The Ranch Railroad
Here at the ranch, we have a 7 1/2-inch & 10 1/4-inch dual gauge ride-on miniature railroad with a fleet of authentic and historic "Park Sized" coal fired live steam locomotives which have been acquired from all over the world. Our steam trains operate most weekends for both special public events and private parties throughout our summer, fall and Christmas season. The railroad is being constructed in phases with the phase one loop in our lower pasture already complete. In the next couple of years, the railroad will eventually stretch around nearly the entire perimeter of our 6.5 acre ranch.
If you would like to learn more about our fleet of historic coal fired live steam trains, click on the "Our Steam Trains" link below.
Fossilville Cannonball
The location of our farm is just south of the site of the old Pennsylvania Railroad's depot in the Village of Fossilve along the PRR's old Bedford Branch which ceased operating after major flood damage in the early 1980s. To pay homage to this region's rich railroading heritage, we have opted to call our steam powered passenger trains the Fossilville Cannonball.
Our Region's Rail History
Even though we have a Buffalo Mills address, our ranch is technically located in the Village of Fossilville and just a couple miles north of the historic railroad junction town of Hyndman, Pa. In the days of steam from the mid 1800s through the late 1950s, Hyndman was a bustling railroad town and served as a staging point for helper locomotives that were needed to assist the heavy freight and passenger trains over the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's world famous Sand Patch Grade which starts just before the Wills Creek Railroad bridge in downtown Hyndman. A little closer to the ranch itself, the Pennsylvania Railroad's Bedford Branch which ran from Altoona, Pa to Cumberland, MD via Bedford and Hyndman, Pa followed Little Wills Creek, with the former Fossilville Depot site being less than half a mile north of the ranch.