The California State Railroad Museumorchestrated the so-called ‘Great Train Robbery’ whereby the Chapter’s gift of 30 locomotives and cars in total was ‘relocated’ from the

Japan Railway & Transport Review 31 • June 2002

Heritage Railways (part 2)

Feature

4 Copyright © 2002 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

The California State Railroad Museum

Stephen E. Drew, Kyle W. Wyatt and Catherine A. Taylor

Widely regarded as North America’s finest and most-visited railroad museum, CSRM is located in OldSacramento. Here, a uniformed docent talks to visitors in front of an 1875-vintage North Pacific Railroadlocomotive, Sonoma, and its train of 19th century passenger coaches. (CSRM)

Introduction

This article describes what we believe isone of the largest and most ambitiousrailway preservation projects underwayin the Uni ted S ta tes today—thecompletion of the California StateRailroad Museum (CSRM) and thepreservation of the Southern PacificRailroad’s Sacramento Shops (SP Shops).We will provide a behind-the-scenes lookat this project with a description of its

history, accomplishments, philosophy,and vision.We will begin with an overview of theCSRM as it exists today—its collections,facilities and programs. We will thendiscuss the history of the SP Shops in orderto provide a context for understandingwhat we hope to accomplish. Finally, wewill explore the unique public–privatepar tnership that i s underway inSacramento to preserve and develop theSP Shops including the final phase of theRailroad Technology Museum.

Early History of CaliforniaState Railroad Museum

The CRSM is an ambitious, multi-phaseproject of California State Parks—we areone of some 250+ units of the CaliforniaDepartment of Parks and Recreation. Wearrived in the railway preservation fieldin 1969 when the Pacific Coast Chapterof the Railway & Locomotive HistoricalSociety began presenting their historiccollection of locomotives and cars to theState of California. The Pacific CoastChapter was organized in 1937 in the SanFrancisco–Oakland Bay Area where theybegan col lec t ing h i s to r ic s teamlocomotives and rolling stock. Their firstacquisition was the 1875 Virginia &Truckee (V&T) switch engine named theJ. W. Bowker after the V&T’s reveredMaster Mechanic. Over the next 30years, the Chapter collected some 30locomotives and cars dating from 1873to 1954. The Chapter operated manypieces of the equipment on fund-raisingexcursions with the hope of one daydeveloping a major railroad museum inthe Bay Area. But the politics andfunding were not to be. Frustrated byattempts to develop their own museum,the Chapter made a magnanimous gift ofthe core of their collection of locomotivesand carriages to the State of California.Overnight, the State was thrust into therailway preservation movement.

Key visionary—William PennMott, Jr.The visionary who accepted this gift forthe State was the late William ‘Bill’ PennMott, Jr (1910–92)—Director of theDepartment of Parks and Recreation inthe administration of then GovernorRonald Reagan, and who was laterappointed Director of the US NationalPark Service after Reagan was elected USPresident. Mott had the vision toappreciate what a major railroad museumcould mean for California’s State Park

Japan Railway & Transport Review 31 • June 2002 5Copyright © 2002 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

System in California’s capital city ofSacramento.

Why Sacramento?Ear ly researchers on the projectrecommended Sacramento as thelocation for the state railroad museum.Sacramento is indeed historic soil onwhich to locate the facility—the firstrailroad in the state ran from Sacramentoto the nearby community of Folsom;ground was broken at Sacramento forconstruction of the western part of theTranscontinental Railroad; and the largestrailroad industrial complex west of theMississippi River has been located fordecades at Sacramento. While the staterailroad museum might enjoy morevisitors had it been located in SanFrancisco, Los Angeles or San Diego,Sacramento was the birthplace ofrailroading in the state and the mostappropriate place historically. Mottorchestrated the so-called ‘Great TrainRobbery’ whereby the Chapter’s gift of30 locomotives and cars in total was‘relocated’ from the Bay Area and moved90 miles inland to Sacramento.

Development of OldSacramento State Historic Park

Old Sacramento State Historic Park wasin its embryonic stages in the early 1960s.Old Sacramento was the birthplace ofSacramento—it was the furthest inlandriver port that would became the jumping-off point for California’s Gold Rush of1849. Redevelopment and preservationof the historic six-block district would bea joint venture between the City andCounty, through the Sacramento Housingand Redevelopment Agency; the State ofCalifornia, through State Parks, wouldcreate an anchor visitor destination withthe state railroad museum.

Political advocacyIn a political arena, competing projects

often succeed not just on their merits butbecause they have a strong and activepolitical constituency. California’srailroad museum is no exception. DrDenny Anspach was one of the museum’sfounding fa thers who purposelyestablished his radiology practice atSacramento so he could be a staunchadvocate for the railroad museum. Otherearly supporters included State SenatorAlbert Rodda, Chairman of the SenateFinance Committee; Senator James Mills,p res ident pro tempore; and theS a c r a m e n t o Tr u s t f o r H i s t o r i cPreservation. The Sacramento Trusttogether with Southern Pacific Railroadand the Pacific Coast Chapter weresuccessful in hosting a dinner in 1970 forthen Governor Reagan onboard theMuseum’s private car The Gold Coast.After a memorable evening, the Governorwas motivated to sign the first fundinglegislation in support of developing theCSRM in Old Sacramento.

