Man, my heart aches just finding this now with the updated title. The amount of work, time, and passion that this guy put into this, and the age that it attained, and for it all to be gone in a fire just breaks my heart. :(
yeeeeeeep. But uh, one of those things where you have to be glad that it happened, ya know? Not easy to say when it's yours of course, but my best friend couldn't handle his work and life stress anymore last week and jumped off a bridge... So that's what I tell myself these days, be glad it happened and remember the good times and don't be afraid to make new memories either. Just gotta keep going forward.
I’m doing some reading on what happened, it all seems shady to me. I’ve seen nothing from the Robinsons’ perspective, only from the town. The town notified the Robinsons in 2020 that they would not renew their lease after the 2020 Christmas season. The train then shut down. In March there was some back and fourth and the Robinsons were given until the end of the month to remove the train, tracks, and equipment from the grounds “Because they no longer carried insurance on the property”. On April 3rd the storage shed with the trains inside burned down, everything was a total loss. On April 6th the town notified the Robinsons that they had to remove the equipment or it would be scrapped. On April 7th they then notified the Robinsons that the site was under active investigation and anybody who attempted to access it would be arrested for tampering with evidence. On April 14th the town gave the Robinsons until April 16th to remove the railroad equipment from the grounds or it would be scrapped. Sometime in the ensuing months the town scrapped the railroad and charged the Robinsons $25,000 in fines which they were unable to pay. The Robinsons, the only statement they made on the matter, suggested it would take years to sort everything out in the courts. That Fall Pete Robinson was elected town president/mayor. The council immediately sued him and attempted to remove him from the position over the unpaid fine for scrapping the railroad. That’s where the stories seem to end, it appears he’s still town President to this day though so perhaps they came to an agreement that wasn’t made public. In any case, it was certainly a very sad ending for something he spent a lifetime building.
@@jaanfo3874 Honestly, if there wasn't insurance on anything, anymore, I don't see what the benefit would be of burning it to the ground (unless it was to encourage the Robinsons to give up and get out), and that town doesn't seem to have ANY concept of how much time, effort, and money, it takes to move that much equipment and find a storage location for it. Never mind the contradictory instructions, all coupled with severe threats. I really hope that, as town president, he managed to completely replace the entire town council, because there sounds like an awful lot of personal bad blood there.
I stopped in Waterman once about the same time of year and made the side trip off the highway to see the track... It was a weekday afternoon so I wouldnt have expected anyone to be there, but he and his grandson? were there putting up some decorations. We got in a conversation about trains and miniature railroads, and he offered me a ride around. It was very memorable and I'll never forget his kindness! What a way to bring joy to someone else, than to share their mutual love for trains!
this is a real neat machine ,, I've been working on building my own smaller train I didn't realize how big the curves have to be till i started building ,,currently my tracks are laid out on my mother's 25 acre farm I'm using 10 inch gauge , kinda odd but it works for what i have ,,my loco is an SD40 and it's powered by 2x 28hp kubota diesels and it's a true diesel electric , driven by 6x 36v golf kart motors ,powered by 2x 1000 amp 12v generators ,, the engine alone with 2 gondola cars will hit 25mph ,,I also have brakes on all wheels ,and within a year i will have a second identical loco capable of coupling to the first allowing me to move 10+ tons ,,strangely i actually started building this as a work horse to move stuff around at my farm where i collect and sell scrap , and also cut firewood ,,very fun as well ,it will also climb a 10% grade easily ,i have several steep hills and only one of them so far is hard to climb ,, sec engine will fix that ,,I managed to build 4.7 miles of track on 25 acres so far ,
I am on a private farm in south western iowa ,i run a small scrap yard from my mother's small farm I built it more for my own entertainment than anything else ,and it came out the way it is because i never had anyone say no you can't do it that way
I've been thinking about using a railroad like yours for property management, I have 1765 adjacent acres. Use it to haul dirt around and stuff. It's a challenge to maintain that big of a property and I've been kind of thinking lately that a railroad might be able to help, but I do need to know how much tractive effort these small locomotives can give. If I can't haul more than 1 machine around with it at a time (1 machine would weigh roughly 15,000 lbs) then it kind of seems useless for that purpose. I'm left wondering how fun it would be to try to design pickup truck sized locomotives for this purpose.
