The Railroad Museum at Ardenwood

We would share this opportunity to support Swanton Pacific Railroad.

Today we want to stand in support of Swanton Pacific Railroad, and all of those who have been displaced during these current fires. Swanton Pacific is a historic 1/3 scale railroad using the steam locomotives and equipment from the 1915 PanamaPacific International Exposition Overfair Railway. The railroad is owned by Cal-Poly and run by volunteers and students. Tragically the railroad and equipment has been lost and damaged due to the current fires.... We also want to show our support to Roaring Camp Railroads who is also in the danger zone of the fires. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those effected by the fires. Photos from Kevin Painchaud

During the down time our volunteers have been working on special projects! One of which is our MoW Tool car. This will help us significantly with track repair and new track construction. Thank you to all the volunteers that help build and rehabilitate this car!

SPECIAL NOTICE: Due to the guidelines in place, trains rides at Ardenwood will not re-open until the 6-foot social distancing requirement has been lifted. Our narrow-gauge railroad cars (narrow gauge track is 3’ wide, versus 4’8-1/2 wide for standard gauge track) were built in the 1800s and the cars are smaller and narrower than a regular train car (only being about 8' wide on the exterior). This would mean that passengers and train crew members on the coaches would be put ...in a very close proximity each other while riding the train. Because of this we would not be able to satisfy the the social distancing requirements needed to maintain a safe enviroment for the passengers and our crew members. The decision was made not to re-open until the social distancing requirement is lifted. It is unlikely that any large events will be permitted this summer, therefore special events for 2020 have also been cancelled. The cancelled events include Railroad Adventure Day on June 20, Railroad Adventure Day on August 8, and Rail Fair on the 3-day Labor Day weekend. (We will resassess Haunted Railroad in August when more information is available.) We are in constant communication with Ardenwood’s staff, and working together to have a safe reopening. During the months of down time, our CMO has been doing maintenance work on the engine, cars, and some special projects. We will be ready to go just as soon as it’s safe! We hope to all see you soon at the station, and remember to stay safe! For more information about the Railroad Museum at Ardenwood visit: http://www.spcrr.org For up-to-date closure information for Ardenwood Historic Farm visit: http://www.ebparks.org/coronavirus

To prevent the spread of COVID-19 the Train and Ardenwood Historic Farm will remain closed until further notice. For up-to-date closure info visit: http://www.ebparks.org/coronavirus

The South Pacific Coast RR built a small station for Clara Patterson in the late 1800s. Clara planted a rose bush so the roses would climb up the side of the little station. The rose bush is still there! Next time you drive into Ardenwood, look on your left just before you get to the sharp right turn. There’s a chain link fence between the road and the current-day UP tracks.

Last week one of our members took a trip to look at Southern Pacific 2479 Steam Locomotive. It happened to be one of thier workdays when our member visited and some of the work day crew took the time and generously gave a tour of the locomotive and equipment. The engine is part of California Trolley & Railroad Corp. who also run the Trolley Barn in History San José. We have long ties with the CTRC. Early on, we acquired pieces of a horsecar, mostly a decaying roof and some pannels. We then gave it to CTRC and they were able to completely rebuild the coach with what few pieces we gave them! That horsecar is still on display! If you ever get the chance, show them your support, give them a visit! For more information on the locomotive, the horsecar, and more visit: ctrc.org

There has been a lot going on during our off-season at the park. One of the projects our volunteers have been working on is removing the road chassis from the Oakland Horsecar. The car has been sitting on this chassis since we had acquired it as it was used during BART's grand opening in 1970. Our members saw it fit to remove the road chassis and place it directly on a MoW flat. This makes it safer and easier to move the coach around the barn for better storage.

Thing's have been pretty quiet on the page recently. We've been busy working on getting things at the museum in working order. One of the off season projects we have been working on is changing the poweplant to the Whitcomb locomotive. We hope to give all of our equipment the TLC it needs this off season.