Museum’s Master Plan

Comprehensive master plans arewonderful documents. Hardly a weekgoes by that some recent visitor to ourmuseum doesn’t call with a complimentand ask how they might create a similarvisitor attraction in their community.There’s usually a long, initial silence onour end of the telephone. We will askwhat they have in the way of acollection—after all, museums exist onlyas they have collections which need tobe preserved, researched, conserved,exhibited and interpreted. Frequently thecallers will say they just plan to acquire afew old locomotives and cars—no smalltask at this advanced date in the railwaypreservation movement. Then we’ll moveon to discuss the value of having a plan!On many occasions, one feels good if20% or 30% of a master plan isaccomplished. But the time andimagination spent on our 1973 MasterPlan was well invested. The plan

Steam-powered excursion trains are a regular feature in Old Sacramento during the summer, thanks to theSacramento Southern Railroad, official excursion railroad of CSRM. Trains depart every weekend April–September from the reconstructed Central Pacific Freight Depot, taking passengers on a 6-mile roundtrip ridealong the banks of the Sacramento River. (CSRM)




envisioned several phases—three restoredor reconstructed buildings, i.e. the CentralPacific Railroad Passenger Station, theCentral Pacific Railroad Freight Depot, theBig Four and Dingley Spice Mill Buildings,an operating steam excursion trainopportunity, a major Museum of RailroadHistory, and a companion RailroadTechnology Museum. To date, nearly80% of our master plan has beencompleted and we are now poised tofinish the final phase of the project—theRailroad Technology Museum.

The Central Pacific RailroadPassenger StationThe first phase of the master plan—a typeof trial balloon—was the reconstructionof the Central Pacific Railroad PassengerStation on its historic site in OldSacramento. The building stood on thissite from 1867 until 1879 and was, forseveral years, the western terminus of thefirst Transcontinental Railroad in the USA.The Station was fairly accuratelyreconstructed with main waiting room,separate waiting room for ladies andchildren, ticket office, agent’s office,baggage room and the Silver PalaceEating Stand. It opened in 1976 underperiod gas lamps with seven of theChapter ’s locomotives and cars ondisplay. Volunteers and staff periodicallyopened locomotives and cars for closerinspection, offered tours and track-layingdemonstrations, and occasionally got ahead of steam up on an 1873 steamlocomotive. After 3 years, the initialvisitor levels exceeded projections bymore than 300%, helping to pave-the-way for state funding of additional phasesof California’s railroad museum.

The Big Four and DingleySpice Mill Buildings

The second phase of the project was theBig Four and Dingley Spice MillBuildings. The Nathaniel Dingley

Building is an historic 1854 structure inOld Sacramento. The Big Four Buildingsare the Huntington, Hopkins & CompanyHardware Store—operated by two of theprominent members of the CentralPacific’s Big Four—and the StanfordBrothers Store, which were togetherlocated at Second Street and ‘K’ Street andreconstructed in Old Sacramento in1980. The Huntington, Hopkins &Company Hardware Store is a 19thcentury hardware store featuring perioddisplays and selections of reproductionhardware products for sale. Upstairs,between the administrative offices of theRailroad Museum and the RailroadMuseum Foundation, is the RailroadMuseum Library. The Library consists ofthousands of books, several hundredthousand original ink on linen drawings,more than 2 million pictorial images, anda plethora of original corporate records,correspondence, maps, timetables, tradecatalogs and ephemera with an emphasison railroads and railroading in NorthAmerica. The lower floor of the Big FourBuilding comprises closed stacks plus24,000 ft2 off-site for management of thecollection. Since opening in 1981, theLibrary has become North America’slargest and foremost independentresearch center for railroad history andtechnology.

Equipment restoration programPlanning for the Museum of RailroadHistory began in earnest in 1976. Severalof the Museum ’s ear ly pieces ofequipment could most reverently bedescribed as chicken coops that werelargely being held together by termitesholding hands. Not finding anyone inthe business of accurately restoring 19thcentury locomotives and cars, theMuseum prevailed upon Southern PacificRailroad and set up shop in an old SPUnit Shop to painstakingly restore 20locomotives and cars between 1976 and1981. Careful research and industrial

archaeology uncovered up to 40 layersof paint, lettering, striping and varnish onolder pieces of equipment. Wooddimensions were duplicated exactly.Components were replicated in greatdetail. Scholarship and historicalaccuracy were the hallmarks of each ofthe restoration projects. The results havebeen truly miraculous! Oblivious to ourhard work, some Museum visitors todayask, ‘Where did you ever find all theselocomotives and cars in such greatcondition?’ If emulation is any measureof success, it is gratifying that so manyrailway museums around the world arenow adopting the intellectual andphysical approach that we incorporate inour equipment restoration program. Butthe real story of our hands-on equipmentrestoration and conservation programremains to be told in the new RailroadTechnology Museum.

