TRACTION ORANGE AND PUMPKIN ORANGE.

The harvest fest trains return to East Troy.  Railway preservation is a volunteer-operated, volunteer-built enterprise, using, in East Troy, a stretch of track the village purchased in 1939 to keep carload freight service to local industries.

“The volunteers took ownership of the whole thing without the village, and we've been running ever since,” said Jim Feyerherm, the operations manager.

Today, trains operate on weekends after Labor Day and include themed experiences such as dinner trains, Harvest Fest rides, and Christmas trains that feature Santa’s workshop.

“It's fun, it gives you a mission, and it's filled with happy people,” said volunteer Tammy O’Connell, who has been with the railroad for two years. “The volunteers are just a big happy family.”

The Harvest Fest train takes passengers on a 30-minute ride from East Troy to the Elegant Farmer.

“We take people from here down to the Elegant Farmer where they can get off so they can pick their apples. They can go on hayrides, they can do all of that—a lot of fun things,” Feyerherm said.

Their peak season is fall, and we've documented all sorts of events on the East Troy Railroad.

That's the last post for the week.  Time for some time away.  Find yourself a preservation railroad, or an Oktoberfest, and go to it.