"American Pickers" on History Channel featured a gent in TN with two 0-4-0t's that steam locomotive.info and .com have a bit of info on. They are listed as coming from Benton, KY. Any idea how they landed in KY.

Rob

It looks like he has more than that, I thought I saw two trolleys.

They were at some roadside tourist attraction with miniature golf and other things. It's near Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley and the Land Between the Lakes recreation area. I remember seeing the track an at least one of the locomotives back in the early 1990s when I went to summer camp.

These engines are likely owned by Billie Joe Rainbolt, who has several traction engines as well. These engines were advertised for sale in the old Iron Man Album back in the '80s...supposedly they were something like 'new, old stock"

This might help.........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaintuck_Territory

I recall my parents and grandparents lamenting/talking about this place when we vacationed each 4th of July in Western Kentucky from the early 1980's to late 1990's. I never saw it, but I did see a post card once and the locomotive looked like an LGB stainz with a diamond stack and cowcatcher.

There was also a restaurant just down and on the opposite side of 641 that had 2 heavyweight cars for the dining rooms. Not sure on the heritage, but if I had to bet it would be IC.

I see I'm not the only Pickers viewer on here. I was just watching the recording I made of the show last night and knew it had to be mentioned here. The two cars that looked like trolley cars I'm guessing were NG amusement park open coaches, they look very much like what Cedar Point uses. The show said the guy was a retired railroader who loved steam machinery and motorcycles. I saw at least one small steam whistle in the stuff they were picking through. There is probably more stuff like that in his collection, but the stars of the show are not railroad people, so they didn't dwell on it. They did say that he's in a mood to sell, so if any museums/tourist roads on here that might be in the region care, you might have a new source for some parts available.

On A P, these enginse are the ones located for several years in Palmersville TN.
I believe they are actually Erzbergbau Salzgitter built locos. A Mr Sill bought them in the late 60's for the above mentioned amusement park.
I believe my memory is correct about that. I DO remember going to the park and riding behind them though! MANY moons ago!
I know of a few other local area Kentucky folks that can either corroberate or correct my recollections.
Bruce

I normally never watch the show but I caught this one last night. That whole setup seemed odd as he had what looked like a decent road running right through the middle of his “collection,” so a roadside attraction makes a lot of sense. I couldn’t find any references to these engines on steam locomotive dot info, does anyone know the stats on them?

If you search the "Kaintuck Territory" name on Facebook there are several photos of a steam engine posted. I didn't see the show, nor do I live in the area but perhaps this is the same engine and coaches?

They are listed on both steamlocomotive.info and .com

Bruce,

I think Erzbergbau Salzgitter is the mining company they worked for, not the builder.

Rob

Rob,
Thanks!
See I KNEW someone would have to correct my old memory!!! LOL
Bruce

I watch all of those shows, American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Auction Kings. I'm surprised how they never seem to deal with any of the railroad stuff you occasionally see around.

When watching those shows, my Tivo (greatest TV gadget ever made!) gets a frequent workout, pausing, rewinding, freeze frames. Watching in high def means I often see subtle stuff that's in the background, like a Buddy L train on one of the shows I watched last night.

Based on what I could see using rewind/pause etc. I'm about 99% certain that the "Trolley" cars in question were exactly what Paul said they are, CP&LE style amusement park open cars. I didn't see any signs of controls or motorman's station etc.

On a slightly related note... On Pawn Stars, there's a G scale 4-6-0 that you frequently see in the showcase. Looks like a fairly run of the mill Bachmann to me? On one of the shows they mentioned it was worth $800 or something, but never said any more. It looks like it has some kind of special certificate and maybe a custom paint job. I think I also saw something with a state flag for Colorado or New Mexico? Maybe a tie-in to the D&S and or C&TS?