Collection developmentLooking beyond the initial 30 pieces ofrolling stock, it was obvious that selectedacquisitions and concerted developmentof the collection would be prudent.Among selected acquisitions, projectpresentations saw the addition of theSanta Fe 2-6-2 No. 1010, SouthernPacific’s diminutive 4-2-4T No. 1 C. P.Huntington, and the famous SP cab-forward 4-8-8-2 No. 4294 from the Cityof Sacramento.In the mid 1970s, the Museum hadseveral dozen full-s ize pieces ofequipment but lacked the myriad ofsmaller three-dimensional artifactsneeded to carry key interpret iveexhibits—the bells, buttons, badges,tickets, tokens and other paper andhardware artifacts. Initially, the Museumpublished and distributed thousands ofbrochures convincing collectors,railroads, employees, dealers andrailroad families why they should presentcherished heirlooms to the Museum forpermanent preservation and possible


display. Fortunately, it is no longernecessary to publish such brochures—theMuseum of Railroad History today is itsown best salesman as it informs, educatesand stimulates visitors to inquire aboutdonating several hundred collectionsannually. Donated items range from singlesheets of paper to entire truckloads ofcollections. The western railroads havebeen generous in sharing their expertise,facilities, artifacts and even personnel—itis a close working relationship that Museumstaff work diligently to cultivate andmaintain. Today, approximately 5% of thecollection is on display at any one time.The remainder is housed off-site—awaitingfunding for additional exhibit opportunitiesin the Museum of Railroad History and thenew Railroad Technology Museum.

May 1981 opening of Museum ofRailroad HistoryGround was broken for the new Museumof Railroad History in April 1978—justweeks before the passage of California’sfinancially limiting Proposition 13. The100,000 ft2 building would be the largestpu rpose -bu i l t r a i l r oad museumconstructed in the US. Nearly a year ofconstruction was invested drivingupwards of 1000 piles some 80 ft intothe ground to support the structure andanticipated displays. The architect wasvery sympathetic, picking up the railroadbridge or truss motif in the design of theMuseum’s roof trusses. The largest woodtruss spans 116 ft, has a 7" camber and isnot decorative—it actually is carrying theload of the roof.The first piece of equipment into thebuilding was a narrow-gauge freight train.With cribbing carefully designed for theMuseum’s second-floor gallery window,the locomotive, tender, box car, tank carand caboose were carefully lifted in bycrane and pushed into position on thenarrow-gauge trestle—24 ft above themain floor.Finally, after 3 years of actual construction,

12 years of planning by California StateParks, and more than four decades ofdreaming and planning by the Pacific CoastChapter, the third and most ambitious phaseof the CSRM to date—the Museum ofRailroad History—was opened to thepublic when California Governor JerryBrown officiated at the opening ceremonieson 2 May 1981.

Railfair Sacramento 1981

Such a grand event called for a grandcelebration and the Friends of theCalifornia State Railroad Museum—thepredecessor to the current MuseumFoundation—was organized by the lateEd Combatalade (1905–90). For ninedays in May 1981, Sacramento and theworld enjoyed a three-ring circusconsisting of the newly opened Museumof Railroad History, free public displaysof historic railroad equipment gatheredfrom throughout North America andincluding the operating replica ofStephenson’s Rocket from the NationalRailway Museum at York in the UK, andThe Song of the Iron Horse—an upbeatrailroad musical review using many of thevisiting locomotives and cars. This wasthe first large-scale gathering of railroadequipment and an associated railroadpageant since the great Chicago RailroadFair of 1948–49. When all was said anddone, nearly 100,000 visitors had touredthe Museum and the Sacramento Beenewspaper estimated that more than250,000 visitors had enjoyed the freeoutdoor displays.

Ongoing exhibit developmentA great museum is truly never complete.Since 1981, we’ve tried not to miss scoresof opportunities to rotate and changeexhibits—new reasons to bring visitorsback for another visit. Exhibits haveranged from interpretive displays ofseveral weeks like Black Hands: Iron

Rails and the Mexican American RailroadWorkers Exhibit to multi-year exhibits likethat of the Toy Train Operating Society.Our latest exhibition is a 5000 ft2 exhibiton the historic SP Shops.

Collection additionsSince 1981, we have also made selectedadditions to the Museum’s collections. In1986, Santa Fe approached the Museumto accept nine first- and second-generation diesel-electric locomotives,three steam locomotives and a doodlebugmotorcar. Today, the collection totals 214locomotives and cars larger than 18"gauge housed at Sacramento and ourancillary facility at Railtown 1897 StateHistor ic Park—90 miles away atJamestown, California.

Restoration programSince 1981, the Museum has returnedtwo steam locomotives and more than sixdiesel-electric locomotives to operation.Recent projects have included GraniteRock 0-6-0ST No. 10, which wasoriginally built for the US Army duringWWII and the Budd Cochiti dining carbuilt for the famous Santa Fe streamlineSuper Chief train in 1937, which hasbecome the centerpiece of the Museum’spopular Dinner in the Diner exhibit.

Recent acquisitionsRecent acquisitions include additions tothe papers of legendary TranscontinentalRailroad surveyor Theodore Judah(1825–63) including his personal goldscale and Sierra Nevada paintings by hiswife, Anna. A recent major addition tothe Museum Library is the photographand negative collection of the late LuciusBeebe (1902–66) and Charles Clegg(1916–79)—the Museum already exhibitsThe Gold Coast, their unique private carand the acquisitions continue.

