Stagecoaches

I always enjoy finding vintage slides featuring amusement parks that I am unfamiliar with; today I have photos of fun stagecoaches from two different parks.First up is this one, dated "October, 1970"; a boy holds imaginary reins as he drives the stagecoach through some of the harshest lands imaginable. "Tweetsie Stage Lines" helps us to place us in North Carolina (between Blowing Rock and Boone, if you must know). The Tweetsie Railroad is particularly famous, completing its first trip as a tourist attraction on July 4, 1954... (it) quickly evolved into the first theme park in North Carolina — and one of the first in the nation. A western town and saloon were built around the original depot area. A train robbery and cowboy-and-Indian show were added to the train ride, playing off the Wild West theme that was very popular at the time on television and in motion pictures. In 1961, a chairlift and amusement ride area was constructed on the central mountain inside the rail loop, and over…