"Everyone is fascinated with trains." Isn't that the truth? I love the idea of a 15" gauge ride-in loco. Pete definitely has the right idea about this. Hats off to him and to you, Chuck for bringing us this excellent report.
Never let your age prevent you from doing things you want to do. If you think it is fun, just do it. Life is to short to worry about what people will think.
A few throwaway lines there like ‘I cast these’ which means hours and days of effort and skill that only people who’ve tried to design and cast their own stuff will appreciate!
So very sad that the train was lost to fire. I do hope it wasn’t vandalism, that would make things much much worse. Brilliant video. Thanks for posting and thanks to Pete for sharing his passion. ❤
Wonderful! As a kid 3, 4 and 5 years that's 1963 64 & 65 At a mall in northern nj called Bergenfield Mall not far from Garden State Plsza outside downstairs was a amusement's for children they had a Santa Fe Warbonet with matching coaches. it was smaller than your Guage but never seen anything like it till watching your lovely video. Those who are confident in themselves are not ashamed to say there's still the little kid in each of us men. You sir are a asset to your community making children happy and excited just seeing your well built train brings much happiness to families or the adult who comes alone to maybe bring back those warm memories of childhood. Good Job and God Bless You For Being The Locomotive Engineer Railroading 🚝🚇🚆🚄🚈🚇
I'm 70 years old and I watched this entire video. Just captivating! Does kinda take you back to your younger days. There is just something about trains......
Tim Bull I love trains and I'm 10 but all the inspiration mostly comes from my uncle He has a wall of ho scale trains in his laundry room or should I say my grandmas they were my grandpas who pasted away before I was born Me and my mom both know we would have loved each other Those Trains mean a lot to me and my uncle and when he moves out I hope he doesn't sell them My grandpa always wanted a layout but my grandma wouldn't let him So their still running in a little switch yard
Love that train pete ..... I'm 49 years old .. I'm a 3rd generation in the railroad and I just love trains no matter what.. The power they have .... ....🚄🚉
WOW, that's cool for a fact. As another commenter said, ' i'll never get to ride on it, living half a world away ', ditto for me, but, its still cool, and one man's passion at its height.
WOW ! What a fantastic "Waterman and Western" Kiddie Train Video ! Pete is like the "Walt Disney" of Waterman. Very impressive how he hand-tooled all of his running gear and hand-built his passenger cars. Those wide curves make for a wonderful train ride. Pete gives much joy to hundreds of little children and their "young at heart" parents every year. I enjoyed reading the comments below honoring Pete on his hard work and outstanding railroad ! The crossing gate is unbelievable ! Very Cool ! Keep Railroading Pete ! Toot, toot, toooot !
That is just a little bigger than the HO trains I have in my basement and one of my favorite engines is the F3-7. Thanks for giving another older child a fun visit Chuck.
I definitely salute this very special man for all the time & effort it took to manufacture all the intricately detailed parts and the time it took to assemble his work of art! His pay.......The joy and happiness on kids' faces when they get to ride on it. Priceless!!!
Pete is a delightful gentleman and also clearly an extremely capable engineer (I don’t just mean the driver kind!). Thanks for sharing and hope to visit him sometime.
BRILLIANT LIKEABLE MAN - VERY COOL LITTLE TRAIN THAT CAN! I always wanted to have built a locomotive looking vehicle using a big truck frame. ( but was told that would be illegal) Imagine seeing the sight of a huge locomotive running down the freeway at 70 mph in your rearview mirror. And then it gives you a blast on the horns! People would soil their shorts!
Nice one, Pete. I enjoyed the miniature train ride at St Andrews Park, St Andrews in Fife, Scotland.... when I was a kid (still am) ..... 55+ years ago. Keep rollin on
What a great story! The ride-on narrow gauge addiction strikes so many of us as kids and you clearly followed through! Thanks for the detail and thanks for sharing
Pete, from Barney here is distant Launceston, Tasmania - well done! Your work is commendable with your railroad. Thank you. And yes, knowing you and your dear wife exist in this mad world makes life so much better.