Museum volunteersThroughout its growth and development,




the Museum’s primary labor forcecontinues to be volunteers who work inboth public and non-public positionsthroughout the Museum. Currently, thereare more than 800 volunteers, most ofwhom staff key interpretive areasthroughout the Museum like the RailwayPost Office Car, the St. Hyacinthesleeping car, the Cochiti diner, and whohelp make possible key outreachprograms such as Operation Lifesaver,Interpretive Handcar Program forschoolchildren, the annual US NationalHandcar Races, living history program,interpretation aboard Amtrak trains andthe Museum’s steam excursion trains atSacramento and Railtown. Others areactively involved in research, providingadministrative support, maintaining theMuseum’s right-of-way, and much more.

Sacramento Southern RailroadAfter two trial weekend operations in1982 and 1983 , t he Museum ’sSacramento Southern Railroad waslaunched in 1984. The Central PacificRailroad Freight Depot was constructedin 1986 as the northern terminus foroperation of excursion trains. Today theMuseum’s largely volunteer steamexcursion train program handles up to80,000 riders annually on a 7-mile, 45-minute round-trip ride from Sacramentosouth along the Sacramento River. Themaster plan envisions extending theoperation over the full 17 miles of theline to the ports of Freeport and Hood sothat passengers could travel one way bysteam train and the other by riverboat orpaddle-steamer.

Railtown 1897 State HistoricParkIn 1992, the Museum assumed day-to-day operating responsibility for Railtown1897 State Historic Park located in theCalifornia Mother Lode in the SierraNevada Mountains. This historicproperty is the closest to what Europeans

call a preserved railway. The site covers26 acres, and includes an historicroundhouse, stores dating from 1897, sixsteam locomotives, six diesels and morethan 40 passenger cars and freight cars.Steam excursions depart Jamestown onweekends from April through October.

Museum Today

The Museum continues in daily operationtoday—operated by California State Parksin a strategic partnership with theCalifornia State Railroad MuseumFoundation. It attracts more than500,000 vis i tors annually and isSacramento’s leading tourist attractionand one of the most visited railwaymuseums in the world. The largest singleg r o u p i s t h e s o m e 1 6 0 , 0 0 0schoolchildren who use the Museum asan extension of their classroom studies.A key partner with the Museum is the

California State Railroad MuseumFounda t ion which opera te s theMuseum’s stores and is an equal partnerwith the State in the daily operations. TheFoundation assists in the daily operations,handles the membership program, andhas made possible such key interpretiveevents as Railfair 1991 and Railfair ‘99.The Foundation is a vibrant partner withthe Museum as we look forward tocompleting the last and by far the mostambitious component of the MasterPlan—the Railroad Technology Museum.

The Historic Southern PacificRailroad Sacramento Shops

The Museum had long eyed the adjoiningSP Shops as a site for the RailroadTechnology Museum but the economics,politics and current rail operations madethis vision seem impossible. Shortly afterUnion Pacific (UP) acquired the SouthernPacific Railroad in 1996, UP concluded

Inside the roundhouse area of CSRM, guests are invited to step aboard several exhibits including a Pullman-style sleeping car complete with night-time lighting, motion and sounds, and a dining car filled with railroadchina. (CSRM)


that the Railroad Technology Museumcould be the highest and best use of thehistoric SP Shops that date to the 1860s.The SP Shops are indeed an historiccomplex where giant steam locomotivesw e r e b u i l t a n d d i e s e l - e l e c t r i clocomotives were later rebuilt. Clearlythey are the most appropriate site for theRailroad Museum’s final phase—theRailroad Technology Museum.

Sacramento and TranscontinentalRailroadShipment of goods in sailing ships fromthe east coast around Cape Horn toCalifornia took many months. Located farfrom the eastern centers of industry, thestrongly self-reliant California merchantsdecided to found a railroad and on 8January 1863, ground was broken on thelevee next to the Sacramento River inSacramento for the Central PacificRailroad, a company already recognizedby the US Congress as the western link inthe Transcontinental Railroad.Sacramento was already a majorshipping point for the region, withgoods and materials coming up river insteamboats and smaller sailing vesselsf r om the deep - s ea po r t o f S anFrancisco, making Sacramento thelogical starting point for constructiono f t h e w e s t e r n l e g o f t h eTranscont inenta l Ra i l road. Thecomp le t ed r a i l r oad s e r ved SanFrancisco directly (via a ferry fromOakland), but initial construction waseastward from Sacramento.Just north of downtown Sacramento wasa marshy area where the American Riverjoined the Sacramento River. This landwas acquired by the Central PacificRailroad as the site for its generalworkshops. Construction of permanentbuildings started in 1868 and expandedover the years to cover more than 240acres of land in the heart of Sacramento.The owners of the Central Pacific soonbegan acquiring ownership of other

California railroads. The most significantof these was Southern Pacific. Whileremaining independent companies,operations of the different lines werecoordinated. In 1885, a new holdingcompany called the Southern PacificCompany, was formed to control thevarious railroad holdings of the owners.Operating companies were variously soldor leased to the new holding company,including both the Central Pacific and theSouthern Pacific railroads. The SP Shopswere officially the Central Pacific Shopsprior to 1885, but became the SP Shopsin the reorganization.

