'Jesse James day' train ride offers fun, nostalgia
Jun. 3—Six-year-old Cassidy Parker was sitting with her family on a restored steam engine train Saturday, taking in the pastoral surroundings as the locomotive belched black smoke.
She and her family had traveled from their home in Hedgesville, West Virginia, for one of Walkersville Southern Railroad's "Jesse James Day" train rides. The event features performers who dress in period clothing and conduct a mock robbery of the train's passengers, much like the event's namesake.
But when Parker was confronted by a pretend outlaw, she was loathe to relinquish the goods — in this case, plastic Mardi Gras beads. She said resisting the outlaws made it more fun.
"They were scary, but I knew they were pretend," she said.
Parker's mother, Megan Parker, said the faux banditry offered "a really fun historical experience."
When the train ride began, the performers handed out the beads and fake money to passengers.
But after the train reached its furthest point in the route and headed back to its station, several of the bandits whipped out red face coverings and went about the business of pilfering the imitation valuables.
The train then came to a stop as it passed Walkersville Community Park, where the performers exited the train and staged a mock shootout.
The steam engine that propelled the train belongs to Byron Gramling, who restores old engines with his father. The duo is featured in a series, called Have Steam Engine, Will Travel, available for streaming on Prime Video.
Restoring steam engines is a "hobby that got out of hand," Gramling said. He travels around with his steam engine for historical events such as the "Jesse James Day" ride.
The train uses about 1,000 pounds of coal per ride, said conductor Wayne Kirschof, 60, a volunteer with Walkersville Southern. Despite the smoke from the engine, a strong scent of honeysuckle was thick as passengers were ferried past cornfields and over the Monocacy River.
About 100 people took part in the train ride, one of three planned for the day.
For Marcy Hufnagle, 54, who attended with her daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, the event was a chance to fuel her love of trains.
"You get to see the countryside," she said, adding that she's experienced train rides in places like the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina.
The event was staffed by in-character and dress performers from the performance group Outlaws and Peacemakers and the Society of Wild West Reenactors.
Asked why he enjoys performing in the event, Robert Alexander, 72, said the kids' "smiles are the best thing."
The goal of the event was to "take visitors back to the 'Old West'" and be a "reason to dress up and have some fun," said Rachel Shipley, director of special events for Walkersville Southern Railroad.
For Joan Anderson, riding trains is something of a religious experience. The 91-year-old from Laurel said trains "bring you closer to God."
Train rides like Saturday's are also a source of nostalgia.
"I like to go back to the days where I started as a little girl," Anderson said.
