Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad
The Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad is a narrow gauge heritage railroad and amusement park attraction located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. The line is a 5,282-foot loop which has two stations: the Losantiville station also commonly referred to as "Rivertown Station" and a station at Soak City. It is a part of the rides department, and has a thrill rating of "1 - Low Thrill Ride". The entire journey lasts between 9 and 15 minutes, depending on station stops and number of trains in operation. In 2022, the railroad celebrated its 50th anniversary with the park. New changes were added to the ride’s scenery. The Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad continues to be one of the oldest and most popular attractions at Kings Island.
Rolling stock
Locomotives
The Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad maintains two working locomotives. They were built by Crown Metal Products of Pennsylvania for the park opening in 1972 and were modeled after The General.No. 12 - "Kenny Van Meter"
The #12 engine, also known as the "Kenny Van Meter", features a propane-fired boiler and has a total weight of 25 tons. It is a 2/3 scale replica of The General. It is painted blue. The locomotive's original name was Tecumseh after the Shawnee leader. Originally, it featured a balloon-style stack but it was replaced in the late 1980s or early 1990s to make it stand apart from the green engine. The blue engine also originally had two blue domes but were painted red to match the wheels in the late 1980s or early 1990s, when the balloon stack was removed.No. 19 - "Lew Brown"
The #19 engine, also known as the "Lew Brown", features a propane-fired boiler and has a total weight of 25 tons. Like its older brother engine, the #12, it is a scale replica of The General. The engine is painted green and was originally named Simon Kenton, after a famous Ohio frontiersman.Passenger cars
Kings Island maintains a total of 12 open air passenger cars, arranged as 6 cars on each engine. 6 of the cars are painted green, and are typically matched with the No. 19 engine. The other 6 cars are painted red, and are matched with the No. 12 engine. Capacity per completed train is 465 park guests. Each passenger car has a series of seals depicting Native American Tecumseh and frontiersman Simon Kenton with the railroad name.Operation
Stations
The Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad features two train stations. Losantiville station is considered the line's main station, and is located in the Rivertown section of the park, next to the entrance of White Water Canyon and Mystic Timbers. It is a covered station and platform. There is also a station located at the entrance to Soak City Water park, which is an uncovered concrete pad station that, unlike the Losantiville station, is a curved station.Crew
Each train is operated by a total of four associates; an Engineer, Fireman, Front Conductor, and Back Conductor. The Engineer is in charge of the operation of the locomotive, while the Fireman watches over the boiler pressure levels, and maintains the fire and water levels in the boiler. The Front Conductor is in the charge of the movement of the train, as well as the entertainment and wellbeing of the passengers aboard. Additionally, each station must be staffed by a Station Master who is responsible for the safety of passengers in the station, helping passengers load and unload, as well as keeping capacity. Two crossing guards are stationed at each of the grade crossings near Soak City, as well as the path to White Water Canyon.Opening
Each morning, the train crew prepare the engines for operation at the engine house, located near the Losantiville station. Once the first train of the morning reaches the Losantiville station, the front conductor and back conductor board the train. Once the train is staffed completely, the train must do a full test cycle around the track before passengers can be loaded. During normal weekdays, only one engine is in service. During weekends, the second train is brought into operation. Opening procedures for the bringing out the second train differ slightly, in that the front and back conductors board the train in the engine house, rather than at the Losantiville station. In order for the second train to be able to be brought out of the engine house, the first train must be parked in Losantiville station. Where the second train can then be pulled out and parked at the block light waiting until the first train leaves the station.In service
Procedure for train movement
The Front Conductor is in charge of the movement of the train. During a normal passenger loading procedure, the station master must clear the station platform with a thumbs up signal, at which point the Back Conductor must clear the Front Conductor for movement with a hand signal known as a "Highball". Once the Front Conductor verifies the Highball from the Back Conductor and the clear from the Station Master, the Front Conductor will "Highball" the Engineer, who then proceeds with operation of the locomotive. "Highball" hand signals are also given at two locations along the train route, between the Front and Back Conductor, to signal that everything is clear on all six passenger cars.| train arriving at station | |
| train departing station / train beginning forward movement | |
| train beginning reverse movement | |
| approaching grade crossing | |
| distress / emergency |