Say, Is That The Steele Creek Choo-Choo

BY TIMOTHY CAMA
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

BRISTOL, Tenn. – When city leaders decided last year to restore the Bristol Express, Dan Long of the Leisure Services staff, was anxious to get on board.

“I was more than willing to do it,” said Long, a mechanic who usually performs maintenance work on the department’s vehicle fleet.

For the past six months, Long has been working full-time on the train and its two cars. He completely disassembled the equipment, then meticulously restored each part to its 1964 pristine luster, while other city Leisure Services employees restored the rails around Steele Creek Park.

The tracks were removed and wooden ties underneath were replaced, before putting back the rails.

“I hate that I’m done with it,” Long said, looking at the miniature locomotive with a bit of nostalgia.

Hundreds gathered at the park Wednesday afternoon to be among the first to ride the refurbished Bristol Express since it was decommissioned in 2001.

Public outcry pushed the City Council to approve the restoration of the engine, its two passenger cars and the ¾-mile rail loop, which was all completed only weeks ago.

“There’s no firsts and seconds,” Leisure Services Director Terry Napier announced to the large crowd, most of whom were parents and children. “Everybody will get a chance to take a ride.”

He pledged to stay at the park, no matter how long, until everybody who wanted a free opening-day ride was all aboard.

City officials, including some City Council members, cut the ribbon stretched before the engine, then boarded with the first group of passengers in time to leave shortly after the scheduled 5:30 departure time. Napier was the engineer for the first trip, but Bentley Hudgins, a retired train engineer, took the controls for the rest of the circuits.

Free rides will continue today. The train will run from about 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily for at least the rest of the summer, and fares after today will be $1 for each ride.

The Bristol Express was shut down in 2001, when city officials decided the equipment was in such poor shape it could no longer operate. It had been in service since 1965.

John Snyder of Bristol, Tenn., came to Steele Creek Park Wednesday with memories from 18 years ago, the last time he rode the Bristol Express.

“I used to work here at the park, with the paddle boats,” said Snyder, who brought his children, Max and Jubilee Gage, to ride with him.

The train is powered by a farm tractor engine, circa 1964, said Long. It was built by Chance Rides, an amusement manufacturer in Wichita, Kan., and the “49” on the locomotive’s side indicates it was the 49th one built.

The company continues to fabricate scaled-down trains, but Long explained that many of the intricate features of the Bristol Express aren’t included anymore.

“They just don’t do it like this anymore,” he said.

TIMOTHY CAMA is an intern with the Herald Courier and can be reached at or (276) 669-2181.