MONTEREY, Calif- An iconic train has been around for more than 50 years in Monterey. Now, the city said it's a safety hazard for kids and too big of a liability. They're talking about Engine 1285 at Dennis the Menace Playground in El Estero Park, where there's already a fence keeping kids from playing on it.
The train is temporarily closed because they said it's not up to code with state playground regulations. Now a group called "Save The Train" is banding together, fighting to keep it here. People like Clayton Payton said they want to know why the city wants to make a change now, after generations of kids enjoyed playing on the famous train, safely.
"We believe in the train as a play structure. Playing for children should be a way to develop senses, balance, you know your limits and so we all grew up on this train and we're better for it I believe than the current generation of kids and their playground equipment," said "Save the Train" supporter Clayton Payton.
More than 4,500 people "liked" the "Save The Train" Facebook page and 488 signed a petition to keep it on the playground.
The city said in a statement, "In recent years, the City placed signs by the train warning people to use it at their own risk. Then in a nine-month period last year, there were three potentially very dangerous accidents, where young children ages 2-5 fell 12-20 feet from the train, suffering injuries. That raised a red flag for the City that we could not ignore – and so steps were taken to fence the train off."
The public works department told us signs posted around the train aren't enough to keep a parent from suing if a kid has an accident. But people who grew up having fun on it said the train is a right of passage.
"You know you grow up and get big enough and you feel good about yourself. It's like, I'm on the train! You know my mom allowed me on the train! You're doing big things when you're on the train," said Donte Murphy.
Parents said their kids love all the other equipment at the park. But it's this train that really gets their imagination pumping. Some said they let their kids play on it before the temporary fence went up.
"I felt like it was safe. It has a lot of railings and he just liked being in it and acting as if he was the engineer," said mom Sherie Hinkle of King City.
The city said it's looking at a few options like putting up a more attractive permanent fence, moving it and making it a historical exhibit, or finding a way to make it compliant. They plan to take a look at the issue again in October.
