History of the Roaring Camp Railroads

Local Authors Pen New Book Showcasing Stunning, Vintage Images of Roaring Camp

The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of Rail series is Roaring Camp Railroads from local authors Beniam Kifle and Nathan Goodman. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of the California railroads.

In 1963, Norman Clark officially opened Roaring Camp to the public. Since then, it has become a popular and well-known destination for tourists and rail buffs from around the world who wish to visit and ride on its 100-year-old steam trains.

Isaac Graham, who constructed the first powered sawmill and the first whiskey distillery in the American West, settled the area in the 1840s. Graham was notorious for his boisterous antics and his settlement became known as a “wild and roaring camp.”

Clark arrived in the area in the mid-1950s with $25 in his pocket and the dream of preserving a piece of early California. Clark’s dream included a plan to construct an 1880s railroad town, complete with an authentic narrow-gauge logging railway. Over the last 50 years, Clark’s dream has been continued and expanded now incorporating two railroads, one of which dates to 1875.

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Call 831-460-3232 for more information. www.bookshopsantacruz.com/event/ben-kifle-nathan-goodman-roaring-camp-railroads

Roaring Camp Railroads by Beniam Kifle, Nathan Goodman • Images of Rail Series, Price: $21.99 – 128 pages/ soft cover