Photo by Michael Woodward

Hawes Farms' newest attraction features a bright red locomotive engine pulling four cars around a pumpkin patch and through a walnut orchard.

Now operational, the train is ready for passengers for the farm's opening day Sept. 27. Other new attractions include a new corn maze, pig races, an improved haunted barn, expanded concessions to include pizza and ice cream.

The haunted barn would be completed by a company from Florida that specializes in haunted barns, Hawes said.

Last year the farm drew 20,000 in attendance, said Greg Hawes, and this year he said he hopes to double it. Despite some prodding, Hawes would not reveal to the Valley Post, on or off the record, what picture or design is depicted in the corn maze.

"It's supposed to be a secret," he said, hinting that it was particularly relevant to this time of year. As last year, the farm will sell helicopter rides to view the maze from above.

Purchased from New York, the 1/3 scale engine, four train cars and a mile of track were hauled in two truckloads to Hawes Farms, at 21923 Dersch Rd., in Anderson.

Hawes did not purchase the train in the excellent condition in which farm-goers will find it.

Daily work to refurbish the train began in January 2008. Greg Hawes and his employees spent four months setting up the track alone, using 10,000 bolts and four tons of rebar in building the concrete railroad ties. Every railroad tie along the .85-mile track was poured on site. The train has a real steam whistle, bell and blows smoke from its stack.

"It's kind of a collector's item," Hawes said.

When the farm is not open to visitors, it supports itself through Hawes Ranch and Farm Supply Store, 400 acres of wheat, 50 acres of walnut trees, and range land, said Greg Hawes.

The Hawes family farm got its start in 1863, with Greg Hawes making up the 6th generation.

The train was originally built in 1969 by the Allan Herschell Company in New York.

According to carouselnews.com, Herschell was a major force in the amusement industry from the late 1800s through the 1920s, when steam-powered carousel rides were popular. In the 1950s. the company stopped producing carousels to expand its production of various "Kiddie" rides.

The train, purchased by Hawes, was created in the style of Central Pacific's Jupiter engine which was present at the completion of the transcontinental railroad at Promontory Point in Utah.