Innovative leaderThe early complex was under theleadership of General Master MechanicA. J. Stevens (1833–88). Hired in 1870,he oversaw development of the facilityand many pieces of machinery ande q u i p m e n t w e r e d e s i g n e d a n dconstructed in the shops.Facilities included the erecting shop,boiler and tender shop (including ariveting tower), blacksmith shop, brassand copper shop, foundry, rolling mill,spring shop, car shop, planing mill, paintshop, 29-stall roundhouse, etc. Thesecovered the basic functions but expandedgreatly in size over the years.Under Stevens, the Central Pacific Shopsconstructed several series of locomotives,featuring unique design characteristicsdeveloped by Stevens and his team.Stevens was an innovator, working toadvance the steam technology of the dayand quick ly adopt ing impor tantinnovations f rom others as well .Locomotive construction at Sacramentorelied on the support of the railroadowners and was always influenced by thecost and availability of locomotives fromthe east-coast commercial builders.The earliest group of locomotives builtunder Stevens was 14 sturdy 4-4-0engines completed between 1872 and1874. One—V&T Railroad No. 18—is

preserved by the Nevada State RailroadMuseum in Carson City, Nevada. Whenthe cost of locomotives from commercialb u i l d e r s d r o p p e d , S a c r a m e n t oproduction was suspended temporarily.

Unique locomotive designsIn 1881, Stevens designed a 2-6-2Tlocomotive specifically to haul commutertrains around Oakland and Alameda inthe Bay Area. A total of seven wereconstructed in Sacramento in late 1881and early 1882. Central Pacific No. 233is a survivor from the original seven andhas been acquired recently by the CSRM.Between 1882 and 1885, Stevensproduced experimental locomotives totest some of his innovative ideas. Thefirst was Central Pacific No. 229, a 4-8-0completed in April 1882 for haulingheavy freight through mountains. It wasvery successful and between December1882 and January 1884, the CookeL o c o m o t i v e & M a c h i n e Wo r k sconstructed 24 to the same design for theSouthern Pacific. These were the onlyStevens-designed locomotives built by acommercial builder.Several features were characteristic ofStevens’ production locomotives in the1880s. Most notable was the Stevenspatent valve gear, a variation on theWalschaerts design adapted for separatelead and cut-off motion. Stevens alsoused exceptionally long cylinders inrelation to cylinder diameter. Forexample, the 4-6-0 cylinders had an 18"diameter with a 30" stroke. Thelocomotives also used radially stayedboilers instead of the almost universalcrown bar boilers common in Americanrailroading at the time.

Car department competing withcommercial buildersMaster Car Builder Benjamin Welch(1880–1913) directed operations in thecarriage department. Welch had beenone of the first workshop employees hired




by the Central Pacific in the early 1860sand continued as head of the car shopsuntil after the turn of the 20th century.The shops built a few passenger cars inthe late 1860s, including the business carthat carried the Central Pacific dignitariesto the Transcont inental Rai l roadCompletion Ceremony at PromontorySummit, Utah, on 10 May 1869. The carwas sold to V&T in 1875 and laterconverted into coach No. 17. Amazingly,it survives today in the collection of theNevada State Railroad Museum. Anothergroup of passenger carriages wasconstructed in the mid-1870s, butpassenger cars were generally purchasedfrom commercial builders.On the other hand, many head-end cars(baggage and postal) were built in theshops throughout the 19th century.Freight wagons were the bread and butterof car construction in both the 19th and20th centuries. The shops competed withcommercial builders for contracts tosupply Southern Pacific and there weremany production runs.

Organizing and Systematizing

Stevens died suddenly in early 1888 andhis successor, H. J. Small, was a muchmore conservative man. Where Stevenslooked for innovation and experimentedwith new designs, Small stuck with thetried and true designs, even returning tocrown bar boilers for new constructions.The building of new locomotives endedunder Small.If Small wasn’t a mechanical innovator,he was an organizer and systematizer.Under his leadership Southern Pacificdeveloped a set of Common Standards(which could be reasonably called theHuntington Standards in honor of thethen railroad president) for locomotives,cars, parts, structures, facilities, andalmost everything needed in running therailroad.

Harriman and Union Pacific gaincontrolC. P. Huntington (1821–1900), the lastof the founders of the Central Pacific andSouthern Pacific railroads, died in 1900and E. H. Harriman (1848–1909) gainedcontrol of Southern Pacific in 1901.Harriman was already president of theUnion Pacific Railroad and he unifiedoperations of the two railroads asAssociated Lines. Harriman was veryimpressed by the Southern Pacific’ssystem of Common Standards and it wassoon extended and expanded toencompass both the Southern and UnionPacific systems, commonly known as theHarriman Standard designs. Out of thisemerged a set of Common Standarddesigns for locomotives, passenger carsand freight wagons, most of which weredeveloped in the design offices of the SPShops.Harriman also initiated major expansionsand improvements of railroad equipmentand facilities. The SP Shops got theirshare of these expenditures. Most

significantly, a new, greatly enlargederecting shop was added to the west sideof the old erecting and machine shop,and the old erecting bays becameexpanded machine shop space.

