Saturday, August 07, 2010

Reconnecting with an old friend

A few months ago, one of my friends sent me a text message saying that the old steam train that ran the park was on display not more than a quarter mile from its original home. Personal stuff kept me from visiting until now.

When I pulled up along side the El Paso Connection, a gigantic smile came across my face. The last time I saw the old girl with my own eyes was well over 20 years ago.

Looking a little aged (but who among us haven't) she still wears most of her paint from the park. I did note something odd...




Well, not so much odd, but expected, all of the logos from the park have been whitewashed off of her. But, if you take a look with your own eyes at car #1 behind the tender, the white paint covers (but just barely) the Magic Landing name on the roof line. I took these pictures with my crappy iPhone 3G camera, not the best of the bunch admittedly, so I will head back out with my upgraded 9MP camera and hopefully snap the name a little clearer.

*you can click on the pictures to make them larger.

It felt good to see her again. Had to touch her. It felt nice to reconnect with an old friend.
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9 comments:

  1. Kathleen8/09/2010 4:31 PM

    That's so cool!

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  2. Eddie8/10/2010 4:38 PM

    Wow! The train still looks great. Thank you for posting this!

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  3. Carolyn9/14/2010 9:22 PM

    Isn't that place like across the street from Magic Landing???

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  4. Anonymous10/19/2010 10:52 AM

    Magic Landing up for sale! 3.5 Million asking price. Any takers? Bob

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  5. Ivanna2/25/2011 5:18 PM

    Do you have any information on the acts that performed at Magic Landing?

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  6. denis (cincinnati, oh)3/09/2011 5:05 PM

    The Magic Landing train was built for Legend City Amusement Park in Phoenix in 1963. It was the very first of 25 such trains built by Crown Metal Products in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania for amusement parks around the world. All are still in existance, most of them still running, including one in Jefferson, Texas.

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  7. Magic Landing Fan7/04/2011 4:37 AM

    That's an amazing find - no doubt it's just waiting for a little TLC to get running again. (grin)

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  8. Magic Landing Fan9/04/2011 11:33 PM

    Can almost picture the train running around the park, chugging and pitching steam & smoke.

    Aerial of Magic Landing:
    http://i52.tinypic.com/6xrp5z.jpg

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  9. Edgar12/14/2011 5:07 PM

    Do you happen to know what artists performed at magic landing?

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