Hi Pete & Chuck - I like the Wisconsin gasoline engine. The chain drive is also a excellent design. Boat gas tank in a F Unit. Looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for the tour & ride. • Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway, “ A Toy Train Layout” 🚂
That is so cool. I’m a retired engineer and I’ve never gotten it out of my blood. I could just imagine me having something like this. It’s a good thing that you do taking kids for rides. So neat. Thanks for the video. I’m subscribing. 👍👍👍❤️
THANK YOU. Reminds me of the train I used to ride in Jacksonville Florida in the 60s. It was located in the Mandarin area of Jacksonville. It was at Joe Curry’s supermarket. What awesome memories. Thank you so much for the video.
Well, I have to say that I’m very encouraged by this video....both of my boys and I are big train fans. I grew up near the C&O rail shop in WV and have always liked ol trains. We talk quite often about getting our own engines and having a great outdoor setup. You offered some good tips..10 acres. Will hav to ride you train someday. Porter Dude of Ohio.
Great video. I used to work in a amusement park and we had a small train like this one for the kids. The train had lots of tight curves. It was unbelievable how fast the wheels would wear out. Usually once a month, every wheel on every car would have to be replaced. I asked them if we should harden the wheels to make them last longer. They said no because then the track would wear out faster. Better to replace wheels then track.
What an interesting guy and video.I now live 20 minutes from Westlake,Ohio never knew kiddie park was in Westlake only know of Memphis kiddie park in Cleveland.Do remember train like his @ now closed down Geauga Lake park in Aurora.Video brought back fond childhood memories.👌
I hope this finds you well, beautiful story and a gorgeous locomotive and cars. I hope to come see you one day. Until then my friend. Take care from Winnipeg Canada 🇨🇦
Hi I'm not sure if you know the Bail's but they used to live right outside Waterman and I would always be clearing the tracks of sticks and other things that shouldn't be laying in the rails but one day my family (the bail family) were playing at the park within the track loop when Pete I believe whom it was brought out one of the locomotives and gave us all a ride for free. Like a special ride just for me and my family members that day. I have recently gotten into casting myself and have always been a fan of railroading and especially Pete's park in Waterman. I know he moved most of the trains and other things at some point to make a narrow guage railroad somewhere else but can't recall where. I am very upset to here about a fire and I hope the best of luck to Pete as he truly inspired my childhood. Really miss this place and haven't been up north of illinois since before covid hit.
@@RideswithChuck Oh dang? And is he the one getting sued? I read somewhere that one of Waterman's council member's were being sued due to something related to the fire of the workshop / engine shed.
@Unity Twins yes sadly. He was sued 23k for "removal" of the track by the comunity. When he already lost 250k in stuff from the fire. Sounds like he was "kicked" out of the community.... that was all 2yrs ago
My stepfather, Loies McGrath, built an amusement park railroad near Albany, N.Y. in the 1950's. It ran until the mid 1960's. I was using machine tools and everything else to keep the mechanical nightmare running when I was 12 years old. One of his more creative was he came up the need for three more cars. Turing 24 wheels from 6" x 2" steel blanks took me nearly all winter. That three car project was a real chore. The park was called The Carolyn Road. Anybody remember it or where it wound up?
I had a Hesston 310 self propelled windrower that had that same Wisconsin engine. Good engine until it gets real hot, then they don't like to start until they cool down. Nice train.
Those old f units, something about them, like looking at an old 40's 50's car. Here in Canada we have VIA rail, they ran f units into the 80's. The "Canadian" which is a consist of original stainless streamliner cars built in the 50's, used to have the matching f unit but it's long gone, but the old silver cars still roll to this day
Takes me back to the time when I drove the train at the local Lion's Park. It wasn't as big as this, but it was very similarly powered and transmissioned. I drove that thing for about eight years, I don't know how many times around the park, for I couldn't even begin to tell you how many passengers. I do miss it, but I had to move on to other things at the time I graduated college. Should I find I have a few hours to kill on Summer weekends one day, I might give them a call--who knows.
Awesome job. Years ago i got my hands on a pile of red project books released by Popular mechanics back in the early 70s and in it is a little project to make a wooden train for kids to ride on in the back yard. i have been looking at that article for years, then recently i found someone on youtube had actually built a modernized version. I have always thought it would be very cool to own your own little railroad, there are more of them out there than most people realize, because many people don't open them to the public (insurance is insane for one reason, theft and vandalism is another), but in other places they do, in fact they put so much work into it they recreate some of the most famous engines, and these engines out live their makers. You are pretty much going to be an engineer at the end of it if you do it.