Southern Pacific and UnionPacific splitHarriman died in 1909 and the USSupreme Court ordered the separation ofthe Southern Pacific and Union Pacificsystems in 1912. Nevertheless, the SPShops continued to expand with newfoundry and car shop facilities. Duringthe shortages of WWI, new locomotiveconstruction returned to Sacramento witha series of thirty-two 2-6-0, 2-8-0, 4-6-0,and 4-6-2 locomotives assembledbetween 1917 and 1920 from spares forold Harriman Standard designs.More new steam locomotives followedwith 32 new 0-6-0 switchers in 1919–23. These were followed in 1925–30 bythe largest locomotives ever constructedby the SP Shops—49 modern 4-8-2locomotives. By this time, the Shops haddeveloped into the largest verticallyintegrated industrial operations west ofthe Rockies. The Shops had long beenthe single largest employer in theSacramento area and few people werenot touched by their operation in someway or other.

Decline of SP ShopsThe 1929 Great Depression broughtmany changes to railroading and to theSP Shops. Many operations were closednever to reopen, al though basicoperations continued on a reduced scale.The last new steam locomotive—a large0-8-0 switcher—was completed in 1937,the previous one having entered servicein 1931.The late 1930s saw the introductionof diesel locomotives on the SouthernPacific. New development stoppedd u r i n g W W I I b u t t h e e n t i r elocomot ive shop opera t ion was

Inside the boiler shop at the SP Shops, a huge cab-forward steam locomotive is getting a completeoverhaul. This engine is virtually identical to the lastpreserved cab forward, Southern Pacific No. 4294,which today is displayed at the CSRM in OldSacramento. (CSRM)


revised and retooled between 1945and 1955 to service diesels insteadof steam. While many ancillary shopsclosed, the core locomotive and carfunctions remained.

GRIP ProgramFrom the 1970s, Southern Pacificdemonstrated its shop capabilities bylaunching the General Rehabilitation andImprovement Program (GRIP) , acomprehensive from-the-frame-upoverhaul and upgrade of older diesell ocomo t i ve s t ha t r enewed andrecapitalized them for many more yearsof service.Electrical systems were re-engineered tobring them up to then-current standards,and all mechanical systems wereremoved and rebuilt before reinstallation.GRIP continued into the early 1990s,working its way successively throughdifferent classes of locomotives.

Southern Pacific Purchased byDenver & Rio Grande Western

The 1980s were difficult times forSouthern Pacific with a failed merger withthe Santa Fe Railroad diverting resourcesand attention, followed by the effectivepurchase of the railroad by the owner ofthe much smaller Denver & Rio GrandeWestern (although the resulting companyretained the Southern Pacific name).With competitors merging to form larger,stronger companies, Southern Pacific’sposition became weaker and weaker.This was reflected in more deferredmaintenance and greatly reduced shopoperations. Added to the problems wasthe national trend to contract out morefunctions that had formerly been handledinternally. The operations of the SP Shopswere dramatically reduced and SouthernPacific began looking at other, non-railroad uses for the site’s 240 acres.

Union Pacific reacquiredSouthern PacificIn 1996, Union Pacific reacquired controlof Southern Pacific in a merger thatextinguished the Southern Pacific name.Union Paci f ic moved quickly torationalize its shops and the last operationwas transferred out of the SP Shops inDecember 1999. At last, the adjacentCSRM saw an opportunity to develop itslong-planned Railroad TechnologyMuseum in the historic SP Shops.

Railroad Technology Museumat Historic SP Shops

The Museum’s Master Plan envisionedtwo interlocking museums—one devotedto the social, political and economichistory of the railroad in California andthe western US; and the other devotedto the science and technology of therailroad industry.

Components of planThe plan for the Railroad TechnologyMuseum had three primary components.

First, it would provide a suitable facilityin which to conduct the ongoingrestoration and maintenance work. Thisfacility would be accessible to the publicthrough controlled environments andaccess with restoration and maintenancestaff demonstrating and explaining tools,materials and techniques.Second, it would provide high-quality,interactive exhibits interpreting railroadengineering and technology. Usingsectioned locomotives, scale models,interactive displays, oral histories, andmany other interpretive techniques, thepublic would be able to learn aboutissues such as s team and dieseltechnology, car design, track andstructures design, local labor history, theimportance of the SP Shops, and therelevance of railroading today in meetingmany of our transportation challenges.Third, it would provide much neededcovered storage for our non-exhibitedcollection and would allow public toursof the non-exhibited collection. Thecollection is huge (over 200 pieces)dating from the 1860s to the present

SP Shops workers paused from their labors for a lunch-time band concert inside the erecting shop on 3 July1920. Each SP operating division, from Portland, Oregon, to Algiers, Louisiana, had its own employee band.

(CSRM)




which must be rotated on and off display.Currently, our ability to do so is limiteddue to physical constraints and lack ofrestored equipment to put on display.The Museum would increase our abilityto ro ta te exhib i t s wi th res toredequipment, to operate more equipmentas it is restored, and to provide the bestpossible public access to the ongoingprocess. The goal is to rotate displaysmonthly and operate demonstrationequipment daily.

