Todd calls the Overfair Railroad 'another very fine venture in the field of intramural transportation.' It was a miniature steam line with 'complete Lilliputian locomotives' and single-seat cars. Its terminus was beyond the Southern Pacific Building near the Zone entrance. From the southwest corner of the Machinery Palace it ran around the east side of that building to the Marina, curved around the Yacht Harbor and ran out to the Race Track and Polo Field. On fireworks nights it sometimes stopped near the California Building so riders could watch the show from their seats.
It was not a money-maker. It took in just over $22,000, and Todd suspected 'some misfortune of location' kept it from doing as well as it deserved. Its creator, L. M. MacDermot of Oakland, stored the equipment on his estate after the fair.
At a glance
- Receipts over $22,000 for the season (Todd vol. 2).
- MacDermot's four miniature steam locomotives were bought at auction by Al Smith and run again from the 1980s on the Swanton Pacific Railroad (Wikipedia).
- Passenger cars originally built for the Overfair Railway run on the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad (Wikipedia).
Afterward
Closed with the fair. The locomotives survive on the Swanton Pacific Railroad and several cars on the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad (Wikipedia).
Sources
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 2, chs. LI, LXIX
- Wikipedia: Swanton Pacific Ranch, locomotives
- Wikipedia: Billy Jones (railroader), cars