Hillcrest Shops

04/26/2024

Another fine video from our friend Hyce and gang about the grand opening of the Wahtoke Division. A lot of behind-the-scenes video in this one.

The Hillcrest & Wahtoke railroad opened up the Wahtoke division as a part of our trip, here's the last bit of vlog related to the event!Visit the channel sho...

04/21/2024

A fun video from our Reedley Railfest 2024 and the opening of the new "Wahtoke Division" track by friends of the railroad Mark "Hyce" Huber and Brett Wiebold.

Grand Scale was not something I really knew about before a few trips to California, and it's absolutely delightful... let's talk about it!Visit the channel s...

11/18/2019

Here is the final prep work on our gondolas after the mechanical work seen previously is finished.
The cars and dissasembled so they can be cleaned and scuffed.
Once scuffed, a light layer of oil is applied, set and wiped off before re assembly. This completes the cars final check out and touch up painting can begin before they roll out of the barn.
Safe, solid and looking good. Come out and have a ride and enjoy all the work we have shared with you during our yearly inspection of the rolling stock.

11/06/2019

Continuing our last post about the yearly inspection of our rolling stock.
After cleaning and blow drying, the truck here inspected and repaired if needed. They are then lubicated and installed back under the cars and rolled out for the air test. From here we move on to the body work.

10/23/2019

With our busy holiday season now in full swing, here is the first posting showing just how we maintenance our rolling stock before our holiday events.
Each car is given it's own inspection checklist when they are rolled into the shop where the cars are lifted and the trucks removed. The trucks are then hand scrubbed with Sean magic degreasing mix and pressure washed before inspection can start.

10/21/2019

Normally I would post about another project rolling into our shop but this one was dropped off on pallets. :-(

Built by John Coit in 1903 for the 18" gauge Eastlake Park in Los Angeles, California. It was the first of three locomotives he would build. The next two were 18" gauge 2-6-2s built for running on the Venice Beach Railway. Today Venice Beach #2 can be experienced at the Billy Jones Wildcat Railway in Los Gatos, California as their #2 spot.

The #1903 didn't have as lucky an outcome and has changed hands many times over the years. At one point it was converted to a gas-mechanical drive which led to the loss of the drive wheels and axles.

For now, part of it is here at the shop as we work with the latest owner to develop a plan of action to return it to steam.

A long-term project to be sure.

10/11/2019

Remember folks, tomorrow’s the day. 9 AM Friday is your last chance to get Pajama Night tickets for this season. Good luck and we look forward too seeing you at this years event.

10/10/2019

You told us and we listened!
Here are the NEW dates we added on to our Pajama night schedule. December 2,3,4 the 8th and the 16th!
Tickets go on sale this Friday the 11th at 9:AM. Thanks again and we hope to see you at Pajama Night 2019.

http://www.hillcrestreedley.com/node/36

10/03/2019

Due to overwhelming response to this year's "Pajama Nights," we are considering expanding our schedule to accommodate those who were unable to get tickets for the original dates.

Here are the additional dates under consideration: Nov. 30 through Dec. 5 and Dec. 16. In the "Comments" below, please tell us which of these dates would suit you.

After we hear from you, we'll announce our additional "Pajama Nights" dates and post them on this page and on our main webpage, https://www.hillcrestreedley.com/pajama-christmas. You can then purchase tickets through the main webpage.

Thanks for your support - we'll see you there!

09/30/2019

It’s our annual pumpkin patch event season! It’s also time for our yearly rolling stock inspection. In the coming days we will be walking you through the process as we check all the cars and make sure they are safe and ready for our busy season.

03/27/2019

We spent a weekend at the Hillcrest & Wahtoke RR in Reedly for Railfest in March. Lighting off and steaming up is always a fun opportunity for filming. Engin...