In July of this year I had the pleasure of taking a ride on the Dodge City Ford and Bucklin Railroad.  The Train is located just south of Dodge City, Kansas.

(Click on images for a larger picture.)

During the harvest time they use the engine to transport crops to a main line some miles east of Dodge City.  When not in use for crops, it is used as a dinner train and for people like us who just wanted a ride.

We called in advance to make reservations since they do not always run.  I believe they were charging $10/person with a minimum of 10 people.  Lucky the whole family, 12 in all, were going.  No one else showed up that day and we were lucky to have the whole train to ourselves.

They had 4 cars attached for our trip and we had free rein to walk about the two center ones.   The first car was the dining car and was kept to period condition.  The next two cars were the ones we were able to walk about.

The first being a baggage/mail car and the second being a standard passenger car.  The final car was more of a museum car.  The interior in perfect era condition.  It was a beautiful day, as you can see and the ride lasted about 3 hours.  The halfway point was at a siding where the kids were allowed to place pennies on the track as the train moved around.

One of the other great enjoyments of this trip was the company of the two gentlemen shown here.  Type played period songs on the Banjo, Guitar and Fiddle.  They were wonderful people and had us all singing, dancing and laughing.

If you ever make it to Dodge City, Kansas I highly recommend this fun and relaxing trip.