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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

August 1998
Transportation Museums and Attractions

Train Rides

Riding the Rails Brings History to Life

Not all historic trains are part of museums. Many venerable trains are still carrying passengers, clickity-clack, on pleasure jaunts through redwood forests, past meadows, mountains, wineries and historic towns, and through the streets of downtown San Francisco and San Jose.

In the East Bay, the 12-mile-long Niles Canyon Railway operates restored steam engine trains from Sunol to the historic town of Niles along the final section of the Transcontinental Railroad, completed in 1869. Passengers can ride in open rail cars or enclosed coaches while rolling through the picturesque hills and listening to knowledgeable volunteers from the Pacific Locomotive Association relate the colorful history of West Coast railroading.

Nearby in Ardenwood Historic Farm in Fremont, the Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources operates the reputedly sole remaining horse-drawn railroad in the world on one mile of track. Two well-fed draft horses supply power for restored or replicated 100-year-old railcars that serve as transportation around the 200-acre, working farm.


Old steam engine No. 45 huffs and puffs as it pulls a Skunk Train full of passengers through meadows and redwood forests. (California Western Railroad)

In Mendocino County, the California Western Railroad's Skunk Train, still a working, logging railroad, carries riders 40 miles on festive, open-air trains, powered by steam or diesel locomotives or original gas-powered motorcars, through the redwoods between Fort Bragg and Willits, with a refreshment stop midway at North Spur. For $100, one passenger per trip gets to ride in the locomotive with the engineer.

Other recreated railroads offer entertainment along with a taste of timeless train travel. The Yolo Shortline Railroad will arrange a train robbery during the course of a 28-mile round trip between Woodland and West Sacramento. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow-Gauge Railroad offers barbecues as part of steam train excursions through the redwoods, while the narrow-gauge Santa Cruz, Big Trees & Pacific Railway Company runs steam and diesel trains from the Felton depot to downtown Santa Cruz, where riders can visit the boardwalk before the return trip. For upscale, nostalgic train rides, the Napa Valley Wine Train serves four-course meals on a three-hour rolling trip past Napa wineries on elegantly refurbished Pullman coaches.

Entertainment aside, it's still possible to commute on historic transit vehicles. In San Francisco, the Muni Railway's ever-popular cable cars carry tourists and residents alike up and down the city's hills, clanging victory for surviving 125 years. And the Muni's F line runs carefully restored, 1930s-era electric streetcars along Market Street. Four of the 17 F-line cars were part of Muni's original trolley fleet, while the others hail from cities as far away as Moscow, Milan and Melbourne. By late 1999 The Embarcadero will have F-line trolleys running north to Fisherman's Wharf and some time in 2000, a historic E line may run south to the new San Francisco Giants baseball park.

In the South Bay, San Jose Historic Trolleys operate seasonally on a loop through the downtown center plaza, carrying riders to work, shopping and entertainment destinations.

- Marjorie Blackwell (with Caitlin Roper)

 

 

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