Theme Park Insider

Calico Railroad reviews

Theme Park Insider readers offer their ratings and reviews for Calico Railroad, a railroad at Knott's Berry Farm.

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Posted: May 10, 2009

Hop aboard this Old West train in Calico Square and take in the sights and sounds of the Wild West, including live Bandits!! A humorous and historic attraction, the Calico Railroad is a very historic train, built in 1881 and brought to Knott's in 1952. This train features real C-19 engines and has been restored to look exactly the way it originally did on Colorado's Rio Grande Southern and Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroads. Knott's uses engines #340 and #41 on their trains. Unlike those of other theme parks, the Calico Railroad drops off passengers at the same place they boarded; it is not a transportation ride.

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Readers' rating:

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14 votes, so far

Not much of a ride, until you realize that when Walter Knott purchased the coaches, they were riddled with burnt arrow holes. He thought they were ugly and had the painters fill and paint to hide them. Also, as a conductor, I carried keys to the coach restrooms. They were not usable, but each one had all the original plumbing and hardware still there at that time ('81 - '88), and locked with the original skeleton key lock - Brian McGee

Adds a lot to the western theme, allows the park to actually be a theme park and not just a thrill ride park - Erik Avila

its just another train, but its still cool, in a way. - Chloe !

This ride is not my idea of a thrill. - Sarah Meeks

Always loved the bandits. - Nicholas Kalscheuer

7/10 Classic memory from my mom's childhood, she says all kids should try it. Go figure, I've only been to Knotts twice and I haven't been on it. - Jack Borgeson

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