Did you know that 611 is not the only Roanoke area steam locomotive still in operation in Virginia? Another Roanoke area steamer still operates today in Williamsburg, Virginia. If you have ever visited Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, you may have seen their green train No. 17. Well, that green train used to run in Salem! Who remembers it?
No. 17 (a 3' gauge train) was built in 1972 by Crown Metal Products in Wyano, Pennsylvania. The train was originally built for Lakeside Amus...ement park located in Salem, VA, and was named "The Big Lick". The locomotive and tender were painted light blue, and pulled three red coaches and a red wooden caboose for their western train ride. The train's caboose is one of two in existence today. No. 17 burns propane, weighs 25 tons, has 42" drivers, and can produce 5,700lbs of tractive effort while at a boiler pressure of 180psi. It ran at Lakeside park till 1985.
In 1986, the rides and train were sold to Emerald Point in Greensboro, North Carolina and No. 17 was put on display. The Emerald Point park closed in 1991. A few years later, Busch Gardens purchased the train and had the entire train restored/overhauled at the Tweetsie Railroad shops in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. At Tweetsie, the train was painted Southern Railway Crescent Green, received a large red snowplow, black slim smoke stack, new headlight, and was transformed into a Swiss styled steam train.
In 1997 the "Alpengeist Express" debuted with Busch's famous coaster "Alpengeist". The train was lettered "Alpen Express" with the "Alpengeist" logo over the word "Alpen". The train also featured fake snow. A few years later the fake snow and Alpengeist name were removed.
The Alpen Express No. 17, aka "Green Train" still runs at Busch Gardens. No. 17 is one of three propane fired Crown steamers operated by Busch Gardens.
Special thanks to Jason Underwood, Michael Patrick, and Brian Jenkins for information and photographs.
