The California State Railroad Museum
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Feature Heritage Railways (part 2) The California State Railroad Museum Stephen E. Drew, Kyle W. Wyatt and Catherine A. Taylor history, accomplishments, philosophy, Early History of California Introduction and vision. State Railroad Museum We will begin with an overview of the This article describes what we believe is CSRM as it exists today—its collections, The CRSM is an ambitious, multi-phase one of the largest and most ambitious facilities and programs. We will then project of California State Parks—we are railway preservation projects underway discuss the history of the SP Shops in order one of some 250+ units of the California in the United States today—the to provide a context for understanding Department of Parks and Recreation. We completion of the California State what we hope to accomplish. Finally, we arrived in the railway preservation field Railroad Museum (CSRM) and the will explore the unique public–private in 1969 when the Pacific Coast Chapter preservation of the Southern Pacific partnership that is underway in of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Railroad’s Sacramento Shops (SP Shops). Sacramento to preserve and develop the Society began presenting their historic We will provide a behind-the-scenes look SP Shops including the final phase of the collection of locomotives and cars to the at this project with a description of its Railroad Technology Museum. State of California. The Pacific Coast Chapter was organized in 1937 in the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Area where they began collecting historic steam locomotives and rolling stock. Their first acquisition was the 1875 Virginia & Truckee (V&T) switch engine named the J. W. Bowker after the V&T’s revered Master Mechanic. Over the next 30 years, the Chapter collected some 30 locomotives and cars dating from 1873 to 1954. The Chapter operated many pieces of the equipment on fund-raising excursions with the hope of one day developing a major railroad museum in the Bay Area. But the politics and funding were not to be. Frustrated by attempts to develop their own museum, the Chapter made a magnanimous gift of the core of their collection of locomotives and carriages to the State of California. Overnight, the State was thrust into the railway preservation movement. Key visionary—William Penn Mott, Jr. The visionary who accepted this gift for the State was the late William ‘Bill’ Penn Mott, Jr (1910–92)—Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation in the administration of then Governor Ronald Reagan, and who was later appointed Director of the US National Park Service after Reagan was elected US President. Mott had the vision to Widely regarded as North America’s finest and most-visited railroad museum, CSRM is located in Old appreciate what a major railroad museum Sacramento. Here, a uniformed docent talks to visitors in front of an 1875-vintage North Pacific Railroad locomotive, Sonoma, and its train of 19th century passenger coaches. (CSRM) could mean for California’s State Park 4 Japan Railway & Transport Review 31 • June 2002 Copyright © 2002 EJRCF. All rights reserved. System in California’s capital city of Sacramento. Why Sacramento? Early researchers on the project recommended Sacramento as the location for the state railroad museum. Sacramento is indeed historic soil on which to locate the facility—the first railroad in the state ran from Sacramento to the nearby community of Folsom; ground was broken at Sacramento for construction of the western part of the Transcontinental Railroad; and the largest railroad industrial complex west of the Mississippi River has been located for decades at Sacramento. While the state railroad museum might enjoy more visitors had it been located in San Francisco, Los Angeles or San Diego, Steam-powered excursion trains are a regular feature in Old Sacramento during the summer, thanks to the Sacramento was the birthplace of Sacramento Southern Railroad, official excursion railroad of CSRM. Trains depart every weekend April– September from the reconstructed Central Pacific Freight Depot, taking passengers on a 6-mile roundtrip ride railroading in the state and the most along the banks of the Sacramento River. (CSRM) appropriate place historically. Mott orchestrated the so-called ‘Great Train often succeed not just on their merits but Robbery’ whereby the Chapter’s gift of because they have a strong and active Museum’s Master Plan 30 locomotives and cars in total was political constituency. California’s ‘relocated’ from the Bay Area and moved railroad museum is no exception. Dr Comprehensive master plans are 90 miles inland to Sacramento. Denny Anspach was one of the museum’s wonderful documents. Hardly a week founding fathers who purposely goes by that some recent visitor to our Development of Old established his radiology practice at museum doesn’t call with a compliment Sacramento State Historic Park Sacramento so he could be a staunch and ask how they might create