Announcement Email

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April 12, 2024

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2024 Festival Participants/Sponsors

Below is a list of confirmed Participants and Sponsors so far for the 2024 Central Coast Railroad Festival. If you or your organization is interested in participating, click the Contact page.

First Sunset Wine/Rail Excursion in May

The first SLO Railroad Museum Sunset Wine/Rail Excursion of 2024 is on May 18. From the webpage: "These excursions will depart from the SLO Railroad Museum at 11am taking a van to the Santa Barbara Wine Collective, arriving around 12:30pm. Following the roughly 1-hour wine tasting, participants will have free time until 5:30pm or so to visit Stearn's Wharf, cruise around more of the Funk Zone, explore lower State Street, etc. The Amtrak Surfliner will depart Santa Barbara Train Station just after 5:45pm and arrive in San Luis Obispo at about 8:45pm after enjoying a Sunset train ride along the Pacific Ocean." For more details and tickets, visit the .

Model Rail Days at Oceano Depot

The San Luis Obispo Model Railroad Association will be having Model Rail Days at the Oceano Depot two weekends starting TODAY: April 12-14 and April 19-21, each day from 10am to 4pm. Free admission!

Friends of SMVRR Gala May 18

From the Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad's website: "Join us for a fun filled evening and support the Friends as we continue our efforts to preserve the history of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad and its impact on the Santa Maria Valley. It will be held on Saturday, May 18th at 5:30 PM in the Fountain Pavilion at the Santa Maria Fair Park. The Santa Maria Valley Railroad will present the annual Public Safety Award and the Friends of SMVRR will present the annual G. Allan Hancock History Award." Details...

Norgrove Railway Hosts
Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways

Over the weekend of March 22-24, Norgrove Gardens Railway here in Arroyo Grande hosted a visit by the good folks from the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways located in the United Kingdom. From their website: "Outstanding scenery, comfortable carriages and historic steam engines await you here in the heart of Snowdonia. Glorious coastlines, ancient oak woodlands, mountains, rivers and castles, all beckon as you embark on your journey on our award-winning railways. With some of the most comfortable carriages on any preserved railway - standard or narrow gauge - you can step back in time to a more civilised age." During their stay at Norgrove, as many as three steam locomotives were running simultaneously on the mainline, including the O&K #8 mentioned in our last e-blast. English-crewed trains used English hand signals and American-crewed trains used U.S. signals. On Saturday, the U.S./English crews hosted the Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad for some great railroading fun.

Pacific Coast Railroad #2
Restored by Norgrove

Pacific Coast Railroad's (PCRR's) #2 steam locomotive was recently returned to the PCRR following a complete "makeover" at Norgrove Gardens Railway. For a few photos on Facebook, click here.

Jellybean Junction at
SLO Children's Museum

Jellybean Junction is a train-themed area found on the third floor of the SLO Children's Museum and is dedicated to their four and under friends. If you haven't been up there in a while, they've added some new toys for the little ones!

Vintage Traditions

In our last issue, we talked about the Swanton Pacific Railroad moving to the Santa Margarita Ranch under a new organization called the Overfair Pacific Railroad Society (OPRS). The owner of the OPRS equipment is Vintage Traditions, a local, charitable (501c3) organization. From their website: "our efforts are solely focused on acquiring and managing assets which will help us preserve the legacy of our collective past. Only through the strategic management of vintage yacht, railroad, and aviation assets will we be able to recreate the experiences of yesteryear for our current generation. And further, only through the appreciation of this current generation will we be able to preserve the past to better inform our future."

North SLO County Historical Museums

Your editor stumbled onto a handy website if you're looking for museums in the northern San Luis Obispo County area. Check it out: North SLO County Historical Museums. Maybe plan a trip alternating museums, wineries, and rail-related venues...

PCR Convention Offers Virtual Attendance

The Pacific Coast Region (PCR) of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) will be holding their 2024 Convention, The Tech Line, later this month, April 24-28, in San Jose, CA. Can't get up there? No worries, they're offering Virtual Attendance! Go here for Convention details. The Virtual Convention Fare is just $30 and includes clinics, contest room, online discussions, vendors, and prototype walk-alongs from Thursday through Saturday.

Amtrak to the CA Strawberry Festival

The California Strawberry Festival is at the Ventura County Fairgrounds May 18-19, 2024. And guess what, the Ventura Amtrak stop (Surfliner) is right across the street from the Festival entrance. On top of that, the Festival is partnering with the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner to offer families a special Kids Ride Free discount valid for one free child (ages 2-12) per full-fare adult ticket purchased. Amtrak details.

"Big Boy" in Roseville, CA July 12-13

Union Pacific Railroad's "Big Boy" #4014 will be in Roseville, CA on public display July 12-13, 2024. Details are available at Big Boy details. The "Big Boy" is based in Cheyenne, WY and only ventures out once or twice a year touring different parts of their territory each time. Catch it when you can!

Regional Garden Railroad Meet
San Diego, August 10-15

The San Diego Garden Railway Society (SDGRS) will host the 2024 West Coast Regional Meet, Saturday August 10th to Thursday August 15th. The self-guided tour will direct you to G-scale layouts all over the area. In addition, clinics and operating sessions will be offered by SDGRS members. Meet details. While you're there, you might also enjoy the Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park.

Railtown History Train April/May

From their website: "Come along for the ride as Railtown 1897 SHP and the California State Railroad Museum Foundation present the first ever History Train. Combining the beauty of the Gold Country with stories of the past brought to life by historical reenactors, this unique one-hour train ride is sure to delight the entire family." April 27/28 and May 26/27. Train details.

Local Railroaders Visited Reedley Railfest

There were a number of Central Coast Railroad Festival friends at the Reedley Railfest in March. Among these were the Pacific Coast Railroad Company, the Overfair Pacific Railroad Society, and Mike Massee. The Railfest was held at the 15"-gauge Hillcrest & Wahtoke Railroad in Reedley, CA. Mike posted a number of his photos from this event on Facebook.

Red Wagon Cafe in Shafter

If you find yourself in the Shafter area (just northwest of Bakersfield), you might want to check out the Red Wagon Cafe (two blocks off Highway 43 on Beech Avenue). It's a Pacific Electric Car (#00197) turned restaurant in 1943. It (re-)opened under new ownership just a few years ago and is again serving its Oklahoma-style cuisine. As of this writing, the Red Wagon appears open Tuesday-Friday, 7am-1pm. For more on railcar conversions to restaurants, including this one, read this PBS-SoCal article. And while in town, there's a Shafter Depot Museum a few blocks away.

Dreamstar Lines: SF-LA Overnight Rail?

Dreamstar Lines of Newport Beach has taken a step toward an overnight passenger train from San Francisco to Los Angeles via the Coastline Route by signing a "Collaboration" memorandum with Union Pacific Railroad. Read all about it here on SFGATE.com.

Area Railroading Opportunities

There's a plethora of railroading going on in our area (broadly speaking, in some cases). Check out this Index of Area Railroading. Be sure to check with any of interest to you to verify their open status and schedules.

Want Your News/Event Promoted?

Do you have a Central Coast railroad-related event or news item to add to our next broadcast email? It's free! And it doesn't have to be part of the Festival itself (could be any time throughout the year). Email the details to: addevent@ccrrf.com. The next issue will likely be in a month or so.

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