on Monday night to avoid traffic and the line. Be prepared for long line if you go during the weekend. The drive was around 20 minutes on Monday night (no traffic) and probably much longer with traffic. Check out the video of the decoration.
Here is the link to their site:
Taken with Galaxy S3
Hiking the Los Gatos Trail to Novitiate Park (Los Gatos, CA)
Willy-Travels: Hiking Los Gatos Trail to Novitiate Park (Los Gatos, CA)
A simple hike nearby. Los Gatos Trail to Novitiate Park 2014. This isn't the only trail in the area, there are many others that start from Los Gatos.
Shot with a Canon Vixia HF M50 at highest settings. Encoded in MP4 1920x1080 30fps.
Website:
Instagram:
Vasona Lake Park Flood California flood 2017 Los Gatos CA and demo drone reel by Douglas Thron
Douglas Thron (408) 444-5000 DroneAerialCinematographer.com
Douglas Thron is the one of the world’s leading drone cinematographers. He has been an aerial cinematographer since 1992 and is an FAA certified seaplane and drone pilot. Because of his expert piloting skills he has the largest insurance policy carried by any drone pilot at $6M. He is also able to get permission by the US government to film in places that are restricted to others. For example, Mr Thron was the first and only drone cinematographer to recently be granted permission to film great white sharks off the coast of California.
His impressive client list includes: Discovery Channel (including Shark Week), CBS News, Imagine Entertainment, NFL, Good Morning America, NBCUniversal, United States Federal Government, State of California, The Emmy Awards, Time, People, Glamour, Sierra, Sunset, and over 500 of the California’s top real estate agents. His cinematography is considered some of the finest in the business and he is available to film worldwide.
Douglas Thron specializes in drone aerial cinematography filming nature, cities, wildlife, autos, landscapes, boats, actors/actresses, skyscrapers, real estate, music videos, and action and adventure travel cinematography. He is an avid backpacker and whitewater rafter so no job is too extreme or remote. Special rate available for environmental or social justice projects.
ROARING CAMP RAILROADS :: FREE Heritage Events 2016
TV Commercial for Roaring Camp Railroads' 2016 FREE Heritage Events.
Heritage. Sounds like something old. Unless you’re talking about Heritage Events, at Roaring Camp Railroad. Free all summer long.
Production: Six Finger Films
California State Railroad