That is an impressive amount of work for one man. Everything made from scratch. It’s interesting to see that only the locomotive is braked, the rest of the carriages are free wheeling. Great stuff! ps. If I named a railway carriage after my mother-in-law it would not be her given name.
Only a few seconds into the video, I said, "I know that guy. That's Screwball, the T-shirt guy. Pete "Screwball" lives a wonderful life, he loves what he does, he has fun, and he brings lots of joy to others. I never knew where he lived, but saw him every year at least once at the Gladiolus Festival in Momence." Thanks for reacquainting me with a good guy, I'll stop out and see see him, hopefully soon.
Man, my heart aches just finding this now with the updated title. The amount of work, time, and passion that this guy put into this, and the age that it attained, and for it all to be gone in a fire just breaks my heart. :(
yeeeeeeep. But uh, one of those things where you have to be glad that it happened, ya know? Not easy to say when it's yours of course, but my best friend couldn't handle his work and life stress anymore last week and jumped off a bridge... So that's what I tell myself these days, be glad it happened and remember the good times and don't be afraid to make new memories either. Just gotta keep going forward.
@@EllyCatfox Yikes!! I'm sorry for your loss. You're quite right: remember the good times, and let the bad memories fade.
I’m doing some reading on what happened, it all seems shady to me. I’ve seen nothing from the Robinsons’ perspective, only from the town.
The town notified the Robinsons in 2020 that they would not renew their lease after the 2020 Christmas season. The train then shut down. In March there was some back and fourth and the Robinsons were given until the end of the month to remove the train, tracks, and equipment from the grounds “Because they no longer carried insurance on the property”. On April 3rd the storage shed with the trains inside burned down, everything was a total loss. On April 6th the town notified the Robinsons that they had to remove the equipment or it would be scrapped. On April 7th they then notified the Robinsons that the site was under active investigation and anybody who attempted to access it would be arrested for tampering with evidence. On April 14th the town gave the Robinsons until April 16th to remove the railroad equipment from the grounds or it would be scrapped. Sometime in the ensuing months the town scrapped the railroad and charged the Robinsons $25,000 in fines which they were unable to pay. The Robinsons, the only statement they made on the matter, suggested it would take years to sort everything out in the courts.
That Fall Pete Robinson was elected town president/mayor. The council immediately sued him and attempted to remove him from the position over the unpaid fine for scrapping the railroad. That’s where the stories seem to end, it appears he’s still town President to this day though so perhaps they came to an agreement that wasn’t made public. In any case, it was certainly a very sad ending for something he spent a lifetime building.
@@jaanfo3874 Honestly, if there wasn't insurance on anything, anymore, I don't see what the benefit would be of burning it to the ground (unless it was to encourage the Robinsons to give up and get out), and that town doesn't seem to have ANY concept of how much time, effort, and money, it takes to move that much equipment and find a storage location for it. Never mind the contradictory instructions, all coupled with severe threats. I really hope that, as town president, he managed to completely replace the entire town council, because there sounds like an awful lot of personal bad blood there.
@@jaanfo3874thanks for the update
I stopped in Waterman once about the same time of year and made the side trip off the highway to see the track... It was a weekday afternoon so I wouldnt have expected anyone to be there, but he and his grandson? were there putting up some decorations. We got in a conversation about trains and miniature railroads, and he offered me a ride around. It was very memorable and I'll never forget his kindness! What a way to bring joy to someone else, than to share their mutual love for trains!
