Fulfilling the dreams of its late founder, a small train recently was added near the replica railroad depot at the famed Red Oak II complex near Carthage, Missouri.
According to the Joplin Globe, Larry Sernyk, who owns several buildings in Red Oak II and also lives there, worked with a crew to install the train outside the depot earlier this month.
The newspaper reported:
The train, a static display, consists of a locomotive that originally was built for an amusement park in Massachusetts in 1959, and three cars that were built by local craftsmen Danny Pippin and Dwight Madsen.
“I bought the locomotive from a local collector, Steve Burnett, who lives in Ritchie, in April 2021,” he said. “I tried to find someone to restore it without luck. Danny Pippin, (who) has worked with me on other projects like the original Jasper County Courthouse, offered to do the restoration and started the restoration work in August 2023.”
Sernyk said Pippin sandblasted the locomotive to remove old paint and made repairs to the metal, installed a new roof and then repainted it.
Then he and Madsen built the three cars on railroad wheels also bought from Burnett. They got track from Diamond and installed the track and ties and railroad bed in front of the station. Earlier this month, they put the train on the tracks.
Sernyk said Red Oak II founder Lowell Davis had long discussed installing a train there before his death at age 83 in 2020. But they couldn’t find one until recently.
Davis, who made his fortune in the 1970s creating art about idyllic but whimsical rural life, built Red Oak II as an homage to his hometown.
The complex consists of a Phillips 66 service station, schoolhouse, feedstore, diner, town hall, jail, blacksmith shop and general store — several of which were hauled from Davis’ hometown — plus a few of Davis’ sculptures.
Davis lived at Red Oak II for many years, and he was buried there, too.
The original Red Oak lies about 20 miles east of his re-creation, also just off Route 66.
Red Oak II sits about a mile north of Route 66, northeast of Carthage. It’s a popular side trip for many Route 66 travelers, mostly because of its nostalgic vibe.
(Image of the new train at the depot at Red Oak II near Carthage, Missouri)