Western Pacific Railroad Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Western Pacific Railroad Museum

WP FP7 805-A from the Western Pacific Railroad Museum, on display in Sparks, Nevada in 2004. This locomotive once pulled the California Zephyr passenger train.
Overview
Headquarters	Portola, California
Reporting mark	FRRX
Locale	Northern California
Dates of operation	1984 (1984)–Present
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

A typical equipment lineup at the museum

The Western Pacific Railroad Museum (WPRM) is located in Portola, California. It used to be called the Portola Railroad Museum until 2006. This special museum is a heritage railroad. It works to save and run old American railroad equipment. It also keeps important papers, photos, and facts about trains.

The main goal of the museum is to protect the history of the Western Pacific Railroad. The museum is run by the Feather River Rail Society (reporting mark FRRX), which started in 1983. You can find the museum at a former Western Pacific train facility. It's right next to the Union Pacific's main train line that goes through the Feather River Canyon.

Discover the Museum

Logos of the Western Pacific Railroad and the Feather River Rail Society, who run the museum.

The Western Pacific Railroad Museum is a great place to learn about trains. It's a "hands-on" museum. This means you can actually get inside and explore many of the locomotives and train cars!

Train Collection

The museum has a large collection of trains. It includes twenty-nine diesel locomotives and one electric locomotive. There is also one steam locomotive that was working as of April 2022. The museum has fifteen passenger cars, including four from the famous California Zephyr train. You can also see many freight cars, maintenance cars, and eighteen cabooses.

The WPRM has one of the biggest collections of early diesel locomotives and freight cars in North America. Many people think it has one of the most complete collections of items from a single railroad company. The museum also keeps many company records and pictures. Plus, it has personal collections from people who worked for the Western Pacific Railroad.

Some of the cool trains at the museum include:

• Western Pacific 805-A: This is an FP7 passenger locomotive. It used to pull the California Zephyr train.
• Southern Pacific EMD GP9 #2873: Volunteers call this one "the Kodachrome." It has a special paint scheme from a railroad merger that didn't happen.
• WP 2001: This was the very first GP20 locomotive. It was an early diesel train with a turbocharger.
• WP 501: This was an early switch engine. It was the first diesel train bought by the Western Pacific.
• Western Pacific 0-6-0 steam locomotive 165: This is an oil-burning switch engine. It was built in 1919 by ALCO.
• WP 3051: This is one of only two GE U30B trains left.
• WP 37: This is a 200-ton crane that runs on rails.
• Two snowplows: One is a wedge type, and the other is a rotary type. These clear snow from the tracks.
• Several rare freight cars from the early 1900s.

The museum also has the Portola Diesel Shop, built in 1953. An interlocking tower from Oakland, California is also stored there. The Western Pacific Hospital, built in 1911, was part of the museum for a while. It was one of the few railroad hospitals in the country. Sadly, it was destroyed in a fire in 2011. The WPRM keeps some of its diesel trains in working order. They sometimes even move them on major train lines using their own historic engines.

Be a Train Engineer!

Western Pacific 165 steam locomotive at the museum.

One very special part of the Western Pacific Railroad Museum is its "Run A Locomotive" (RAL) program. This program is known all over the country! Most of the year, except for winter and certain special event weekends, visitors can be a train engineer for an hour.

First, you get instructions on the ground. Then, you get to pick a real locomotive and operate it for an hour! A trained engineer rides with you in the locomotive. They watch over you and give you more instructions. It's a unique chance to experience what it's like to drive a real train!

The Zephyr Project

The Zephyr Project is a special program by the Feather River Rail Society. Its goal is to get, save, and fix cars, locomotives, and other items related to the California Zephyr train. They also collect personal stories from people who were part of its history.

Right now, the project's collection includes:

• Western Pacific FP7 no. 805-A locomotive.
• "Silver Hostle," a dome lounge car.
• "Silver Lodge," a dome-coach car.
• "Silver Plate," a dining car.
• The dome-coach "Silver Rifle" is also at the museum. It is on a long-term loan from the Golden Gate Railroad Museum.

See also