Site Selection and Pursuit ofNew Museum

Planning for the new museum began inthe mid-1980s following completion ofthe flagship Museum of Railroad Historyin Old Sacramento. Site selection beganwith an assessment of various sites nearthe Museum’s existing facilities in OldSacramento and along the Museum’srailroad right-of-way. At that time, theMuseum approached Southern Pacificabout use of the SP Shops. During mergerdiscussions between Southern Pacific andSanta Fe Railroad, acquisition of theshops appeared to be feasible but whenthe merger fell through, Southern Pacificwas not in a position to discuss theproject. It was clear that the SP Shopscould only be acquired by purchase fromSP, putting the price tag for the projectfar out of the Museum’s reach.Reluctantly, the Museum pursued otherpotential sites and settled on a bare 15-acre parcel nine blocks south of theexis t ing Museum and a long theSacramento Southern Railroad right-of-way. In the early 1990s, the Museumsecured a 99-year lease on the site fromt h e S a c r a m e n t o H o u s i n g a n dRedevelopment Agency at a cost of$1000 per year. By 1991, approximately$1.5 million had been invested in the siteto complete a feasibility study andpreliminary plans for construction of anew facility to be called the Museum of

Railroad Technology (MORT). The 1990srecession hit California particularly hardand many projects were scrapped. TheMORT project was put on indefinite hold,although several staff members tookevery opportunity to keep it alive andkicking.

Grasping the opportunityUnion Pacific’s 1996 acquisition ofSouthern Pacific presented a remarkableopportunity for the Museum to acquirethe SP Shops. The prospect of being ableto use these buildings to create an urbanmuseum complex contiguous with theOld Sacramento Historic District, as wellas to recreate a railroad experiencep r e s e n t e d a o n c e - i n - a - l i f e t i m eopportunity that the Museum could notallow to pass. Museum representativesmet with Union Pacific officials inPennsylvania in mid-1996 to discussabout acquiring the buildings.By mid-1997, the Museum was holdingregular meetings with Union Pacific todiscuss the potential acquisit ion.Architects and engineers were re-engaged to assist with planning andestimating the new museum at the newsite. While it would be wonderful to usethe seven buildings on the site, theestimated cost was between $45 millionand $90 million and was not feasible.The Museum had to prioritize its needsand determined that phasing in the entireproject over time is the most sensibleapproach. Initial efforts have focused onthe boiler shop and erecting shop as thecore facilities at a more modest cost of$25 mi l l ion . Other a s soc ia teddevelopments include a new MuseumStore, multi-purpose space, offices, anda library and archives building and arebeing funded separately.Negotiations with Union Pacific centeredaround transfer of the title to six or sevenstructures (and a land lease of sufficientlength) that remain standing in the 240-acre yard. The structures themselves

occupy approximately 40 acres withinthe yard. The Museum currently leasestwo structures—the boiler shop anderecting shop.

Development challengesWhile the SP Shops present a tremendousopportunity for the Museum, they are notwithout challenges. Of primary concernis that Union Pacific is in the process ofremediating the site under the directionsof the Department of Toxic SubstanceControl. Union Pacific is bearing theremediation costs which are estimated atover $100 million but the remediationwill not be completed until 2004–05.The Museum’s responsibilities withrespect to toxic remediation are limited.The site on which the Museum plans toplace the Railroad Technology Museumhas underground water reclamationissues which are being addressed byUnion Pacific and should not affectpublic access. However, there areadditional above and below ground toxicconsiderations that must be addressed bythe Museum, such as removal of leadpaint, and disturbance of contaminatedground in order to place new utility linesand sewers. Since the Museum willtrench only sewer and utility lines, thereare expected to be minimal costs toremediate only the trench areas.Other challenges relate to the financialburden of acquiring historic buildings,and the many unknowns associated withthe i r r e s t o r a t i on and on -go ingmaintenance. Clearly, we will not haveenough initial funds to rehabilitate allseven historic structures. It will beincumbent upon us to find suitablepartners for development. Our firstconcern has been to secure the site(primarily the boiler shop and erectingshop for our immediate needs), and tobegin evaluating them in terms of theirstructural integrity and other criticalmaintenance needs. Our next step willbe to acquire the buildings from Union


Pacific, thereby giving us maximumflexibility in how the project is financedand phased in over time.Another challenge is that Sacramento agood deal of inf luence over theredevelopment of the entire 240-acreyard. The buildings cover approximately40 acres in the southern part of the yardcontiguous with the historic SouthernPacific Depot built in 1926. The politicaldimension of the project cannot beoverstated. Several interest groups areactively lobbying Sacramento to hold offon any development of the yard to ensurethat the depot remains a depot andcontinues to be used for passenger services.

The Depot Debate

In the mid-1990s, the City of Sacramentoworked with Southern Pacific to createThe Railyard Specific Plan for futuredevelopment of the yard. The Plan calledfor the 1926 Depot to be adaptivelyreused for non-railroad purposes and fora new in te rmodal s ta t ion to beconstructed some distance away. Afterthe purchase of Southern Pacific byUnion Pacific and ensuing changes in thedowntown Sacramento area, the Plan isoutdated and no longer feasible. UnionPacific is amending the Plan for approvalby the City and a vital change isrelocation of the freight and passengermain line and construction of theintermodal station some 400 ft north ofthe 1926 Depot.The proponents of keeping the depotunchanged are lobbying hard to keep thetracks where they are. If the tracks arenot moved, the Museum’s free movementbetween its facilities in Old Sacramentoand the SP Shops would be severelyrestricted. Moving the tracks north is vitalto the Museum, Union Pacific and othertransport providers.

