Placerville and Sacramento Valley Railroad

We attented an event organized by all the volunteer staff and the train was such a cute nostalgic motocar, so might not be the Amtrak others might expect. They also had a handcar! We entered from the Oak Station, which is along an extension track of the first railroad track in the West. Jim was very knowledgeable in sharing facts and keeping everyone engaged. I would recommend for children interested in trains or adults looking for something unique to go and support. They also have volunteer events if anyone would like to join for a day or so. Great initiative and preservation

We had an amazing trip! The staff is comprised of all volunteers. This historical trip was very interesting. Small snacks (chips, trail mix) and sodas/water are available for pictures. Great for adults and children. Plenty of parking and trips run every hour. Total trip time about 35-40 minutes. Check Groupon and Living Social for discounts. Regular price is worth it, too!

I am not sure how we discovered this gem but I am pretty sure it was via Facebook. We picked a 10:00 AM Sunday morning ride on the Cothrin Comet. We arrived at the Hampton Inn at about 9:30 AM just as the volunteers were setting up the crosswalk from the hotel parking lot to the boarding area. While we waited to board, the volunteers told us about the equipment that we were about to ride and gave us a Gander Dancer demonstration. The train ride was delayed a half an hour because the motorcar needed a minor adjustment that required a maintenance person to bring tools from the shop to the boarding site. The repair took about five minutes. The "train" consisted of a Skagit 1936 Motorcar with seats for about 20 people. After boarding the crew opened the four "air conditioner" windows. There were eight adults and three children, plus a conductor and an engineer, on this trip. The ride was a 90 minutes out and back trip into the foothills east of Folsom on the historic rail line that was built 1860-1865. Most of the rail we rode on was put down in 1913. During the ride, the conductor told us about the railroad's history and pointed out wildlife as we traveled up and down the line. We saw hawks, blue heron, egret, deer, jack rabbit, cows, and horses. We are planning our next trip in the spring. Placerville and Sacramento Valley Railroad is an asset to the City of Folsom. After the ride we purchased a couple of shirts from the "gift shop;" then, drove over to Lazy Dog Restaurant for lunch. After lunch we visited SeaQuest. If the railroad were not there that income would have been lost to the Folsom local businesses.

My family and I took this train ride for my son's 4th birthday. We found them on Groupon. The prices were amazing! The train ride was very short, but just enough to make the kids happy. The volunteers on the train were nice and very informative about the history of the area. Yes we would ride this train again! I would suggest taking an umbrella or a hat because the whole train is not protected with shelter. So if it's sunny, the sun will beat you up and if it's raining, we will get wet

We took the Pumpkin Patch Flyer today. My 4 year old is a train maniac and this was great. The people who volunteer are just so kind and fun I can't say enough good things about them all. Thank you for all the nice touches.

We did the Pumpkin Flyer and the Whistlestop Train and enjoyed both so much! This is a great operation and fun little activity to support. We hope to do this every year. Special thanks to Mike for his help with tickets/boarding.