Central Coast Railroad Festival - 5/10/2024 E-blast

Announcement Email

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May 10, 2024

Content

Want Your News/Event Promoted?

Do you have a Central Coast rail-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.

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, please connect with us via the Contacts page.

CCRRF.com Website Revamp

The Central Coast Railroad Festival website (CCRRF.com) is currently offline as it's undergoing a total revamp. Well, maybe not everything, but it's definitely getting cleaned up. Should be back online by the end of the month. In the meantime, feel free to contact us by email at Webman@CCRRF.com and/or visit the Festival Facebook page.

New Location for Friends SMVRR Gala

This year's Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad (SMVRR) Gala on May 18, 2024, will be held at a new location: the Dominion Barn at U-Pick Blueberries, 3665 Dominion Road, Santa Maria. This location is on the east side of town very close to the Right-of-Way of the Eastern Division of the SMVRR and offers a panoramic view of the valley. If you come early you can even pick blueberries. Details are on the Gala webpage. The deadline to RSVP is Tuesday, May 14th.

Halter Ranch Railroad Publicly Available

The Halter Ranch Estate Railroad (Paso Robles) is now available to the public (non-members). One-hour trips are offered at 11:30am and 1:30pm on Saturdays and Sundays from May 25th until November 3rd. Details are on the ticketing webpage. Scroll down to "Halter Ranch Railroad - Grand Vineyard Tour" and "- Caboose."

Best of the West Antique Show
at the Historic Santa Margarita Ranch

The Best of the West Antique Equipment Show will be held at the Historic Santa Margarita Ranch May 24-26, 2024. From the website: "Get an up-close and hands-on look at antique equipment, including: tractors, engines, cars, steam trains, airplanes, and much more. Hosted at the historic Santa Margarita Ranch on California's beautiful central coast, this unique event is fun for the whole family!" Train rides on the Pacific Coast Railroad are also available (separately ticketed).

Oceano Depot: Book Signing June 15

SAVE THE DATE! June 15, 2024. At the Oceano Depot / Museum. Book signing by James Cain on the new book about Ella Young. Using transcripts from interviews James did with Gavin Arthur, the Grells, and others.

Christmas at the Ranch, Tickets On Sale Now

Tickets are on sale NOW for Christmas at the Ranch! From their website: "The Santa Margarita Ranch hosts "Christmas at the Ranch" complete with the enchanting Pacific Coast Railroad's Jingle Bell Express. Visit Santa's Barn to sip hot chocolate and sit with Santa! Be spellbound by the magic show with Andy Morris! Step aboard and make memories with the whole family with this one-of-a-kind Christmas experience..." This event sells out quickly.

May 11 is National Train Day

TOMORROW is National Train Day, May 11th! Any self-respecting railfan or self-avowed train nut should be doing something train oriented. Let us know what you're doing (or did) by emailing your story to: Conductor@CCRRF.com. We'll share some stories in the next Announcement Email. National Train Day is held each year on the Saturday closest to May 10th. May 10th is the anniversary of the Golden Spike at Promontory, Utah which marked the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. Visit this National Train Day webpage.

New Times SLO:
Rail Excursions through Wine Country

New Times SLO ran a story on April 18, 2024: "Rail excursions through Central Coast wine country spotlight sips and scenery." The article talks about two organizations offering such trips: the SLO Railroad Museum and Halter Ranch Estate. Read the complete article.

Last Chance:
HO Scale Gold Coast Modular Railroad

The Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard will be closing for good in July. This means the HO Scale model railroad by the Gold Coast Modular Railroad Club has to find a new home. The layout is about 1750sf and includes SP, WP, BN, and Amtrak trains. The Museum will continue to be open on weekends 10am to 4pm until July 7th. If you happen to know of a possible new home for their layout, let them know: info@gcmrc.org.

Photo References for Model RR Scenery

Mike Massee has made available a series of photos of natural rock formations and other natural habitats to use as references for your model railroad layout. Currently he has: Vasquez Rocks County Park natural area mid-spring; Tehachapi summer; and Durango and Silverton fall colors, Animas Canyon, and San Juan Mountains. Go to his photo webpage.

Garden Railroad Celebrates 100th Anniversary

The Fairplex Garden Railroad will be 100 years old at this year's Los Angeles County Fair!

Handcar Tours in Marina, CA

Take a ride on a Railbike or a Handcar at Handcar Tours. They offer 1.5 hour guided handcar and electric rail bike tours across railroad tracks through Fort Ord Dunes State Park (15 minutes north of Monterey). You may recall that Gary See hosted a Parlor Car Chat about riding handcars at the Skunk Train (Fort Bragg area). Watch the Chat video.

Rail Fair at Ardenwood May 25-27

The full name of the location is Ardenwood Historic Farm Regional Park and is located in Fremont, CA (about 3 hours north of SLO). Big trains! Medium trains! Small trains! The event will include Bay Area Garden Railroad Society Live Steam Railroad, California Central Coast On30, Diablo Pacific Shortline Railroad, Golden State Toy Train Operators, Train Rides, Live Music, Toddler Trains, Train Book Library, Historic Railroad Cars, and Family Activities. Details are on their event webpage. It all started with the South Coast Pacific Railroad (SPCRR) which formed in 1876 as a competitor to the Southern Pacific for hauling strawberries. The SPCRR ran from Oakland to Santa Cruz. It's no coincidence that the Railroad Museum at Arden has a website address of SPCRR.org.

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.

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