Steam Meets Thrill: Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad

[@RailroadStreet]

For a full POV of the CP&LE Railroad, head on over to my Patreon page for only $3 @ www.patreon.com/posts/cp-le-railroad-110358889?Link&

[@TheMonkdad]

I met my wife in 1984 when we both worked at Cedar Point that summer. She worked on the train and I worked on the Cadillac Cars and Dodgem cars. That was probably one of the most memorable summers ever.

[@history_leisure]

One of my roommates when I worked at Cedar Point in 2021 was at dodgem (He mostly ended up being based at Iron Dragon and Planet Snoopy that season and in seasons since)

[@paulw.woodring7304]

Thanks for crediting the photos of mine you used in this video. it was also good to finally see video of Mr. Butterworth, whom I've emailed with in the past. Sad to see the state of Albert, which I spent quite a few hours on firing in the late 1970s. She deserves a better fate than sitting outdoors in Lake Erie winters.

[@RailroadStreet]

No problem! Good to hear from you Paul! Hopefully one day Albert will be restored back to operation again.

[@paulw.woodring7304]

@@RailroadStreet Thirty years ago I helped someone in Louisiana with an effort to get Albert to a proposed plantation museum there. That effort didn't pan out, but that is the kind of place it really belongs.

[@MrAwesomedude808]

I have hope that he will run again some day! I’m sure that if fates allow it could go to Strasburg for an overhaul (they’ve handled the rebuilds of 3 of Walt Disney World’s locomotives with the fourth in progress currently).

[@joeszymczuk1376]

I've never been happier watching a KZbin documentary. Honestly thank you

[@MikeFerrell]

This is a fantastic documentary of an attraction that I don't think gets as much attention as it deserves. Thank you for exploring this fascinating history

[@johnmcquillan8795]

I was a fireman and engineer the summer of 1985. Great memories and so neat to be part of the history of the railroad.

[@larrydemaar409]

Thanks for that interesting history of the Cedar Point Railroad. I particularly liked the history of the locomotives. Well done!

[@Vector_QF8]

This is a next level documentary. I went to Cedar Point as a kid in the 70s and 80s and rode the trains. I want to go back and do it again with my new knowledge from your excellent video. 🎉

[@detroitredneckdetroitredne6674]

Spectacular job Brother thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise and for taking us on your adventures on the rails and hello from romulus Michigan

[@mattthornton8474]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. As a child I rode this often from 1971 thru 1976 and seeing images again from when it was heavily wooded is fond nostalgia for me. I've been on it twice over the last 25 years, and though still awesome, it misses something by not having that physical separation from most of the adjacent areas.

[@DustyWingsProductions]

Really enjoyed this video. The locomotive The CP&LE RR leased from the M.A. Patout (PAW- too) and Sons Sugar Mill was the Ida P. It was named after Ida Claire Patout who was the daughter of Mary Ann Patout, the owner of the sugar mill. Cedar Fair never did anything with the Ida P and it was returned to the sugar mill. It was rebuilt there and plans were made to give people rides behind her around the mill property. They even built a little coach to pull behind her. Unfortunately those plans through and she now sits in a shed behind a Dickson locomotive. Down on the Six Flags and Texas Railroad, we also have two locomotives from the same mill. We have the Mary Ann, now the General Sam Houston and the Lydia (named for Mary Ann's daughter who died very young) now called the Charles Jefferson Patton. Looking forward to the chance to get up to have a look around the CP&LE RR now that we are all one big family.

[@RailroadStreet]

Thank you! I also enjoyed watching your short documentary on the Six Flags & Texas Railroad. I remember seeing photos of the Ida P. inside a building at their mill property several years ago on Facebook. Pretty cool how it still exists all these years later.

[@gttac]

I absolutely loved this video, I’ve been many times because I live so close to Cedar Point and have always had a love for trains. You taught me even something I didn’t know, that Maud L.’s wheels were turned at the B&O shops in Willard, OH! I live nearby, and my grandfather worked there in the 50’s (though he was laid off before they would have done any work on Maud L.) Anyways, this was certainly an interesting fact to know! What a small world, thanks for sharing the amazing history of something so close to myself.

[@thomasdupee1440]

@@gttac I am retired from the (old B&O) at Willard. This was a great documentary of the CP&LE.

[@BaconZillaX]

Oh cool. I was platform crew for most of my 2008 summer working at Cedar Point. It was...interesting, but when it was good, it was fun as hell. Thanks for the memory :)

[@TheGreatestKeith]

I ride the whole CP&LE loop every time I visit the park. Thanks for making this video!

[@CallardAndBowser]

I'm glad I experienced Cedar Point 50 years ago, it's so different now. The same goes for the extinct Boblo Island in Detroit, and Six Flags north of Chicago. Also the Wisconsin Dells and the first year Disney World opened. All these attractions were at their best when they were brand new.

