[ Ref. "Band Organs at Tilden Park, Berkeley, Calif."
 [ by Claudine Jones in 100907 MMDigest

Dear Miss Jones,  I was appalled to hear of your miserable experience
at the Tilden Park Carousel above Berkeley.  My family built and
operates the steam trains in Tilden Park for the last 58 years.  The
beautiful carousel is two miles down into Tilden Park from us, but
I have not been down there for a long time.  In fact, I developed my
lasting love of mechanical music down there.  Many steam people are
also into pipe organs and mechanical music.

The carousel has been in Tilden Park since 1948.  It was privately
owned for many years until the owner wanted to retire and sell it off.
A grass roots movement to save it arose, and the East Bay Regional Park
District bought it.  Along with it came the fabulous huge free-standing
band organ, and a smaller one that stands inside the carousel.  These
used to be played regularly to great effect.

Then new neighbors up the hill started to complain about the noise
("Don't buy a house near the airport...").  The open pavilion in which
the carousel stands probably resulted in lots of temperature and humidity
changes that affected the machines.  In recent years the Regional Park
District has simply not wanted to spend the money to maintain them.
They did enclose the pavilion with glass, which I bet makes the
reverberation pretty intense.

I am hoping that there are some knowledgeable mechanical music people in
or near the San Francisco Bay Area who might step forward to save these
machines before they are beyond repair, and then tackle the political
process to let them be played.

Thanks,

Ellen E. Thomsen
Redwood Valley Railway Co.
Berkeley, California

 [ The Redwood Valley Railway Corporation operates a miniature steam
 [ train and sells souvenirs at Tilden Regional Park under terms of
 [ a lease agreement with the East Bay Regional Park District.  Ref.
 [ http://www.ebparks.org/about/meetings/comm_min2007_0321 
 [
 [ At http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-living-headlines/ci_15955262 
 [ "Ellen Thomsen, daughter of the career railroad man who started this
 [ Redwood Valley Railway in 1952, now runs the concession and describes
 [ it as 'a hobby that got out of hand.'"
 [
 [ -- Robbie