21st Annual
Behind-the-Scenes Tour
Presented by the California State
Railroad Museum and Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Report and Photos by Carl Morrison,
Carl@TrainWeb.com
(Double-click any
photo for a double-sized copy, click BACK in your browser to
return to this page.)
The 21st Annual
Behind-the-Scenes Tour at the California State Railroad Museum
and Railtown
1897 State Historic Park.
--CSRM 2nd Floor wooden caboose (Photoshop Rough Pastels Filter)
The Invitation said to be at the Museum
at 8 a.m. to board the bus for Railtown 1897. We had stayed at
the nearby Vagabond Inn, so we just walked through the first level of
the parking garage in front of the Inn and we were at the Museum at
7:50. Typical of rail fans, we all arrive early, it seems.
They already had the pastries, bagels, and coffee inside the side
entrance, so we enjoyed the early refreshments and we could use the
museum's restrooms. Soon the bus came and we departed at 8:30 for
the 2 to 2 1/2 hr. ride south east to Jamestown, CA. We watched a
video on the way about the Sierra Railroad. The day at Railtown
was called, Traveling Back in Time.
A quick trip
inside the Museum netted me some photos.
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No. 1 was unique without people around.
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Early morning refreshments.
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Our schedule for the day was:
8:30 - 11 Bus to Railtown
11:15 Start a 5-station tour of Railtown
Lunch
2:00 Train Ride
3:00 Bus back to Sacramento
5:30 End of the day.
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Our Behind-the-Scenes Tour at Railtown 1897
The Historic Sierra Railroad Shops and Roundhouse complex in
Jamestown - today preserved as Railtown 1897 State Historic Park - was
the operating center of the Sierra Railroad. These historic
structures, railroad equipment and grounds provide an accurate
portrayal of the steam railroading era in the region from 1897 through
1955. The Sierra Railway connected mining and timber industries
in rural Tuolumne and Calaveras counties with the rest of the state.
The property is now used as a state historic site and is used for
western movies. The steam engine No. 3 has starred in over 100
movies and television productions including High Noon, Back to the Future III,
Unforgiven, Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, Gunsmoke, Big Valley,
and Petticoat Junction.
Roundhouse (Photoshop film grain filter)
The excursion
train was already running under diesel power, not the steam power as
advertised.
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Four other
groups met at various shady spots on the grounds.
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I looked up,
and we were standing in the shade of a Tulip Poplar tree, the state
tree of my home state, Indiana.
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Coach No. 2901
Built by Pullman in 1910 for luxury
service on Southern Pacific trains such as the Overland Limited, the
car originally had an all wood body and underframe. It was built
with steel sides in the 1920s. Its last mainline use was on SP's
"Suntan Special" to Santa Cruz in the 1950s. The Sierra Railroad
purchased the car from the Central Coast Chapter of the National
Railway Historical Society and restored here at Railtown.
A barber chair!
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Hallway down one side.
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Parlour down the other side.
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Onboard food and drink preparation area.
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We walked past the entrances to the roundhouse to get to the next
station.
Hetch Hetchy No. 19
The first "track bus," the Hetch Hetchy No 19 could carry 13
passengers. It could run on track at speeds as high as 50 mph,
getting 16 miles per gallon. The track car was originally
decorated with red and black paint, ornamental tassels and gold
lettering and numbers. In 1920, the unique pony truck and rail
brakes were installed and a self-contained turntable was mounted by the
San Francisco Municipal Railway. With its own turntable under the
floor, the No. 19 could be jacked up and turned anywhere along the
railroad.
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Turntable under the No. 19
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A Model A next to No. 19 also had a turntable underneath.
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Turntable under the No. 8 Model A.
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Next Station, The Overhead Flat Belt Machine Shop
Decades, maybe centuries of shop dust.
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Engine Lathe
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Cob webs and California Poppies outside.
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Next Station: Master Mechanics' Office and Warehouse
This is the hub for the operations of the shops. It is used
today by our Railroad Restoration Lead worker, George Sapp, but the
historic features are carefully preserved, including notes on the walls
written by staff over the years. the warehouse still holds bins
of parts used for locomotives here at Railtown.
The tour director for the Mechanics' Warehouse said, "If part bins are
empty, that means we have equipment here that uses those parts, if a
part bin is full, we don't have anything that uses that part."
In the Office.
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I'm old enough to remember the Corona partable typewriter!
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The only claim
to fame of this vehicle is that John Wayne was pictured on it in a
movie.
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Next Station: A Caboose being restored.
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An older
caboose sits beside the one being restored, as we move on to the next
Station.
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Next Station: The modern shop where No. 3 is being rebuilt.
The 45-minute train ride leaves from the old Jamestown Station.
Have your
camera ready right at the start because the best scenery is as you
leave Railtown. The roundhouse and pond.
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The view of the
Roundhouse is excellent with the tracks leading to the round table.
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Along the way, the California poppies show well.
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Tommy joked
about our ride's stop, for the locomotive to run by, being a scenic
stop like the Grand Canyon. He said it was a working quarry.
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A speeder followed us out and back.
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No. 613 ran by our train to pull us back to town.
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This gives the term 'head light' new meaning.
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After the ride, I went back to the lunch area and thought I might
have missed it altogether. When I asked if anything was left,
that I'd
gone on the train, they said, "Sure." So I had a leisurely lunch
then, while the rest of the gang was on the train I walked the grounds
looking for final shots.
I found that I'd missed the Movie section:
Some final shots at Railtown 1897 caught my eye:
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Hand up your bib overalls, Clyde, it's quittin' time.
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It's time to lock up the Roundhouse and head for the next
Rail Adventure.
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