[@history_leisure]

Could say the boom of new parks springing up because of Disneyland as well-and some existing parks like Cedar Point trying to adapt because of that, but a lot can be pointed to Magnum XL-200 and how chasing records and bigger thrills affected US parks-sure overseas as well but Europe really stayed true to themes when they were already going down that route vs slapping a random coaster in the French Quarter. Cedar Fair had been really looking at rectifying that-even at some smaller parks, before the Six Flags merger. The merger keeps Cedar Fair executive at the helm, so the trend could continue but could still falter even if only selecting a few parks to get a marketable investment every year longer term

[@SchuyGuy86]

I had the pleasure of working the CP&LE railroad intermittently in the late 2000s, including a couple of off season years performing maintenance on the track and keeping the locomotives clean and polished. Track work was tough work, digging out rotted ties and replacing them with new ones, manually tamping stone with tamping rods till they were stable. Randy was our superintendent at the time and was a phenomenal man in charge of the engine house. Easily the most fun and satisfying attraction to operate at the park.

[@Eargesplitten-Loudenboomer]

I love Cedar Point and have ridden the train almost every time I've gone, it's been at least 10 years since I've gone though. Thank you so much for the backstory of the trains

[@lxndr3299]

Nicely done and I learned things about one of my favorite railroads. I ride it every time I go to Cedar Point.

[@adambrandon1110]

Great to see Ken on here, always enjoyed stopping and chatting with him at the museum.

[@toocloseforcomfort8247]

I was a fireman then engineer in the 93 and 94 seasons. 22 was the best engine - no drama, always ran well. Judy was a bit more temperamental (and had a horrible whistle). We rolled out George now and again, and he was really fun to drive. Great memories.

[@Ravager75]

Very nice and informative documentary. Glad you made this.

[@christophermiller867]

This was such a great video. It brought back so many wonderful memories from my childhood and made me realize just how badly I need to go back to the Point.

[@MrStevesTrains]

Great documentary, loved the insider history. Thank You! - Happy Rails …🚂💨💨

[@syntaxerorr]

I have road on that train many times. I thought it started just as a ride for the park. This is wild.

[@coltonkoepp655]

I actually rode the CP&LE railroad for the first time on July 4th with my 5-year-old nephew who has a fascination for trains it's crazy how busy it was that day though I'm sure it was mostly people enjoying the park before the fireworks at dusk

[@Tom-Lahaye]

That's a nice documentary, great to see the interviews. Theme park, Zoo and amusement park locomotives are a class in it's own, and although intensively rebuilt, many of the little Davenport industrial locomotive were saved this way. Not too dissimilar with locomotives used in such parks in Europe, where locomotives also are often old industrial and quarry locomotives mostly from the German companies Krauss or O&K.

[@schultz0624]

What an amazing documentary! Such great memories on the train!

[@lyndonfoster1090]

Thank you. Very interesting and many things I never knew. Well done video too. Will watch more.

[@terrybovee9318]

Excellent. Brought back memories.

[@Krissy_Bunnie]

I went to Cedar Point last month, and this was the only thing I was looking forward to riding! They didn't have any train merch in the gift shop other than an overpriced model. Hope they don't ever get rid of this beauty!

[@stet_and_query_central_1]

Some extra things In 1998, the closed coaches and one of the former C&O cabeese were purchased from cedar point by the Hesston Steam Museum, the C&O caboose isn't currently used on trains, and one of the closed coaches is awaiting restoration

[@TheNorthwestWind]

thank you so much for this

[@johnalder6028]

Very interesting and presented well. Greetings from Port Saint Lucie, Florida!

[@crystalrock18]

I need to go back this theme park. I went there about 20 years and it was a blast. Definitely a highly recommend place to see when you’re in Ohio. And bang on video because they got cool steam trains too.

[@thecaledoniansleeper2648]

Cedar Point had both the best rides and best railroad.

[@CoasterPassport]

Great video! Thank you!

[@katnew4408]

So nice and cool and relaxing!

[@johnknecht6958]

The D.B. Harrington eventually wound up in Port Huron, Michigan. And was cosmetically restored over the last few years. It's most recently on public display at an event venue in Port Huron, Mi.

[@TheBeavadelic]

I have spent countless hours on that train ❤

[@ЛЬВИНИ]

Excellent shot. Like

[@inaheap7172]

CP AND LE really is a retirement resort for locomotives.

[@cple1]

@@inaheap7172 they have all worked longer at CP than they did for their originals/purpose.

[@jubrickner]

My grandfather knew George Roose well. Roose came to the park every Sunday when my dad worked at the park from 75-79 seasons. He parked his big Cadillac by the employee entrance in Frontiertown and would say hi to my dad on occasion(my dad worked in frontiertown most of his time there) get ice cream and ride the carousel and train. Evidently, frontiertown was Roose’s favorite thing at the park besides the train.

[@rayisland23]

Nice video, Thanks

[@davidellis4084]

Thanks!

[@RailroadStreet]

Hope you enjoyed the video! Thanks so much for the donation!

