Frisco Silver Dollar Line

The Frisco Silver Dollar Line is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge amusement park steam train ride located in the Silver Dollar City theme park in Branson, Missouri. The railroad opened in 1962, making it one of the oldest rides in the park.[1] It is themed after American railways in the 1800s. The ride includes an 1800s themed train depot, a water tower, a trestle overpass bridge, a train wreck scene, a staged train robbery, a tunnel, a rectangular shaped roundhouse, and an at-grade railroad crossing.

In the middle of the ride, guests experience a show where uneducated train robbers try their best to rob the train, but guests are saved just in time by the conductor, who was tricked into searching for "Yankees" or "Indians." Recently, the conductor may be tricked into checking to see whether or not the tunnel down the line was blown up. During the Old Time Christmas festival at the park, the train is decked-out in lights and becomes the Frisco Sing-Along Steam Train. The train robber act is replaced by Grandpa telling the Christmas story.

Locomotives

Frisco Silver Dollar Line
Roundhouse
(not open to public)
Valley Road
Funicular transfer
(via walk through cave inside park)

The Frisco Silver Dollar Line consists of a total of 5 steam engines. Currently, 3 are in operation. All 3 of them fire on No. 2 diesel fuel. They are 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) narrow gauge steam locomotives. Silver Dollar City has recently purchased two new steam engines for the park, Engines 504 and 14.[2][3]

Engine #7

Engine number 7 was built in 1934 by Orenstein & Koppel (O&K) in Hamburg, Germany. It is currently on display as in the train wreck scene. It poses as "Engine 82" in the fictional story of Ichabod Q. Peabody as he took said engine around a tight curve with a speed limit of 2.3 mph at the raging, blazing speed of 11.7 mph. The train jumped the tracks and crashed into the trees. Nobody was hurt and they sobered up Ichabod and got him running the train again.

Davenport locomotive

The Davenport is the original steam locomotive of the Frisco Silver Dollar Line. It was numbered 76 and it was the only engine on the Line for about 8 years. It is a 4-4-2 with a tender. While it is unknown the official current number (76 is the number of a different engine now), some people refer to it as "#9" or more commonly, "the Davenport". It was put on display after its retirement up until late 2008, when it was moved to the rail yard outside of the roundhouse. It has since been repainted and is currently at the Depot on display.

Engine #43

Engine 43 is the oldest and smallest operating engine of the Frisco Silver Dollar Line. It was built by O&K in Hamburg, Germany in 1934. 43 is the "sister" engine to number 7 meaning that both were built by the same manufacturer of the same year and of the same model. 43 weighs about 15 tons and is exactly 21 feet, 6 1/2 inches in length from pilot to coupler. 43's cab is about 4 feet wide. The operating pressure is about 135 lbs. 43 is on many brochures and billboards and other advertisements and has become the iconic engine of the Frisco Silver Dollar Line.

Engine #13

Engine 13 is the largest and second oldest engine of the Frisco Silver Dollar Line. It was built by O&K in Hamburg, Germany in 1938. 13 weighs about 20 tons and is exactly 21 feet, 6 1/2 inches in length from pilot to coupler. 13's cab is between 5 1/2 and 6 feet wide. The operating pressure is about 145 lbs. 13 is probably the engine that runs the most on the Line. 13 seems to have pretty strong endurance especially for an engine as old as it is. 13 started off with a "taper" shaped smoke stack meaning it was mostly straight but SLIGHTLY angled outward like a slight "V". It then had a diamond stack for a long while and eventually had a "funnel" shaped stack like 43's. 13 eventually got a smoke stack of its own. The particular type of stack is called "Radley and Hunter" which is shaped like an incongruent octagon. This particular stack had a "tin" sound and started trapping some of the smoke and exhaust inside the stack. The original taper stack was put back on in 2011 and has helped 13 sound more powerful

Engine #76

Engine 76 is the second youngest engine of the Frisco Silver Dollar Line. It was built by Kolben-Danek in Czechoslovakia in 1940. 76 weighs about 20 tons and is exactly 21 feet, 6 1/2 inches in length from pilot to coupler. Engine 76's cab is about 5 feet wide. The operating pressure is about 145 lb. Engine 76 seems to be very popular along Frisco Silver Dollar Line fans. Two things that have stood out a lot to the community are the diamond-shaped smokestack and the use of a Western Locomotive Supply Southern 3 chime steam whistle. What is unique about that particular whistle is that it is made of steel as opposed to brass or cast iron.

In early 2014, 76 went into a massive overhaul to make many changes and to replace the boiler. On November 7, 2015, 76 ran passenger operations for the first time since the rebuild and also started off the 2015 Silver Dollar City Christmas Season.

Engine #504

No. 504 was built in 1941 by the Kolben Danek in Czechoslovakia. It has a good history along with it. It worked for Hans Vattern AG in Mannheim, Germany. In 1967 it was sold to Jim Mahacek of Northfield, Minnesota. His backyard was the side of a football field and had 2-foot gauge tracks just like on the Frisco Silver Dollar Line. He ran trains on October weekends for the public to ride. After Mahacek’s passing in 2012, 2 steam engines he had, 504 and 14, were sold to Silver Dollar City. Both locomotives experienced an overhaul, and no. 504 made its debut on June 18, 2018. Unlike the other engines, it is an 0-4-0T with a Tender Equipped with it. It wears a proper Frisco Passenger paint scheme and a Nathan 6 Chime steam whistle. One thing about this engine that the others don’t have is an Electric Dynamo. It is located behind the front headlight.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Branson's Best Day Trips: A Guide to Discovering the Best of Branson & Ozark Mountain Country, p. 80
  2. ↑ http://www.startribune.com/steam-engines-that-gave-children-rides-sold-to-theme-park/380374971/
  3. ↑ http://sdcfans.com/sdc-purchases-additional-steam-trains/

Coordinates: 36°40′14″N 93°20′13″W / 36.67056°N 93.33694°W / 36.67056; -93.33694

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