The Challenger Departs!

Not a sight you see everyday anymore. The Kiddieland LTD, which was the Train ride at Kiddieland in Melrose Park, IL, was saved and has been preserved for future generations at Hesston in Indiana. I'm very glad to see such icons of my early childhood still running to this day. Here's some HD video as well: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WixFx… and www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGex4T…

Kiddieland was a very traditional amusement park that opened in 1929, and closed on September 27, 2009. It was then demolished in 2010 to make way for a new Costco store and many of its equipment and rides sold off at auction. The Coal-fired, 14" Gauge Hudson-Class steamer in the photo, built in 1939, was purchased by the Hesston Steam Museum along with its coaches, and is still operational. The Northern-type was purchased by a private owner, but is on the grounds awaiting a full restoration as the boiler is no longer functional.

Even despite its small size, the Challenger still has all the charms of its full-size brethren, and is a rather impressive sight to watch as well as ride. It also even has many of the (at the time) modern implementations of steam locomotive technology, including a mechanical lubricator, water injector system, superheaters, and air compressor.

I highly recommend paying a visit to Hesston. All their train rides take a winding path through lush forest preserves, their departures are frequent, and the rides are short but very enjoyable. They also own, and are in the process of restoring, all of the 2-foot gauge trains from the Brookfield Zoo, and a beautiful Shay.