OERM’s 2015 Iron Horse Family Steampunk Carnivale

In March, the Orange Empire Railway Museum hosted the 2015 Iron Horse Family Steampunk Carnivale. The event was held on March 21-22, and we stopped by for a visit on the 22nd. It was a good day as I got to see both trains and steampunk – both of which I love. I ended up buying some steampunk attire (a new shirt, a hat and suspenders).

The last time we visited OERM they had a Pacific Electric Red Car running and this time was no different. This time Red Car #717 was running.

There were also other trolleys running, like the Birney Trolley #10 which was a former PE Red Car but leased to a company in Arizona in the mid ’80s and repainted/renumbered. When it was a Red Car, it was #332.

There didn’t seem to be that many people riding the trolleys, but then again there weren’t a lot of people at the event. Maybe because it was the second day of the event and most people went the day before. I think there were also workshops and presentations mostly on Saturday so maybe people were going to those.

The highlight for me going to train museums is seeing steam locomotives. Shirley and Wesley posed beside the Grizzly Flats Railroad steam engine #2 Emma Nevada. Shirley and I both dressed up for the steampunk outing, but since Wesley didn’t have any steampunk attire he went as a hobbit, because why not?

It would have been funny if they both had serious expressions on their faces like photos from the old west when no one smiled in pictures. The painting on the lantern box was done by Ward Kimball (Disney animator) who also owned the Grizzly Flats Railroad and donated a lot of it to OERM.

But out on the tracks there was a steam engine pulling coaches – the Ventura County Railway #2 (aka VC2). I wanted to get some really cool shots as it passed by, but Wesley got a wee bit scared when the locomotive started blowing its whistle. He almost knocked me over in his excitement/fear.

Earlier, Wesley was covering his ears because the trains were “too loud”.

Later in the day, Wesley decided he wanted to model the steampunk hat I bought.

It was a fun event and I always enjoy watching the locomotives (especially steam) rolling down the tracks. We didn’t actually ride anything this time since Wesley said he didn’t want to, but maybe the next visit we will.