a similar advocate for the railroad museum. Other visitor attraction in their community. Old Sacramento State Historic Park was early supporters included State Senator There’s usually a long, initial silence on in its embryonic stages in the early 1960s. Albert Rodda, Chairman of the Senate our end of the telephone. We will ask Old Sacramento was the birthplace of Finance Committee; Senator James Mills, what they have in the way of a Sacramento—it was the furthest inland president pro tempore; and the collection—after all, museums exist only river port that would became the jumping- Sacramento Trust for Historic as they have collections which need to off point for California’s Gold Rush of Preservation. The Sacramento Trust be preserved, researched, conserved, 1849. Redevelopment and preservation together with Southern Pacific Railroad exhibited and interpreted. Frequently the of the historic six-block district would be and the Pacific Coast Chapter were callers will say they just plan to acquire a a joint venture between the City and successful in hosting a dinner in 1970 for few old locomotives and cars—no small County, through the Sacramento Housing then Governor Reagan onboard the task at this advanced date in the railway and Redevelopment Agency; the State of Museum’s private car The Gold Coast. preservation movement. Then we’ll move California, through State Parks, would After a memorable evening, the Governor on to discuss the value of having a plan! create an anchor visitor destination with was motivated to sign the first funding On many occasions, one feels good if the state railroad museum. legislation in support of developing the 20% or 30% of a master plan is CSRM in Old Sacramento. accomplished. But the time and Political advocacy imagination spent on our 1973 Master In a political arena, competing projects Plan was well invested. The plan Copyright © 2002 EJRCF. All rights reserved. Japan Railway & Transport Review 31 • June 2002 5 Heritage Railways (part 2) envisioned several phases—three restored Building is an historic 1854 structure in archaeology uncovered up to 40 layers or reconstructed buildings, i.e. the Central Old Sacramento. The Big Four Buildings of paint, lettering, striping and varnish on Pacific Railroad Passenger Station, the are the Huntington, Hopkins & Company older pieces of equipment. Wood Central Pacific Railroad Freight Depot, the Hardware Store—operated by two of the dimensions were duplicated exactly. Big Four and Dingley Spice Mill Buildings, prominent members of the Central Components were replicated in great an operating steam excursion train Pacific’s Big Four—and the Stanford detail. Scholarship and historical opportunity, a major Museum of Railroad Brothers Store, which were together accuracy were the hallmarks of each of History, and a companion Railroad located at Second Street and ‘K’ Street and the restoration projects. The results have Technology Museum. To date, nearly reconstructed in Old Sacramento in been truly miraculous! Oblivious to our 80% of our master plan has been 1980. The Huntington, Hopkins & hard work, some Museum visitors today completed and we are now poised to Company Hardware Store is a 19th ask, ‘Where did you ever find all these finish the final phase of the project—the century hardware store featuring period locomotives and cars in such great Railroad Technology Museum. displays and selections of reproduction condition?’ If emulation is any measure hardware products for sale. Upstairs, of success, it is gratifying that so many The Central Pacific Railroad between the administrative offices of the railway museums around the world are Passenger Station Railroad Museum and the Railroad now adopting the intellectual and The first phase of the master plan—a type Museum Foundation, is the Railroad physical approach that we incorporate in of trial balloon—was the reconstruction Museum Library. The Library consists of our equipment restoration program. But of the Central Pacific Railroad Passenger thousands of books, several hundred the real story of our hands-on equipment Station on its historic site in Old thousand original ink on linen drawings, restoration and conservation program Sacramento. The building stood on this more than 2 million pictorial images, and remains to be told in the new Railroad site from 1867 until 1879 and was, for a plethora of original corporate records, Technology Museum. several years, the western terminus of the correspondence, maps, timetables, trade first Transcontinental Railroad in the USA. catalogs and ephemera with an emphasis Collection development The Station was fairly accurately on railroads and railroading in North Looking beyond the initial 30 pieces of reconstructed with main waiting room, America. The lower floor of the Big Four rolling stock, it was obvious that selected separate waiting room for ladies and Building comprises closed stacks plus acquisitions and concerted development children, ticket office, agent’s office, 24,000 ft2 off-site for management of the of the collection would be prudent.