07/26/2016
Bill and Jim Ralph’s Porcupine Gulch Railroad is a 1960’s fictional theme park train ride located in Porcupine Gulch, Bill and Sandy Ralph’s western themed backyard. Construction of the fully landscaped garden railroad began in the fall of 2006 and currently operates in a raised mining themed structure on about 200 feet of electric powered stainless steel track. The multilevel folded figure 8 track plan intertwines with Claim Jumper’s irregular oval among natural and created rockwork and water feature. Iconic and original theme park structures and rides are all constructed by Bill’s brother and craftsman Jim Ralph of El Dorado, CA.
The inspiration behind the style and structures of Porcupine Gulch comes from many sources. Here are a few of them -
Knott’s Berry Farm Ghost Town is the granddaddy of them all. Beginning as a roadside fruit stand in 1923, Walter Knott added “distractions” including a steaming volcano, historical tableauxs, and old buildings relocated from the southwest desert to entertain the hundreds of guests while they waited to be seated for a 65 cent chicken dinner. Soon Ghost Town included shops and concessions, the Covered Wagon Show, Calico Saloon, “Pitchur” Gallery, Gold Mine, and authentic Steam Train ride complete with masked robbers! It was worth the long trip to Southern California alone to experience the iconic Calico Mine and gold panning!
Walt Disney was deeply influenced by our western heritage, by Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village, and by Orange County neighbor Walter Knott’s successful enterprise. Spurred by his interest in trains, Walt included Frontierland in his new Anaheim enterprise. On opening day in 1955 Frontierland boasted The Disneyland Stagecoach Lines, Pack Mules, Miniature Horse Corral, Indian Village and the western town of Rainbow Ridge. A few years later the Mine Train Ride through Natures Wonderland was added only to be replaced again in 1979 by the runaway trains on Big Thunder Mountain
Frontier Village entertained families in South San Jose from 1961 until 1980 on the former estate of Congressman Hayes with a selection of adapted western themed carnival rides and original attractions. The neat and well maintained park featured The Lost Dutchman Mine, Indian Jim’s Island, Stagecoach and B***o Pack Train and El Sito Mysterio “gravity” house. The FV&RG Railroad still operates occasionally near Placerville in the California gold country.
Seasonal Lake Tahoe tourist attraction Ponderosa Ranch provided guests with an in-person version of the popular TV show Bonanza featuring the fictional Cartwright family Ben, Adam, Hoss and little Joe. Although almost all of the shows were filmed on sound stages in Hollywood, Ponderosa Ranch drew summer crowds beginning in 1967 with replicas of the Cartwright Ranch House, an extensive western antiques and vehicle collection, saloon, shops, carnival kiddie rides, mystery shack, and with grilled Hoss burgers! Unfortunately, skyrocketing land values and encroaching development spelled the end of Ponderosa Ranch in 2004.
The Pollard family began serving take-out “Chicken on a Bun” from their tiny restaurant in Castro Valley near our family home in 1944. They soon moved to a new larger location on highway 99 north of Stockton and influenced by Walter Knott’s success, opened a chicken dinner restaurant, a western town scavenged from the entire movie set from the 1957 film “The Big Country”, train ride and showboat theater. However unlike Knott’s success, Pollardville struggled for years with underfunding, poor attendance, and unfortunate highway realignment. Ultimately the decaying roadside attraction closed in 2008.
At one time Calico was the home to 10,000 people who rushed to the Southern California desert near Barstow to seek their fortune in silver. The lode ultimately played out; and the town fell into disrepair. Walter Knott had spent time in Calico as a young man and purchased what remained of the entire town in 1951 for $15,000 and spent several years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to return Calico to its former glory. Modeled after Knott’s Berry Farm’s Ghost Town, Walter added the Calico and Odessa Railroad, Mystery Shack, and assorted shops including a saloon and mine tour. Now a county park, Calico continues to attract Southern California visitors.
