Shireland, The Train Ride

Shireland was an amusement park (of sorts) in the suburbs of Chicago in 1988 and again in 1991. Its concept revolved around "magical" shire horses, similar to the Budweiser horses.

One of its atractions was the train ride. It should have been nick-named "the train-ride through Hell!" If you like riding on a train in a flat field of grass, you would love this ride. Keep in mind I edited all of the really boring stuff out, or you would have the razor-blade on your wrists.

YOu can learn more about Shireland at http://shireland.tripod.com

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Shireland
• Shire
• Marengo
• Smrt
• draft
• horses
• amusement
• park
• defunct

[SomeKidd777]

Wow, I think I understand why the park went out of bissness.

[jameala]

Shireland was a cheesy little amusement park, that is for sure, but at least it was home-grown. Like Santa's Village or Kiddyland in the chicagoland area, it was one man's dream to build it. It is just too bad that the man with the dream didn't have better people skills, or it might have actually worked.

[lindsaydaubers]

i was just wondering if anyone knows the current status of shireland? would it still be worth visiting?  i have become very interested in this theme park since watching your videos and reading the website...i find it so fascinating how difficult it is to find out information about this location. thanks for posting this!

[jameala]

Unfortunaetly, there isn't much left of Shireland. For a long time, it was a "kid hangout". Kids loitered there and defaced the place with Smrt's own spray paint. Someone else bought the land and tore down a bunch of the buildings. After that, there was a fire and destroyed a bunch more. It, regrettably, is pretty much gone.

[damrakred]

I had a job interview with the crazy bastard that ran this park! He's creepy and mean as fuck!!! I Googled his name the night before the interview...and found the horror of a website that detailed horrible stories about the man...and also a story about a guy that had applied for the video job EXACTLY as I was about to do. My experience wasn't quite as bad as his...but it wasn't far off. :|

[jameala]

I am probably that guy. I did work there for about 2 days and determined that my mental health was worth more than the $42K he was going to pay me. He is the guy who owned the park, not just the guy who ran it. e mail me your experience j p mcdunn at a o l dot com. I would love to compare notes.

[evinger79]

I live right by this and have always known it as the abandon amusement park but never imagined it looking like that

[allenhuffman]

Thanks for posting the videos. The Iowa amusement park doesn't even have flowers to look at or narration on it's small train that runs behind some rides,

[siemenstraffic]

Thomas Smrt FAIL park!

[PatrioticFront]

I lived in chicago my entire life and never heard of this place.

But as an active visitor of 6 flags.

I'd say for 1990? this place looks like an idea way behind its time. This looks like it would have been a good idea in 1960-1970 maybe, or in some small town.

But, In 1990 it would be a joke, and a way to waste a good day that you could of spent somewhere else.

[stormyrider56]

I missed Shireland but had the pleasure of working with a Shire from his herd. A few years ago I wanted to volunteer just to work with these beautiful animals.

[Mooncalf2012]

Walt Disney was the inspiration for Shireland, and I respected Tom's sense of ideals, whether it was "cheesy" or not. He taught me much about 'Ego'. To those who choose to make a joke out of him, due to his character, I would say, ask your self what you've accomplished, and how have you treated other people in this life? Tom Smrt, with all his flaws, was one of the most genuine human beings I have ever met in my lifetime. He was a mirror to those who had the guts to look at themselves honestly.

[Mooncalf2012]

I worked at the farm (years after Shireland). Despite the daily stress of dealing with Mr. Smrt, I got a lot out of it. I think of it now as the 'Boot Camp' I missed out on. (He was tougher than any drill Sergeant I would have had). I got to know him better than most. He had a really good side too, that would come out from time to time. On a good day, he was like a father to me. He struggled with Bi-Polar, and Diabetes, and most people were only willing to see his "abuse" and took it personally.

[pitster]

People skills??? Hitler had better people skills.