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Maintaining the Hurlbut legacy
Entrepreneur Wendell ‘Bud’ Hurlbut was one of the fi rst creators of theme parks in the United States. He began his career by designing and building small-scale trains for people to ride, before going on to create what has been described as the world’s fi rst dark ride at Knott’s Berry Farm in 1960. Now, a family of modern day railroaders are paying homage to this theme park pioneer
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selling 12 of his small-scale trains to other operators, Hurlbut installed one in his own kiddie park in El Monte, California. His subsequent
collaboration with Walter Knott both made a name for the Hurlbut Amusement Co and transformed Knott’s Berry Farm from a chicken dinner restaurant and ‘ghost town’ into a major theme park. Beginning as a concessionaire at Knott’s, Hurlbut operated an 1896 Dentzel Menagerie carousel, and soon began to operate one of his small trains around Knott’s Lagoon. His major innovation, however, occurred with the Calico Mine Train ride in 1960. This ride was a forerunner of the modern dark ride: guests boarded an old- time mine train that took them into an imaginary mine inside a man-made mountain. Hurlbut died in 2011, but Dino Marquez, the founder
of the family-run, California-based business Western Train Company, had been manufacturing trains for years before he purchased the train operation and designs of the Hurlbut Amusement Company. Western Train now offers the attractions industry the opportunity to preserve its rich history of railroading, by building of state-of-the-art train rides and display locomotives, and providing family fun to amusement parks, zoos, and cities all over the world. Its products are
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inspired by classic American locomotives throughout history. “We are very proud to carry on Bud’s works alongside our
own, and we continue to learn from his innovations every day. From his famous miniature trains to the Calico Mine Ride, you can see the amazing craftsmanship in every detail of Bud’s trains,” said Marquez. “Our family strives to give that kind of quality to our customers and keep things simple the way Bud did. At the same time, we are always developing new ways to make the trains safer and more reliable.” Western Train Co. offers a complete catalogue of different
train rides, including the Hurlbut Miniatures, Calico Mine Train, Northern Railroad, Jupiter, and the C.P. Huntington. Each of these locomotives is available in electric or hydrostatic diesel drive. The company also makes custom train rides – for those who have ideas that are way off the rails. The railroad is a key part of United States history, and train rides are able to provide family fun for virtually all park goers. With the torch of Bud Hurlbut being passed to the Western
Train Company, the fi rm promises to preserve his history, work ethic, and legacy. Western Train Co. continues to provide train rides and service for parks, zoos, and cities all over the world, and plan to release never before seen Hurlbut innovations in the near future… Watch this space.
FEBRUARY 2018
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