Partnership for preservation anddevelopmentTo promote the site preservation anddevelopment, the Museum has joinedwith Union Pacific and other transportproviders to form the SacramentoIntermodal Transportation Alliance (SITA)for promoting the northern trackrealignment and construction of the newintermodal station 400 ft north of theexisting 1926 Depot. The aim is to keepthe depot as the gateway to the newintermodal station and the RailroadTechnology Museum to the north. TheAlliance has since grown to include thelocal l ight rai l organizat ion, theSacramento Chamber of Commerce, theOld Sacramento Management Board, theSacramento Downtown Partnership, andmany others who are concerned aboutthe future of transport in the Sacramentoregion. Clearly, the Railroad TechnologyMuseum and its key location withinSacramento’s downtown developmentarea makes our membership of SITA andinvolvement in the associated localpolitics non-negotiable.

Alliance goalsThe goals of the Alliance are to:

• Ensure that the new development canaccommodate all transportationmodes;

• Revitalize the downtown area;• Link the intermodal area to adjoining

neighborhoods;• L i n k t h e i n t e r m o d a l s t a t i o n

themat ica l l y to the Ra i l roadTechnology Museum to the north andOld Sacramento historic district to thewest.

The S ITA p lan a l so focuses onconnectivity around the downtown area.Road links between our facilities in OldSacramento and the SP Shops, and thatprovide easy entry and exit from freewaysand other surface streets are critical todevelopment of the Railroad TechnologyMuseum. The plan focuses on strongpedestrian, bicycle, vehicle, and railaccess in and around the site, andpreservation of the 1926 Depot as thegateway to the entire development.

Museum track accessThe Museum i s an advoca te o fnorthwards relocation of the track inorder to achieve the level of track accessrequired to maintain current operations

Artist’s impression of the entrance to the proposed Railroad Technology Museum. To be located within theformer SP Shops complex, the Museum entrance is also expected to feature the relocated historic WaterTower—which once supplied the entire Shops complex—plus a local signaling facility known as Elvas Tower.

(CSRM)




Catherine A. Taylor

Ms Taylor is Director of the California State Railroad Museum. She is also currently Chairman of

the Sacramento Association of Museums. She is a graduate of the Museum Management Institute

and has a BA in history.

Kyle W. Wyatt

Mr Wyatt is Curator of Railroad Operations at the California State Railroad Museum. Prior to

joining CSRM, he was Curator of the Nevada State Railroad Museum. He has an MA in history.

Stephen E. Drew

Mr Drew is Senior Curator at the California State Railroad Museum where he has worked for 28

years. He is a graduate of the Museum Management Institute and has a BA in history.

(providing charters, handling visits byrolling stock, servicing customers at thesouth end of our right-of-way, moving inm a i n t e n a n c e e q u i p m e n t a n dacquisitions, holding Railfairs, etc.), toprovide access to Union Pacific andAmtrak main lines, and to ensure easyaccess to the SP Shops. An added benefitof this new access is the opportunity forseamless integration of heritage andmodern railroad operations—bothpassenger and freight. Comparingheritage and modern railroad operationsand the ability to see both at work is akey aspect of the Railroad TechnologyMuseum.

Financing

As mentioned earlier, financing the newfacility is a challenge. However, theMuseum has already secured $5 millionin project funding and there are numerousfunding sources available in the next year.In March 2002, a $2.6 billion Parks Bondwas approved by voters. Over $300million of the bond will be set aside forcultural development. Another initiativerelating to transportation funding ispossible in November. If that goesforward, the Museum will have a $7million funding line. In addition, morefederal funds are expected to be availableunder the Transportation EnhancementAct (TEA) and some will be available fortransportation museums.In terms of development of otherbuildings on the site of the SP Shops, theMuseum is seeking partnerships withother compatible museum projects. Themost promising candidates are theCalifornia Department of Transportationwhich is developing a 50,000 ft2 museumfocused on California’s transportationinfrastructure. Another candidate is theCity of Sacramento’s archives andmuseum facility focusing on local history.Both projects have ideal thematic

connections to the Railroad TechnologyMuseum and could develop a substantialpart of the SP Shops complex, therebyreducing our obligation to rehabilitate allseven structures.

ConclusionThe Railroad Technology Museum willbenefit the community in many ways.Children will be able to explore scienceand technology through hands on,interactive exhibits. The facility couldeas i ly suppor t curr iculum-basededucational programs for teenagers andyoung adults. Vocational educationprograms could be established to provideskills training and workforce re-entrypreparation. Ethnic diversity will behighlighted through ongoing study andexhibition focused on the thousands ofpeople who once worked in the shops.The Railroad Technology Museum is an

ambitious, but critically important projectin North American railway preservation.Acquisition and preservation of the SPShops preserves one of the mostimportant industrial heritage complexesin North America. In terms of local,regional and state-wide significance,preservation and reuse of the SP Shopswill allow us to interpret the railroad asone of the two most important historicalforces that shaped Sacramento, Californiaand the West (the other was the CaliforniaGold Rush).Our continued involvement with all theredevelopment partners and stakeholderswill be paramount in the years to come.

�

This article was first presented at the internationalconference ‘Slow Train Coming: Heritage Railways inthe 21st Century,’ held in York in September 2001.

Documents

The California State Railroad Museumorchestrated the so-called ‘Great Train Robbery’ whereby the Chapter’s gift of 30 locomotives and cars in total was ‘relocated’ from the