The beloved and old-timey Tilden Park steam train is at risk of chugging off into history over a lease dispute between the railway operator and the East Bay Regional Park District.
Ellen Thomsen, second-generation owner of the open air amusement train that runs through a redwood grove, has informed the district that she will “pick up everything and leave” if she cannot secure a long-term lease for the business, which operates under contract in Tilden Regional Park between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo Ridge.
The popular choo-choo train, formally named the Redwood Valley Railway, has been running on a month-to-month deal for seven years, as Thomsen has been trying to get a longer term arrangement, she claimed during the public comment portion of a park district board of directors meeting in Oakland this week…