Bullet trains may steal their thunder, but these locomotives offer an unrivaled way to see Japan’s most beautiful landscapes.

The steam engine was retired from service in 1960 and donated to the California State Railroad Museum in 1995. Two years later the historic locomotive began pulling excursion trains, the museum said.

On Thursday, a pair of heritage steam engines, No. 1089, or “Bety” the BB18 ¼ and classmate No. 1079, arrived at Roma Street to a packed platform of fascinated railfans, young and old.