Just proves there's a kid hiding in every man. He's living the dream of many a railroad enthusiast
Agreed
I agreed too
Think of how many children will grow up and always remember the train ride they took on that train. You are a good man with a great hobby and passion.
this is a real neat machine ,, I've been working on building my own smaller train I didn't realize how big the curves have to be till i started building ,,currently my tracks are laid out on my mother's 25 acre farm
I'm using 10 inch gauge , kinda odd but it works for what i have ,,my loco is an SD40 and it's powered by 2x 28hp kubota diesels
and it's a true diesel electric , driven by 6x 36v golf kart motors ,powered by 2x 1000 amp 12v generators ,, the engine alone with 2 gondola cars will hit 25mph ,,I also have brakes on all wheels ,and within a year i will have a second identical loco capable of coupling to the first allowing me to move 10+ tons ,,strangely i actually started building this as a work horse to move stuff around at my farm where i collect and sell scrap , and also cut firewood ,,very fun as well ,it will also climb a 10% grade easily ,i have several steep hills and only one of them so far is hard to climb ,, sec engine will fix that ,,I managed to build 4.7 miles of track on 25 acres so far ,
Wow!
wildcoyote34 where are you located? sounds fun
I am on a private farm in south western iowa ,i run a small scrap yard from my mother's small farm
I built it more for my own entertainment than anything else ,and it came out the way it is because i never had anyone say no you can't do it that way
I've been thinking about using a railroad like yours for property management, I have 1765 adjacent acres. Use it to haul dirt around and stuff. It's a challenge to maintain that big of a property and I've been kind of thinking lately that a railroad might be able to help, but I do need to know how much tractive effort these small locomotives can give. If I can't haul more than 1 machine around with it at a time (1 machine would weigh roughly 15,000 lbs) then it kind of seems useless for that purpose.
I'm left wondering how fun it would be to try to design pickup truck sized locomotives for this purpose.
You should post a video of it.
Pete, you are great! Thanks for all you sacrifice and due... need more guys like you in this country.
This was great story and video to watch. Something different to see.
Pete has richly blessed his community. He’s gotta have Santa Claus genes. God bless Pete. God bless’m all! And the Preacher shouted in joy, AMEN!
"Everyone is fascinated with trains." Isn't that the truth? I love the idea of a 15" gauge ride-in loco. Pete definitely has the right idea about this. Hats off to him and to you, Chuck for bringing us this excellent report.
b a good idea of the day, but it was the only thing I have a look forward and the other day, I am a
I wish I was still a kid so I could do cool stuff like this too.
Aamir Soaib a
Never let your age prevent you from doing things you want to do. If you think it is fun, just do it. Life is to short to worry about what people will think.
im a train fan myself with a few hornbys
Amazing!
Most people fail to realize what a monumental challenge it is to build something like this from scratch.
A few throwaway lines there like ‘I cast these’ which means hours and days of effort and skill that only people who’ve tried to design and cast their own stuff will appreciate!
When i was at technical school at 14 years old we got taught how to make wooden patterns which we then cast in aluminium but that was in the 60,s
So very sad that the train was lost to fire. I do hope it wasn’t vandalism, that would make things much much worse. Brilliant video. Thanks for posting and thanks to Pete for sharing his passion. ❤
I haven't heard anything other than it was a very sad accident.
Don't know you, will never see your town or train, and your sir are a legend. Amazing.
We have been all over the country just to ride trains. Loved them all.
Wonderful! As a kid 3, 4 and 5 years that's 1963 64 & 65 At a mall in northern nj called Bergenfield Mall not far from Garden State Plsza outside downstairs was a amusement's for children they had a Santa Fe Warbonet with matching coaches. it was smaller than your Guage but never seen anything like it till watching your lovely video. Those who are confident in themselves are not ashamed to say there's still the little kid in each of us men. You sir are a asset to your community making children happy and excited just seeing your well built train brings much happiness to families or the adult who comes alone to maybe bring back those warm memories of childhood. Good Job and God Bless You For Being The Locomotive Engineer Railroading 🚝🚇🚆🚄🚈🚇
Pete, I'm a retired Amtrak Mechanical guy and I gotta tell you, this is GREAT! Thanks for sharing your life!
I'm 70 years old and I watched this entire video. Just captivating! Does kinda take you back to your younger days. There is just something about trains......
A marvellous story, well done to Pete for realising his dream and hopefully starting the love of trains in today's children.
Tim Bull I love trains and I'm 10 but all the inspiration mostly comes from my uncle He has a wall of ho scale trains in his laundry room or should I say my grandmas they were my grandpas who pasted away before I was born Me and my mom both know we would have loved each other Those Trains mean a lot to me and my uncle and when he moves out I hope he doesn't sell them My grandpa always wanted a layout but my grandma wouldn't let him So their still running in a little switch yard
Wow, and he built it himself ! Awesome skills
he is nuts....may he keep on keepin' on...world needs more of him..
