|
Welcome! My name is Michael Hawkins. I have been interested (you could say it
has become a passion) in the history of the Western Pacific since 1974, relatively late in their history.
Before that, I was interested in the
Southern Pacific and the Burlington Northern. I have been modeling the
Western Pacific Railroad for about 10+ years and collecting as much information
on the railroad as I possibly can. I do not have much, but will be happy
to share what I do find as I find it.
My goal is to help preserve the understanding,
history, and importance of the Western Pacific Railroad. I will try and
do this by sharing information with those interested. I have been a member
of the Feather River Rail Society (FRRS) for many years (no I was not an
original) and I strongly support their preservation activities. Their efforts
have resulted in the preservation of many pieces of the Western Pacific
and their related railroads. They have also played an important part in helping
other rail historical associations in their efforts to preserve rail history.
As you will notice, I am big fan of the EMD GP20
locomotive. Western Pacific received one of the first production units
of this model and it is now preserved at the Feather River Rail Society's
museum, The Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, CA. This model
has been labeled as the start of the new generation of motive power for
diesel locomotives. You will find on these pages, the history of the EMD
GP20s as well as the history of the Western Pacific GP20s. The goal of
this web site is to preserve the history as well as tell the story of these
historic locomotives.
These pages will change as new information and photographs are found, so stop by every now-and-then to see what is new. I am always open
for new information that you may want to share, changes to items that I have, or just want to talk about the Western Pacific; so please contact me through the link on the
left side of the page.
For more information on the Western Pacific Railroad
Museum at Portola or the Western Pacific Railroad Historical Society, please
visit the Feather River Rail Society's official web site (click on icons above). It is a must for those with an interest in the Western Pacific
Railroad. You may want to become a member of the Society and help preserve
the history of the Western Pacific Railroad and get involved with the
many activities that are going on at the museum.
If you have ever wanted
to be an locomotive engineer, you might give their "Run-a-Locomotive" program
a try; you will get expert education in the proper ways to run a locomotive
and then you become the engineer.
|
