Trains, ships and planes
What if a train climbed a mountain?
Mount Tam's crooked railroad. A true story near Mill Valley, CA, told for kids 3–7.
The Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway story, read aloud
We're in Mill Valley, near Mount Tam. Long ago, a steam train climbed that mountain. But how did a train get up such a steep hill? The track zigzagged up, like a wiggly ribbon.
People called it the Crookedest Railroad in the World! It wound past grassy hills, all the way to a tavern at the top. Riders could see the San Francisco Bay Area from way up high. Chugga-chugga, toot-toot!
Trace a wiggly mountain track with your finger. What a twisty ride!
Quiz the back seat
What was the train's track like?
Show the answer
Wiggly and zigzaggy. Wiggly! It was called the Crookedest Railroad in the World.
Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway facts for kids
- The railway climbed from Mill Valley to Mount Tamalpais.
- It was billed as the Crookedest Railroad in the World.
- A steam train once climbed Mount Tamalpais on a zigzagging track.
Questions kids ask about Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway
Where did the train start?
The train started in Mill Valley and climbed Mount Tam.
Why was it called the Crookedest Railroad in the World?
Its track zigzagged and twisted up the mountain.
How did the cars come down without engines?
Gravity pulled them downhill while a worker used brakes to control their speed.
For grown-ups
Written with AI from public sources, then checked claim by claim against the sources below before it was published; stories that don't pass stay off the app and this site. Narration is pre-recorded, and nothing you do on this page is tied to your kids.
Sources
More stories in Mill Valley
Art, music and sports The Race to the Beach
We are in Mill Valley, where a very special race begins. It is called the Dipsea!
Animals The Bird City in the Mud
Here in Mill Valley is a little bay called Pickleweed Inlet. Its water flows out into Richardson Bay.
The first people here Who Lived Here First?
You live in Mill Valley, near the big mountain called Mount Tam. Before all these houses and shops, who lived here?
Trains, ships and planes The Crookedest Railroad in the World
Choo choo! Right here in downtown Mill Valley, where the bookstore and café are, there used to be a train station!Build one with bricks
How things work: roads, bridges, oceans →All stories →
Between stories: 25 road trip games for kids · Road trip bingo cards · Road trip trivia · Christmas light scavenger hunt · Christmas trivia
Town and county names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).