Western Railway Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Western Railway Museum

Former name	California Railway Museum
Established	1960s
Location	5848 State Highway 12, Suisun City, California
Type	Railroad museum
Owner	Bay Area Electric Railroad Association

Sacramento Northern Railway Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location in California
Location	5848 CA Hwy 12, Suisun City, California
NRHP reference No.	12000402
Added to NRHP	July 11, 2012

A view of the Western Railway Museum gallery

The Western Railway Museum is a cool place in Solano County, California. It's located right on Highway 12, between the towns of Rio Vista and Suisun. This museum is built along the old main tracks of the Sacramento Northern Railway. It mainly collects trolleys and other electric trains, especially those used for travel between cities, called interurban transit equipment.

The museum has the biggest collection of Sacramento Northern Railway trains anywhere. You can even ride a part of the old Sacramento Northern line! They offer special trips for visitors on this heritage railway.

This museum was first called the California Railway Museum. But in 1985, its name changed to the Western Railway Museum. This was to avoid confusion with another museum, the California State Railroad Museum. The Bay Area Electric Railroad Association (BAERA), which is a group that doesn't make money, runs the museum.

History of the Museum

left: Birney streetcar and right: San Francisco Municipal Railway Magic Carpet Streetcar 1003: trolleys with motormen and visitors, 2006.

Key System 187 on the interurban track

The Bay Area Electric Railroad Association (BAERA) started in 1946. It was created by a group of San Francisco Bay Area train fans. These fans were especially interested in electric trains, not just the big main line railroads. Other groups often focused on main line trains. BAERA held monthly meetings where members shared slides and movies. They also took trips on the many streetcar and interurban lines in the Bay Area.

After one trip on the Key System, the Association bought Key System 271. This was a wooden streetcar that had started its life in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. Soon, members gave or bought other cars for the Association. One of these was Sacramento Northern 62, a Birney streetcar built in 1920. This car ran local service in Chico, California until 1947. It was famous for having the last 5-cent fare in California!

When the Key System stopped using its last rail line across the Bay Bridge in 1958, the museum got many passenger and work cars. But moving the equipment all the time was hard work and cost a lot of money. So, the members decided they needed a permanent home for their railway museum. In 1960, they found land at Rio Vista Junction. This was an old station stop on the Sacramento Northern Railway near Suisun, California.

In the 1960s, BAERA became a special non-profit group focused on education. Their main project was creating the California Railway Museum. As mentioned, it became the Western Railway Museum in 1985. Important things that have happened at the museum include:

• Buying 22 miles of the Sacramento Northern railway line in 1994.
• Opening a new Visitors Center in 2001.
• Starting in 2002, building the Loring Jensen Memorial Car House. This building has a special fire safety system and officially opened in May 2008.

The Association also publishes a newsletter called the Review four times a year.

The Museum's Collection

View from Western Railway Museum car, Petaluma and Santa Rosa #63

View of Pantano stop from a Western Railway Museum train

Passengers stand outside of Petaluma and Santa Rosa #63, from the Western Railway Museum

View of tracks from Pantano stop on Western Railway Museum train line

A conductor stands in front of Peninsular Railway #52, from the Western Railway Museum in Solano County

The BAERA keeps a large collection of old papers, photos, and other items. These materials are about street railways, interurban lines, and steam railroads in California and nearby states. This collection is stored in a special climate-controlled room in one of the newer buildings.

The Association owns about 100 pieces of railroad equipment. Most of these are electric trains from the West. But they also have some trains from the Western Pacific Railroad, including two steam locomotives. The equipment is in different conditions. Some trains are fully working and can be operated. Examples include Petaluma and Santa Rosa 63, Peninsular Railway 52, Salt Lake and Utah 751, and Sacramento Northern 62.

One special train, the interurban car Sacramento Northern 1005, has been a big focus for restoration. This car was used a lot for trips in the museum's early years. It was often pulled by freight trains to reach trip locations. Sometimes it got damaged during these trips, like in June 1962 when its frame got badly bent. The damage has been fixed, and the car now looks like it did in 1934.

Passenger and Interurban Cars

Streetcars and Light Rail Trams

Streetcar	Condition	Notes	Image
East Bay Street Railways #352	Operational
Key System #271	Under Restoration	Needs electrical and brake work, being painted.
Key System #987	Out of service	Has a bad traction motor.
Market Street Railway "San Francisco"	Awaiting restoration	Only the body.
Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board #648	Operational
Pacific Gas & Electric Co #46	Awaiting restoration
Pacific Gas & Electric Co #63	Awaiting restoration
Presidio & Ferries #28	Awaiting restoration	Only the body.
Sacramento Electric Gas & Railway #14	Awaiting restoration
San Francisco Municipal Railway #1003	Operational	A "Magic Carpet" Streetcar.
San Francisco Municipal Railway #1016	Operational
San Francisco Municipal Railway #1153	Awaiting restoration
San Francisco Municipal Railway #1258	Non Operational
San Francisco Municipal Railway #178	Operational
Stockton Electric #52	Awaiting restoration
Sacramento Northern #62	Out of service	A special "Birney Safety Car" designed for one person to operate.

Locomotives

Maintenance of Way Equipment

Freight Cars

Visiting the Museum Today

When you visit the museum, you can take a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) streetcar ride. You can also enjoy a longer 10-mile (16 km) interurban ride. There are shaded picnic areas where you can eat. You can also look around the bookstore and see small exhibits in the visitor center.

The visitor center also has a cafe and the F. M. Smith Library and Archives. The library is open two days a month for people who want to do research or just browse. You can also take self-guided tours of the car houses, or join a guided tour.

The museum is open on weekends all year. It has longer hours during the summer. On some weekends in October, they run special trains. These trains (usually Key System Bridge Units 182 and 187) go to the Pumpkin Patch Festival at the Gum Grove Station.

The Museum's Railway Line

The museum also owns a real railroad line! This is a part of the original Sacramento Northern Railway. It runs from Montezuma (near Collinsville) north to Dozier. There's also a newer rail line that goes west from Dozier to Cannon (near Vacaville). The museum bought this railroad with the tracks and ties still in place. However, the electric power system had been removed in 1953.

The Association is now putting the electric power system back in place. They are starting from Rio Vista Junction and working southward. It currently reaches Bird's Landing Road, which is about six miles away. The line to Molena is also being fixed up. This includes replacing old ties and putting the electric power system back on that part of the line.

See Also

• Hall-Scott
• List of heritage railroads in California
• List of museums in California
• W. L. Holman Car Company