Train ride

This article is about the amusement ride. For the film, see Train Ride.

A kiddie ride in Hanko, Finland

A train ride or miniature train consists of miniature trains capable of carrying people. Some are considered amusement rides and some are located in amusement parks and municipal parks. Backyard railroads and ridable miniature railways run on tracks, and especially if the service is provided by a non-commercial hobbyist club, their trains may be exact scale models, often with a live steam locomotive. Some train rides are kiddie rides, which are commercial children's rides that often use simple, colorful equipment with the driving mechanism hidden under vacuum-formed plastic covers. Trackless trains do not use tracks and usually consist of railroad-like cars towed behind an ordinary, or modified motor vehicle. This type of ride is often used for sightseeing tours. Some roller coasters like the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attractions in several Disney parks resemble train rides, but may not be available to children under a certain age or minimum height.

History

One early maker of miniature train rides was Paul Allen Sturtevant, who began building model trains as rides for children in the 1930s. Sturtevant began this craft as a hobby, later making them for rental to department stores and eventually producing them in a plant in Addison, Illinois until the demands of World War II shifted production away from consumer goods.

Gallery

• 
  The Civil War Train Ride at Land of Make Believe amusement park, Hope Township, New Jersey, United States
• 
  A children's train ride in Birkenhead Park in the United Kingdom

See also

• Minimum-gauge railway
• Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
• Ridable miniature railway