{"id":454009,"date":"2026-09-05T02:26:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T02:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/454009\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T02:26:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T02:26:19","slug":"steam-trains-in-tilden-park-offer-scenic-trips-through-towering-redwoods-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/454009\/","title":{"rendered":"Steam trains in Tilden Park offer scenic trips through towering Redwoods"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since 1952, the Redwood Valley Railway\u2019s miniature steam trains have chugged carts full of riders along a 1.25-mile-long track in Tilden Regional Park<\/a>, one of the three oldest parks managed by the East Bay Regional Park District. Nestled in the hills between Berkeley and Orinda, the trains were first established by Erich Thomsen, whose daughter Ellen Thomsen still oversees the operation.<\/p>\n

The trip takes visitors through the hundreds of towering Redwood trees the company planted decades ago. The route is made extra special during the winter holidays with twinkling lights, dangling ornaments and sightings of Father Solstice passing by on his own train.<\/p>\n

Weather permitting, trips are typically offered from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for $5 a person. Labor day marks the end of the steam train\u2019s extended weekday hours.<\/p>\n

\"AA steam train operated by engineer Bailey de Vries travels over a trestle bridge along the 1.25 mile track at the Redwood Valley Railway at Tilden Regional Park in Orinda, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Visitors are treated to a 12-15 minute ride on a 15-inch gauge track which was built back in 1952. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"JonaJona Carson, 3, of Oakland, hands engineer Dave Peterson her ticket before riding steam train at the Redwood Valley Railway at Tilden Regional Park in Orinda, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Visitors are treated to a 12-15 minute ride on a 15-inch gauge track which was built back in 1952. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"EngineerEngineer Dave Peterson keeps his hand on the throttle while operating the steam train at the Redwood Valley Railway at Tilden Regional Park in Orinda, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Visitors are treated to a 12-15 minute ride on a 15-inch gauge track which was built back in 1952. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"PassengersPassengers exit a tunnel as they ride a steam train at the Redwood Valley Railway at Tilden Regional Park in Orinda, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Visitors are treated to a 12-15 minute ride on a 15-inch gauge track which was built back in 1952. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"EngineerEngineer Dave Peterson observes as a steam train driven by an engineer in training makes it\u2019s way around the Redwood Valley Railway at Tilden Regional Park in Orinda, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Visitors are treated to a 12-15 minute ride on a 15-inch gauge track which was built back in 1952. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"MaisieMaisie sits on the lap of her owner Cynthia Espinoza, of Oakland, as Christi Amaral, of Oakland, holds onto Sasha while riding the steam train at the Redwood Valley Railway at Tilden Regional Park in Orinda, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Dogs and kids under the age of two ride the train for free. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"AaronAaron Kavanaugh, of Berkeley, holds onto his son Ernest, 1, while riding a steam train at the Redwood Valley Railway at Tilden Regional Park in Orinda, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Visitors are treated to a 12-15 minute ride on a 15-inch gauge track which was built back in 1952. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"EngineerEngineer in training Galen O\u2019Regan applies oil to the steam train at the Redwood Valley Railway at Tilden Regional Park in Orinda, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Visitors are treated to a 12-15 minute ride on a 15-inch gauge track which was built back in 1952. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"PassengersPassengers get bundled up before riding the steam train at the Redwood Valley Railway at Tilden Regional Park in Orinda, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Visitors are treated to a 12-15 minute ride on a 15-inch gauge track which was built back in 1952. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"AA steam train operated by engineer Bailey de Vries pulls into the station at the Redwood Valley Railway at Tilden Regional Park in Orinda, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Visitors are treated to a 12-15 minute ride on a 15-inch gauge track which was built back in 1952. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"TheThe incandescent lights of the steam train are turned on while at the Redwood Valley Railway at Tilden Regional Park in Orinda, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Visitors are treated to a 12-15 minute ride on a 15-inch gauge track which was built back in 1952. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since 1952, the Redwood Valley Railway\u2019s miniature steam trains have chugged carts full of riders along a 1.25-mile-long…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454010,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[764,9009,179296,143,145,144,29954,179295,115006,63714],"class_list":["post-454009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-berkeley","tag-east-bay-regional-park-district","tag-miniature-steam-train","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-orinda","tag-redwood-valley-railway","tag-steam-train","tag-tilden-regional-park"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}