Cedar Rock Railroad • Cedar Park

Cedar Rock Railroad • Cedar Park

Written by Katie Gutierrez Thursday, 17 April 2008

For software consultant and Cedar Rock Railroad founder Ken Knowles, there’s nothing quite like leading a whistling locomotive through natural beauty.

“I can’t explain why I’m so driven by my love for trains,” Knowles said. “It’s kind of like being driven to eat chocolate; I just can’t deny it.”

Knowles’ passion for locomotives began as a child living in Houston, where he collected models and rode the Hermann Park Train, a local tradition, with boundless awe. One Christmas, when Knowles was about five years old, he received a gift he would never forget: a plastic train that he could actually pedal and ride.

“It was the most thrilling thing I’d ever experienced,” recalled Knowles with a laugh.

In 2000, Knowles began working on a way to translate his lifelong love for trains into an activity the whole community could enjoy. He wanted to purchase a park train and run it in Georgetown, but his collaboration with the City of Georgetown Parks and Recreation department took much longer than Knowles had anticipated.

After two years—and once the 20-foot locomotive named Sophie had already been painstakingly constructed—Knowles and his wife, Holly, abandoned their efforts with Georgetown. Knowles had modeled Sophie the Locomotive’s design after an existing locomotive, with detailed Victorian graphics and a solid walnut cab. As well as the train’s exterior, Knowles also designed Sophie’s interior functionalities, such as her hydraulics, working track sander, and first-of-its-kind synchronized smoke and steam sound system. He was determined to see Sophie in action.

Fortunately, the 800-acre Williamson County Regional Park had just opened, and the board was receptive to the Knowles’ proposal. Of course, before Sophie could actually run, she needed a track. With no engineering experience, Ken and Holly Knowles constructed and laid the 16-gauge track themselves in only 56 days. In December of 2004, Cedar Rock Railroad officially opened to the public.

Today, Cedar Rock Railroad extends through 1.3 miles of the Williamson County Regional Park. From Sophie the Locomotive, visitors can admire the park’s soccer and cricket fields, as well as the roadrunners, foxes, deer, turtles and owls that make their home on the park’s grounds. Ken and Holly Knowles see up to 700 visitors on a busy weekend and are in more family albums than they ever could have anticipated. Now, the couple is entering a new phase: beginning the search for their first employee.

“We’re looking for a driver,” says Ken Knowles, “but it needs to be that perfect person who loves trains, loves being outdoors and loves kids. We need to find someone for whom it’s the ideal job—and I know there’s someone out there!”

Cedar Rock Railroad by the numbers

• 5: Months to build Sophie the Locomotive
• 14: Benches in Sophie the Locomotive
• 42: Maximum capacity
• 1.3: Miles per ride
• $2.50: Price per ride
• 6,000: Miles logged on Sophie
• 700: Visitors per busy weekend
• 5: Years to see the project to fruition

Hours: Open year long, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (weather permitting)