As the train ascended the tight curves of Bear Mountain in Santa Cruz, California, it began to sing. Harmonic tones rang out among redwood trees as the projecting edge (flange) of the train’s wheels pressed up against the inside of the rails.
“This railroad has tighter curves than almost any other railroad in the country,” the conductor later explained, making the wheels “want to sing a little bit when they go around the curves.”
The projecting flange of steel wheels keeps trains on the tracks. The wheels “sing” as they go around curves. (Courtesy of Karen Gough)
The tones only added to the ambience of the steam train as it chugged along the tracks, its whistle blowing at every turn. Children called out happily or slept in their parents’ arms, while people of all ages enjoyed a gentle ride up one of the steepest railroad grades in the country….