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Poway-Midland Railroad and Tom's Farm Railroad 7/31/2021

Elizabeth, my most beautiful wife, and Marty Smith had never ridden the Poway-Midland Railroad or the Tom's Farm Train, so we decided to do those on the last day of July. After Elizabeth filled the car with petrol, I drove and picked up Marty Smith and drove us down to Poway. We parked up a side street then walked through a Farmer's Market to the station where I bought three tickets and a T-shirt. Before we left, we took turns taking pictures of the steam engine while the other two held our place in line.

In Poway, the 1880's presented a prosperous and well-populated valley. Families were settling on farms, planting orchards and vineyards and raising grain. By 1887, there were approximately 800 people in the Poway area. The community during this period had a church, school, hotel, a general store and the expectation of at least two railroad lines coming through the valley. The railroad lines were to pass just west of the present-day Midland Road.

Expectations of the railroad set off a real estate boom and the Piermont Plan for a sub-division came into being. In 1887, developers Baird and Chapin laid out plans to develop a town in the area of today's Old Poway Park, based on these expectations.

The railroad companies, the San Diego Central and the Southern Pacific, proposed a line from Poway to extend toward Ramona and Julian. But the plans failed to materialize due to the railway companies deciding on a lack of sufficient business and the unfeasibility of the valley's terrain. This decision resulted in a real estate bust. Instead, a railway line was built from Escondido to Oceanside in 1887. Railroad plans were brought up again in the late 1890's. At this time Poway's peaches and grapes had become an important crop well recognized throughout Southern California. Fruits were sun dried and sent to the Eastern part of the country. Interest in a railroad was renewed. The people in Poway held a town meeting in the I.O.G.T. Hall and put forth a new proposal which was again negated by railroad officials.

Interestingly enough, the proposed line was to terminate in the area of today’s Poway-Midland Railroad, In the 1960′s, railroad plans were resurrected by Col. John Porter on his property on Midland Road near Aubrey. He laid out a short line for his narrow gauge locomotive and a single car. The pseudo railway was named the Rattlesnake Creek Railroad and extended around his property which encompassed a Poway shopping area. Porter planned to operate it as a commercial entertainment. He died in 1980 without the venture coming to full fruition. The City of Poway acquired the land from the Porter family in late 1986.

A group of volunteers met at the Hamburger Factory in February 1991 and formed the Poway-Midland Railroad Volunteers, their prime purpose being to resurrect a railroad for the people of Poway. In June, the City Council ratified the contract between the City and the Poway-Midland Railroad Volunteers, Inc. to restore, operate and maintain the railroad equipment and all of its facilities.

The Poway-Midland Railroad is a full-size, narrow-gauge railroad in Old Poway Park which carries passengers aboard vintage and antique railroad equipment. The railroad is owned by the City of Poway, and operated by the Poway Midland Railroad Volunteers, is a 501 (c)(3) corporation that exists on passenger ticket fares and donations. Through the restoration, preservation, and operation of vintage railroad equipment, the Volunteers are able to offer the community and visitors alike with a vintage train ride around the park, and through interpretation, provide educational programs (such as Operation Lifesaver) as well.

The centerpiece of the collection was built in 1907 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company of Cowell, California. The locomotive, originally dubbed "Engine No. 3", and its sister engines were used to haul rock from the company's quarry to the crushing mill, a distance of three miles. In 1952, "Number 3" was sold to the South San Francisco Scrap Metals Company, where it was used to move other pieces of railroad equipment around the scrap yard. In 1960, Charles Pollard of Vista, California, bought "Number 3" and extensively modified its appearance to resemble much older steam engines of the 1870s. He operated the locomotive, then called the "Robert E. Lee" on the grounds of his machine shop. When Pollard died in 1966, the locomotive and various other pieces of rolling stock and railroad equipment were purchased by John S. Porter of Poway. Porter built a small station, house and shed for the train and operated it on his land which today comprises part of our park. Mr. Porter died in 1980, ending the operation of his "Poway Village and Rattlesnake Creek Railroad". In December 1987, the City of Poway purchased the Porter property – lock, stock and locomotive. The locomotive and its tender have been restored to full operational condition by the PMRRV. Restoration, certification and testing were completed early in 1997 and the locomotive made its inaugural PMRR passenger run on July 4, 1997.

Elizabeth returned and it was my turn to take my pictures of this engine.

There is a wig-wag crossing signal here in Poway.

The Cowell Cement 0-4-0 2 built by Baldwin in 1907 on the point of the train. I returned to the line.

The train made two safety trips before returning to the boarding area. Our tickets were punched and then we took seats in the second open air trailer car for our trip. Now sit back and enjoy a trip aboard the Poway-Midland Railroad.

Two loops on the Poway-Midland Railroad. Elizabeth and I went to the first crossing of Rattlesnake Creek and set up for pictures.

The next train crossed the Rattlesnake Creek trestle and headed north through Poway Park. We relocated for our next pictures of the train.

The train crossed the Rattlesnake Creek trestle then went along the west side of Poway Park. We walked over to get one more picture of the engine by their shop building.

My last picture of the Cowell Cement 0-4-0 2.

Southern Pacific caboose 1037 built by the railroad in 1937.

Santa Fe box car 591260 built in 1960.

1906 San Francisco Cable Car 17 built by the California Street Cable Railroad in 1906, which was puchased by Knott's Berry Farm until 1976 when the San Diego Metropolitan Transit District had a vision of running it on the Old Town line, which never was built. In 1997 Poway acquired the car.

Fairmont Speeder built in 1950.

Gallows turntable here at Poway.

Two more views of 1906 San Francisco Cable Car 17; the picture on the right is from 2012.

Los Angeles Railway 57 known as a California Car and built in 1894, also from my 2012 visit. We then left Poway and stopped for lunch at The Habit in Temecula. After lunch and through traffic we made our way to Tom Farm's.

His parents said that Tom wanted to be a farmer from the day he was born in Kansas City, Missouri. When he turned five, they let him work at his father's produce stand. And the rest, as they say, is history. Tom moved west in the early 70's and leased some land in Lake Elsinore to house his first produce stand. He did so well that the owner of the land decided to covet it for himself, and sent Tom packing. Driving home to Anaheim, slightly brokenhearted, but with his boundless energy, strong work ethic, and unwavering integrity still intact, he found an idyllic spot in Temescal Canyon, right below the Cleveland National Forest. He named his place Tom's Farms. The produce was fresh and the people were friendly. People came from miles away, and Tom's Farms became a favorite destination stop for travelers.

Staying true to Tom's original core values, the produce is still fresh, the people are still genuine, and visitors are always welcome.

Tom wouldn't like it any other way.

We parked then went to the ticket booth for three tickets and headed to ride the train.

Two views of our gasoline-powered engine.

Elizabeth, who along with Marty Smith, was making her first trip on the Tom's Farm train.

The cumulonimbus clouds were building over the San Bernardino Mountains. Now sit back and enjoy a ride on the Tom's Farm Train.

The trip on the Tom's Farm Railroad. After Elizabeth looked in the shops and Marty and I had some liquids we headed home. With the CA 91 backed up, we detoured via Foothills Parkway which turned in Green River Drive. At CA 91 we had a little trouble getting on that highway but I did and we dropped Marty off at his home before we drove home. I wrote the story around having dinner. It had been a great day of riding both the Poway-Midland Railroad and Tom's Farm Railroad.

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