Announcement Email

As this page was developed from an email, all the links in the body of this page open in a new tab.

May 9, 2025

Content

2025 Railroad Festival Participants

Here are our confirmed 2025 Participants (so far): If your organization would like to Participate, contact the Conductor@CCRRF.com. We must have confirmation of Participation by July 15 in order to be on this year's poster.

Reminder of Upcoming Events

Oceano Depot Author Reception/Signing May 17

There will be an author's reception and book signing event at the Oceano Depot Museum & Community Center on Saturday, May 17, 2025, from 11AM to 3PM. They will be open on Sunday also from 12PM to 3PM. Food, special program, exhibits and artwork of Elwood and the Dunites will be on display. All the Oceano books will be available along with other items in the gift shop.

UP1616 "Lincoln Locomotive" Rolled Out April 30

On April 30, 2025, the Union Pacific Railroad rolled out the newest member of their Commemorative Fleet: UP1616 "Lincoln Locomotive." The event took place at the UP's Jenks Locomotive Shop in North Little Rock, Arkansas, where the work was accomplished. The locomotive will "run around" the UP system as an ambassador for the railroad and in honor of our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. From the UPRR Facebook page: "Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act in 1862, creating Union Pacific and unleashing a new era of economic prosperity with the construction of the transcontinental railroad network. Today, railroads remain at the heart of the U.S. economy and touch nearly every industry including automobiles, chemicals, energy, agriculture, metals, minerals, forest products, consumer goods and more." During the ceremony, this Lincoln quote was shared from Lincoln's very first political announcement in New Salem, Illinois on March 9, 1832: "No other improvement that reason will justify us in hoping for, can equal in utility the rail road. It is a never failing source of communication, between places of business remotely situated from each other." See UP's post: Union Pacific Unveils Commemorative Lincoln Locomotive No. 1616 with First Trip Planned in May.

May 10 is National Train Day

Saturday, May 10, is National Train Day! Go visit your favorite train-related spot. Here's a list of options in our area and/or within driving distance of SLO/SB County: Area Railroading. At least grab a meal at the Rock & Roll Diner or Grover Station Grill. Maybe do a little wine tasting celebration at Cypher Winery (in Paso Robles Historic Train Depot, trackside) or Autry Cellars (shoot for mid-afternoon to see trains along the mainline and planes on final approach to the SLO airport) or Pomar Junction Vineyard & Winery (rail-themed). There are three Amtrak trains that are scheduled to go by the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum between 3pm and 4:15pm. These three trains will also go by the Oceano Depot / Museum as well (at +/- 30 minutes, of course). May 10 of 1869 was the day of the Golden Spike Ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah (a Territory at the time), marking the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad when the Union Pacific Railroad (from the East) and the Central Pacific Railroad (from the West) met up.

KEYT Covers SMVRR/Omni-Trax Agreement

KEYT Television recently ran a segment about the partnership agreement between the Santa Maria Valley Railroad (SMVRR) and Omni-Trax. Technically, the agreement is between Omni-Trax and the company that owns the SMVRR called the Coast Belle Rail Corporation. The segment aired April 17th; here's the KEYT-TV segment.

RailRat.net: Real-Time Amtrak Tracking

Ever wonder if the Surfliner was getting into SLO on time? RailRat.net is a handy way to find out. Yes, Amtrak can provide that information, too, but here's an alternative you might find handier. I find it useful for determining if it's time to go look at the SLO Railroad Museum webcam for an approaching or departing train. Of course, there are all the caveats: not affiliated with Amtrak, no guarantees are made as to accuracy, timeliness or completeness of the data shown, and use at your own risk. Enjoy! Could come in handy if you're out chasing trains on National Train Day...

Norgrove Railway: Firing Up the "Buckeye"

Check out Mike Massee's 2022 video of Norgrove Railway's "Buckeye" (1935 Orenstein & Koppel 0-4-0 steam locomotive) being fired up on the 600mm gauge Norgrove Railway in Arroyo Grande, CA: Firing up and running "Buckeye" O&K 0-4-0 Steam Locomotive!.

UPHS Convention Sept. 17-20, Silvis, IL

The Union Pacific Historical Society (UPHS) will hold its National Convention September 17-20, 2025, in Silvis, Illinois. Silvis is where historic UP equipment is under restoration at the Railroading Heritage of Midwestern America (RRHMA). The banquet presenters will be retired UP executives Mike Hemmer and Tom Haley talking about UP's 1997-1998 service crisis and the efforts to quell it.

SPH&TS Convention: Tucson, Arizona, Oct. 15-18

The 2025 Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society's (SPH&TS's) Annual Convention will be held October 15-18, 2025. It will be held at the Doubletree by Hilton Tucson Reid Park in Tucson, Arizona. The convention will include a Model Contest, a Railroad Prototype Meet, Vendors, "Models, Dioramas & Photographs," and a special full-day trip on the 15th to the Port of Tucson, the SP/Amtrak Train Station, and a walking tour of the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad (EP&SW) Station. The EP&SW station is also where the SP Hospital site is located.

Amtrak Features Guadalupe / Dunes

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner recently featured the City of Guadalupe and the nearby Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, a National Natural Landmark, in their advertising. Check it out on their website: Gateway to murals and the Dunes.

Family Multi-Generation G-scale Railroad

Garden Railroading News (GR News) recently ran a fascinating article about a multi-generation family garden railway in Sheridan, CA (about 35 miles north of Sacramento): Family Multi-Generation G-scale Railroad, the Sampson Family (pp. 9-13). Your editor had the great fortune of being involved with a 4-generation family g-scale railroad at three different home locations in SLO County. It was called the Pacific Bill and Jamie Railroad (PB&JRR) serving PB&J sandwiches at all the open houses.

Santa Susanna Depot Swap Meet & Open House

The Santa Susanna Depot will hold three more Swap Meets and Open Houses in 2025: May 18, August 24, and November 2. The Swap Meet runs from 8am to 11am and the Open House from 11am to 4pm. The Santa Susanna Depot is located just under a 3-hour drive from SLO in Simi Valley and is well worth stopping by. Much like our own Oceano Depot, they've got outdoor and indoor displays as well as a 53' x 25' model railroad layout of the area. The depot is located along the mainline where Surfliners, Starlights, Metrolink, and some freights go by.

"Hoppy Trails" by Rail

Check it out: Hoppy Trails: A Train Brewery Tour Through California's Best Coastal Breweries via Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner.

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 Rail-Related News/Event Promoted?
It's Free!

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 about any organization at any time throughout the year). Email the details to: addevent@ccrrf.com. The next issue will likely be in a month or so. We have about 940 subscribers and about 1500 Facebook followers.

Want to Subscribe? It's Free!

If you want to be subscribed to this Announcement Email list, go to our Contact/Subscribe page. It's free.