Frommer’s top historic railroads in the U.S. includes a Bay Area gem

We have a soft spot for historic trains, the cabooses and locomotives and the rhythm of the rails, punctuated by the toot-toot of —

We’d better stop here, before we go all chugga-chugga-choo-choo on you. But we’re not the people who love heritage railways. Frommer’s, the venerable travel experts, has an entire list devoted to historic trains across the country.

Their U.S. top 10 is topped by our own Roaring Camp Railroads, which sends steam trains down the tree-lined tracks of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Its Redwood Forest Steam Train takes riders through woodsy glens, and the Santa Cruz Beach Train chugs toward the famous beach boardwalk from April through August.

Mining operations and factories inspired some of these rail lines. Others, like the 1901 Grand Canyon Railway, were built to carry sightseers. Now, of course, they all do — along with Polar Express characters, Wild West robbers, assorted skeletons and Thomas the Tank Engine cars, depending on the date and rail line.

The latter are bells and (train) whistles, of course. The main attraction is the spectacular landscape unfurling along the ride.

Here’s Frommer’s top 10 in the U.S. Find details, photos and travel suggestions at www.frommers.com.