The Little Texas & Pacific Sunshine Special
Quarter-Mile Railroad Has Telegraph System
Complete even to the clatter of the telegraph, a Lilliputian railroad system in Texas uses a small scale version of the Texas and Pacific Railway's Sunshine Special for an engine.
The Pacific-type locomotive, with a 160-pound steam capacity, rolls around the quarter-mile track at speeds up to 30 miles an hour. To make the trip more realistic, there are a 53-foot tunnel, a 22-foot-long trestle and a 40-gallon water tower. One grade crossing gives the engineer a legitimate excuse for tooting the whistle.
Built for Burke Campbell, a retired veteran of 38 years of railroading, the 18-horsepower locomotive cost $9000. It required more than eight months to build. He uses it as an attraction at his amusement park near Longview, Texas.
L. C. Porter, Assistant to the President of the Texas & Pacific Railway, christening The Little Texas & Pacific Sunshine Special, June 13, 1947, Longview Amusement Park, Longview, Texas.
Burke Campbell's Little T&P Sunshine Special, J.B. Shores Director of Public Relations Texas & Pacific Ry. at Controls. Longview Amesement Park, Longview, Texas. Photo by Cody B. Culpepper.
History
Retired railroad man Burke Campbell opened Longview Amusement Park at 1927 East Marshall Avenue in 1947. Its featured attraction was the Sunshine Special, a miniature narrow-gauge locomotive carrying passengers on a 1/4 mile track with speeds up to 30 miles per hour. The park, which closed in 1951, also included a carousel, miniature golf course, and concessions.
From Live Steam Magazine, July 1975
- Information Needed
- I am trying to locate a Live Steam model made in 1946 under the supervision of Mr. J.D. Fischer of Fort Worth, Texas. The boiler was built in Big Spring, Texas and final assembly was completed in the Texas and Pacific Lancaster plant.
- The train was operated in an amusement park in Longview, Texas until the early 1950's at which time it was moved to Oklahoma City.
- Ben Campbell
- Palestine, Texas