Burke Junction train nearly restored

Come Aug. 21, a broken down choo-choo train in the heart of Cameron Park's Burke Junction will choo-choo once again.When previous owner Jerry Burke built Burke Junction in 1980, he envisioned the Old West-inspired square as a place where anything could happen — or at least where anything could pretend to happen. Bank robberies, shootings, even the occasional hanging — the high-stakes drama was outdoor community theater, hearkening back to a lawless era now played for innocent fun."My inspiration came from when I visited a place called Rawhide in Scotsdale, Arizona, an old western town with shootouts and places to eat and shops," Burke said.Inspiration also came from a local hotspot that has long since been shuttered and was replaced with a Food4Less grocery store.Cameron Park was once known as the home of Sam's Town. For the better part of four decades, locals and those passing through town would swing by to patronize the gingerbread-style structure's restaurants, old-time saloon and arcade.It was named for Sam Gordon, a baseball and antique enthusiast who turned his venture into a tribute to early Americana, adding an old-fashioned general store to the 30,000 square-foot location.Sam's Town was shuttered in 2000, leaving Burke Junction to carry the halcyon torch.A miniature train putting around the development was part of that, anchoring a collection of shops and offices with old-time facades painted in soft pastels. Children rode the slow-moving locomotive from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and their parents either watched or shopped."The town liked it. It tied everything else in," recalled Burke, a train enthusiast and former professional tap dancer.But about seven years ago, Burke says the train stopped operating and Burke Junction lost one of its centerpieces.The development's managing partner, Bill Glasser, is in the process of restoring the old train to its former glory. Workers are rebuilding train tracks, railroad ties and restoring the train's brakes."People will be riding a piece of history," Glasser said. "This is one of two 30-gauge trains left in the nation. It was built in 1963 or '64."The train was built by the Arrow Dynamics, which is now out of business, but built several of the original rides at Disneyland.Glasser has lived in Cameron Park since 1982 and remembers when the train ran and the families that rode the trains."The train is a big piece of Cameron Park's history, and now that Sam's Town is gone, I want to keep the train going," he said.The train, which changed locations a couple times in the late 1980s, will begin its second life in Burke Station on Aug. 21.Burke, who lives nearby, hopes it's able to recall the development's own recent past."In those days we hired actors to do the shootouts," the 85-year-old Burke said. "I'd like to see it go again."But nobody will have the shootouts and reenactments complete with a cemetery 'boothill,'" he added, referring to the 19th century designation given to the burial grounds where gunfighters were lain to rest. Philip Wood contributed to this story.