Love that train pete .....
I'm 49 years old .. I'm a 3rd generation in the railroad and I just love trains no matter what..
The power they have ....
....🚄🚉
I spent one summer running locomotives. It was a great summer job.
that is quit an undertaking ! I wish I had that talent, thank you for your contribution
WOW, that's cool for a fact. As another commenter said, ' i'll never get to ride on it, living half a world away ', ditto for me, but, its still cool, and one man's passion at its height.
I like Pete, Pete is great, what a lovely guy! Keep up the good work Pete
WOW ! What a fantastic "Waterman and Western" Kiddie Train Video ! Pete is like the "Walt Disney" of Waterman. Very impressive how he hand-tooled all of his running gear and hand-built his passenger cars. Those wide curves make for a wonderful train ride. Pete gives much joy to hundreds of little children and their "young at heart" parents every year. I enjoyed reading the comments below honoring Pete on his hard work and outstanding railroad ! The crossing gate is unbelievable ! Very Cool ! Keep Railroading Pete ! Toot, toot, toooot !
That is just a little bigger than the HO trains I have in my basement and one of my favorite engines is the F3-7. Thanks for giving another older child a fun visit Chuck.
+The Shade Tree Fix-it Man It's all about the kids!, of all ages.
RideswithChuck is there a website I could a used one of those trains
Excuse me I have ho scale trains and let me tell you this is a lot bigger
But your just exgerating
I definitely salute this very special man for all the time & effort it took to manufacture all the intricately detailed parts and the time it took to assemble his work of art! His pay.......The joy and happiness on kids' faces when they get to ride on it. Priceless!!!
Great video. Sounds like Pete is a great guy! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Pete for the Information and the ride. God bless you and your Family. Love the Train!
Thats how my life long love for trains started.
A guy used to have his around the market in 1956. I just loved it. Thanks bro.
Pete is a delightful gentleman and also clearly an extremely capable engineer (I don’t just mean the driver kind!). Thanks for sharing and hope to visit him sometime.
Is Pete a little bit nuts? Yes.But doesn't knowing he exists make the world slightly brighter?
He looks like a very happy old man to me, I can only wish to be so lucky.
@@chuckhembree6101 Amen.
Slightly?
Hi Pete, I love your train and all the work you have done on it and your choice of motive power is spot on.
My kids love riding this train many times a year. Great build
this was great! I love the passion he has for this, and love the innovation he showed.
BRILLIANT LIKEABLE MAN - VERY COOL LITTLE TRAIN THAT CAN! I always wanted to have built a locomotive looking vehicle using a big truck frame. ( but was told that would be illegal) Imagine seeing the sight of a huge locomotive running down the freeway at 70 mph in your rearview mirror. And then it gives you a blast on the horns! People would soil their shorts!
It's not illegal as long as it incorporates all the safety requirements. I know of one.
Awesome! Pete is living his dream and sharing with his community. They’re lucky to have him. What a great hobby.
Nice one, Pete. I enjoyed the miniature train ride at St Andrews Park, St Andrews in Fife, Scotland.... when I was a kid (still am) ..... 55+ years ago. Keep rollin on
very adorable train and interesting story
Wow, that takes lots of work and dedication!!! What a Neat Story!!! Toot Toot
That was SUPER COOL. All hand built by the engineer here.
I'm 64 and remember my dad taking me on the little train here in Houston when I was 5yrs old
What a great story! The ride-on narrow gauge addiction strikes so many of us as kids and you clearly followed through! Thanks for the detail and thanks for sharing
I'm a railroader and i give this man kudos!!!👍👍👍
This was one of my luckier days!
Superb. Many thanks for sharing this wonderful railway.
Glad you enjoyed it
Pete, from Barney here is distant Launceston, Tasmania - well done! Your work is commendable with your railroad. Thank you. And yes, knowing you and your dear wife exist in this mad world makes life so much better.
Hi Pete & Chuck - I like the Wisconsin gasoline engine. The chain drive is also a excellent design. Boat gas tank in a F Unit. Looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for the tour & ride.
• Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway, “ A Toy Train Layout” 🚂
Stumbled onto this video... Totally made my morning watching this.
Thanks for stumbling in. Stumble in anytime!
I’ve ridden in almost all the cars pictured here! Thank you for the wonderful memories.
I've never seen anything or anyone like this before! What a great story about a wonderful man!
You Are, The Trainman! What a personalized story of each car. If I ever get there, I'll be a rider for sure.
That is so cool. I’m a retired engineer and I’ve never gotten it out of my blood. I could just imagine me having something like this. It’s a good thing that you do taking kids for rides. So neat. Thanks for the video. I’m subscribing. 👍👍👍❤️
We need more Pete's. Great guy on many levels.
I say "Pete for President!"
For a smaller channel this is a very good video and it's good quality. A very cool and interesting story as well, thank you for the entertainment
We try hard!
What a clever man!!!
Hope Pete and along with friends and family can get this backup and running. I really like this train.
Sadly, the train is gone and not coming back.
@@RideswithChuck Thank you for gettiung back to me, That is a shame, and sorry to hear.
Took my 2 boys here for the Halloween and Christmas train rides. Fun stuff for all ages. Thanks Pete !!!!
Just Great, The world needs a lot more people like you Pete, Be Well.
Great work, and love your passion for small scale trains !
rode this back in '95 as a kid. How cool seeing it 22 years later on TH-cam feed.
155mm howitzer, M1917A4.
Loved the train ride with you and Pete, Chuck! Thanks! :D
THANK YOU. Reminds me of the train I used to ride in Jacksonville Florida in the 60s. It was located in the Mandarin area of Jacksonville. It was at Joe Curry’s supermarket. What awesome memories. Thank you so much for the video.
Glad you enjoyed it
Thank you so much sir God Bless You for your passion to love the trains family and friends stay blessed patriots All Aboard ....wink
Wow what a lot of fun! He does it for the love of it! Hope its still going strong in 2019!
this is the most pure video to land in my youtube recommendations in a while.
Well, I have to say that I’m very encouraged by this video....both of my boys and I are big train fans. I grew up near the C&O rail shop in WV and have always liked ol trains. We talk quite often about getting our own engines and having a great outdoor setup. You offered some good tips..10 acres. Will hav to ride you train someday. Porter Dude of Ohio.
Great video. I used to work in a amusement park and we had a small train like this one for the kids. The train had lots of tight curves. It was unbelievable how fast the wheels would wear out. Usually once a month, every wheel on every car would have to be replaced. I asked them if we should harden the wheels to make them last longer. They said no because then the track would wear out faster. Better to replace wheels then track.
Lucky is the grandson who will inherit this cute train!
You mean dust and ash? Did you not read caption?
He's a sport. The kids just go crazy over the train.
That's nice.
This man is an absolute legend
AWESOME!! And that train was really moving along at a good speed for an amusement park train!! Thumbs up!!!
Filming this video there were either no passengers or only one, me. I'm sure a full load would have been different.
What a fun train and nice guy, well done keeping the kids and people happy with your train !
Awesome railroad. I think that loco needs a real horn and compressor etc but the city council probably wouldn't like it much though I guess.
GREAT TRAIN RIDE PETE & THANK YOU FOR THE FUN!
What an interesting guy and video.I now live 20 minutes from Westlake,Ohio never knew kiddie park was in Westlake only know of Memphis kiddie park in Cleveland.Do remember train like his @ now closed down Geauga Lake park in Aurora.Video brought back fond childhood memories.👌
I hope this finds you well, beautiful story and a gorgeous locomotive and cars. I hope to come see you one day. Until then my friend. Take care from Winnipeg Canada 🇨🇦
Love you and your beautiful train❤️
Hi from peter saltash cornwall uk, what a lovely video thank you.
Great vedio..great work of the train
U Sir are awesome !!! All self build , WOW !!!
Thou art a man of class and style!
Hi I'm not sure if you know the Bail's but they used to live right outside Waterman and I would always be clearing the tracks of sticks and other things that shouldn't be laying in the rails but one day my family (the bail family) were playing at the park within the track loop when Pete I believe whom it was brought out one of the locomotives and gave us all a ride for free. Like a special ride just for me and my family members that day. I have recently gotten into casting myself and have always been a fan of railroading and especially Pete's park in Waterman. I know he moved most of the trains and other things at some point to make a narrow guage railroad somewhere else but can't recall where. I am very upset to here about a fire and I hope the best of luck to Pete as he truly inspired my childhood. Really miss this place and haven't been up north of illinois since before covid hit.