[@Joeybagofdonuts76]

George was always my favorite when I worked at CP. Was disappointed when I learned his whistle had been put on Judy K.

[@cple1]

@@Joeybagofdonuts76 which whistle would that be? They have been changed several times.

[@Joeybagofdonuts76]

@@cple1 it was a chime rather than a single note. I'm not sure of a specific name or manufacturer.

[@jcolby7177]

Great commentary! It’s a shame the Jennie K got sold and not restored to service

[@OldIronVideo]

Hope my archive Playlist helped with this :)

[@RailroadStreet]

It did! Thanks Mason!

[@OldIronVideo]

@@RailroadStreet no problem!

[@aowbsx]

The city of Traverse made me laugh. Great video though!

[@history_leisure]

I worked at the park in 2021 and previously spent a few hours in a park in 2016, but I still have never ridden the CP&LE. The city's bus system is what got me in to transit because its quite a small town. Then again, you have a lot of internationals at other tourism locations and a university campus (with the dorms in downtown), so you have that going for it. I took the train back home in Philadelphia (well, Paoli). It's interesting how Sandusky at one point could've had 4 trains/day in the Amtrak era (the Capitol Limited, now temporarily merged with the Silver Star to be the Floridian-which was relocated from the Fort Wayne line in the early 90's, the Lake Shore Limited, the Pennsylvanian-which ran between Philly and Chicago from around when the Capitol Limited was moved to its present route until early 2003, and the proposed Skyline Connection (which would be an express version of the Pennsylvanian that continued to New York and would be a half decent New York-Pittsburgh night train westbound, but it would make sense for intermediate stops to use one westbound and the other eastbound because of timing)

[@cple1]

Sandusky does have four Amtrak trains a day. Capitol Limited in both directions and the Lake Shore Limited in both directions. The Capitol doesn't become the Floridian until November 10th.

[@history_leisure]

@@cple1 two round trips (Capitol Limited-which will "temporarily" be merged with the Silver Star as the Floridian to DC/Tampa/Miami-yeah I was a bit early on that, and the Lake Shore Limited to NYC/Boston via a split in Albany, with both routes serving Cleveland-Chicago). My point was that there could've be 4 distinct services. No one considers each direction a separate train. 2 trains/day = 2 daily routes (to Chicago, to DC [Tampa/Miami] or NYC/BOS via ALB), guess I assumed wrong that was standard verbage

[@cple1]

@@history_leisure "no one" is a big assumption. Locals considered it four trains over 2 routes. Sandusky could have had 4 routes but that was and is highly unlikely. Using the Ft. Wayne line again and swinging down to Columbus would be more practical.

[@history_leisure]

@@cple1 1. They just don’t know the proper terminology, fair 2. Yes more corridors in the Midwest would be better for long distance routes than more on the same route. I’d still like a Chicago-Cleveland daytime train though (although the Lake Shore Limited isn’t half bad at being a night train eastbound) in addition to Cleveland-Detroit service

[@cple1]

@@history_leisure what you believe to be "proper terminology" is your terminology.

[@katnew4408]

Favorite thing to do!!

[@paulw.woodring7304]

Also, you really should credit Randy Catri, who succeeded Mike Hetrick as railroad superintendent and spent 45 years working on the CP&LE.

[@joenewstead4848]

So what happened to the oldest engine they had that they restored and put with the caboose?

[@RailroadStreet]

When George Roose retired, he still owned that locomotive and moved it to his estate. He eventually donated it to the Henry Ford Museum, and it is now owned and on display at the Port Huron, MI Museum.

[@coolguy670]

Nice to see a video on railroad that I have ridden. So is the next video going to be the CTA to Present Day RTA? The reason I am asking is because youtube is showing me a lot of old footage of the Cleveland rapid.

[@dindog22]

I only ever see Judy and Myron running

[@jm0lesky]

Do employees working the CP&LE Railroad pay into railroad retirement?

[@cple1]

No, we work at an amusement park not a railroad.

[@erie910]

Last time that I visited Cedar Point, I noticed that th CP&LE engineer slowed and stopped the train by closing the throttle and using the engine brake. This is contrary to good passenger train handling practices.

[@cple1]

@@erie910 they have only ever had steam jambs on the locomotives. Stopping is generally done by opening the cylinders and placing the valve gear in the reverse position.

[@VictorianMaid99]

I went there as a child in the 1970s. It was a lovely park in my eyes. It seems over the years that it went more away from quality and went toward quantity.

[@derekwhite9932]

Has anyone heard Entertrainment in Ohio is closing?

[@danielboone3770]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@NicholasChristine-w4l]

Walker Helen Jones Elizabeth Thomas Patricia

[@Steve-vf7se]

Trains come a long way, to travel. I love trains and how people can travel in them. Subways or steam locomotives. In this case: I remember how I got in a train back in school. This is why no one could ever travel in style, like trains🚂🚃🚃🚃