I believe that Pete is now the mayor of Waterman.
@@RideswithChuck Oh dang? And is he the one getting sued? I read somewhere that one of Waterman's council member's were being sued due to something related to the fire of the workshop / engine shed.
@@RideswithChuck Also thank you for the quick reply, it means more than you think.
@@unitytwins6652 I know nothing about this.
@Unity Twins yes sadly. He was sued 23k for "removal" of the track by the comunity. When he already lost 250k in stuff from the fire. Sounds like he was "kicked" out of the community.... that was all 2yrs ago
That's so cool. The engine sounds great!! Nice little rumble to it.
My stepfather, Loies McGrath, built an amusement park railroad near Albany, N.Y. in the 1950's. It ran until the mid 1960's. I was using machine tools and everything else to keep the mechanical nightmare running when I was 12 years old. One of his more creative was he came up the need for three more cars. Turing 24 wheels from 6" x 2" steel blanks took me nearly all winter. That three car project was a real chore.
The park was called The Carolyn Road. Anybody remember it or where it wound up?
What a guy.....need more of those. More knowledge and skill there than he admits to also!
Every boys dream is to drive a locomotive. Thanks for the ride!
sir you are really great man
Super and amazing !!!
Thank you! Cheers!
I had a Hesston 310 self propelled windrower that had that same Wisconsin engine. Good engine until it gets real hot, then they don't like to start until they cool down. Nice train.
this gives me such Fall and Halloween vibes
Those old f units, something about them, like looking at an old 40's 50's car. Here in Canada we have VIA rail, they ran f units into the 80's. The "Canadian" which is a consist of original stainless streamliner cars built in the 50's, used to have the matching f unit but it's long gone, but the old silver cars still roll to this day
Takes me back to the time when I drove the train at the local Lion's Park. It wasn't as big as this, but it was very similarly powered and transmissioned. I drove that thing for about eight years, I don't know how many times around the park, for I couldn't even begin to tell you how many passengers. I do miss it, but I had to move on to other things at the time I graduated college. Should I find I have a few hours to kill on Summer weekends one day, I might give them a call--who knows.
Very cool. Enjoyed the tour of the tracks. Great work on the equipment.
we all old cuz this is the 88th!!!!!!!!!! congrats Chris
Awesome job. Years ago i got my hands on a pile of red project books released by Popular mechanics back in the early 70s and in it is a little project to make a wooden train for kids to ride on in the back yard. i have been looking at that article for years, then recently i found someone on youtube had actually built a modernized version. I have always thought it would be very cool to own your own little railroad, there are more of them out there than most people realize, because many people don't open them to the public (insurance is insane for one reason, theft and vandalism is another), but in other places they do, in fact they put so much work into it they recreate some of the most famous engines, and these engines out live their makers. You are pretty much going to be an engineer at the end of it if you do it.
I worked for Sundstrand building hydraulic power steering pumps in Tennessee. (German Company)
13BRAVO REDLEG I worked for Sundstrand in the UK between 1974 and 1976 on hydrostatic transmissions for ride on lawn mowers. Was made redundant.
That is an impressive amount of work for one man. Everything made from scratch. It’s interesting to see that only the locomotive is braked, the rest of the carriages are free wheeling. Great stuff!
ps. If I named a railway carriage after my mother-in-law it would not be her given name.
This man deserves the railroad fame! Please Mr. Pete try a passenger train with that locomotive, it would look great
Very nice video. Thanks for posting and have a nice day too.
Only a few seconds into the video, I said, "I know that guy. That's Screwball, the T-shirt guy. Pete "Screwball" lives a wonderful life, he loves what he does, he has fun, and he brings lots of joy to others. I never knew where he lived, but saw him every year at least once at the Gladiolus Festival in Momence." Thanks for reacquainting me with a good guy, I'll stop out and see see him, hopefully soon.
+Rich Carroll We seem to run in some of the same circles.
Excellent training. Cheers!