Overview | |
---|---|
Reporting mark | GGMX |
Locale | Sunol, California |
Dates of operation | 1975–present |
Other | |
Website | http://www.ggrm.org/ |
The Golden Gate Railroad Museum( reporting mark GGMX) [1] is a non-profit railroad museum in California that is dedicated to the preservation of steam and passenger railroad equipment, as well as the interpretation of local railroad history.
The Golden Gate Railroad Museum (GGRM) traces its origins to 1972, when Mike Mangini first spotted ex-SP 2472, a steam locomotive that had been on static display in the San Mateo County Fairgrounds parking lot since 1959. In 1975, Mangini was granted permission to take the locomotive away, and weekend volunteers began restoring 2472 on weekends, shortly thereafter incorporating as Project 2472. After the boiler was restored, the locomotive was moved in 1990 to San Francisco at the Hunters Point Shipyard. [2] On April 30, 1991, 2472 moved under its own power to Santa Clara and then Sacramento [3] for display at Railfair '91. [4] [5]
The museum was initially located in Hunters Point until the Navy notified GGRM in August 2005 that all leases would be cancelled and the area would need to be vacated by February 2006, as it was turning the site over to the city. The museum moved its collection of 12 locomotives and over 25 pieces of rolling stock to Sunol, California, home of the Niles Canyon Railway operated by the Pacific Locomotive Association (PLA); some of the collection was sold or donated to other historical rail sites, including the Western Pacific Railroad Museum (WPRM), operated by the Feather River Rail Society (FRRS). [6] FRRS and PLA participated in the GGRM's big move, with FRRS loaning road-worthy engines and crews to facilitate the move. In exchange, GGRM donated several locomotives and cars to WPRM. [7]
In January 2017, GGRM announced it would be moving to Schellville, California, on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. [8] The GGRM's new Schellville yard, near Victory Station, [9] was fenced in late 2018, [10] and the move to Schellville commenced in March 2020. [11] Preparations to move the fleet included replacing obsolete brake valves on passenger cars, fixing air leaks, and replacing wheel sets. [12]
The offices of GGRM are in Redwood City. [13] The museum performs restoration work on its collection, which it showcases for special events.
The collection of the GGRM is centered around the equipment used by Southern Pacific for its Peninsula Commute operation along the San Francisco Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose.
Fleet No. | Image | Mfr. | Model | Wheel arr. | Built | Status | Notes | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Locomotives | ||||||||
2472 | Baldwin | P-8 | 4-6-2 | January 1921 | Undergoing 1,472-day inspection and overhaul | Retired in 1957 and on static display at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds from 1959 until 1976. | [14] | |
3194 | EMD | GP9 | B-B | May 1954 | Operational | Built as T&NO 281, renumbered to SP 5895 in 1961, then 3001 in 1965, and finally 3194 in 1977. Worked Peninsula Commute from 1960/61 to 1985. Retired in 1998 and donated to GGRM. | [15] | |
1847 | FM | H-12-44 | B-B | January 1953 | Operational | Formerly U.S. Army No. 1847; acquired in March 1995 and repainted in "Tiger Stripe" livery as replica of yard switcher SP 1487. | [16] [17] | |
6378 & 6380 | EMD | F7A | B-B | July 1952 | Operational | Traded to General Electric in the late 1960s; resold and served on short lines WAG as 2100 and 2000, then to L&NW as 46 and 45 in 1969. | [18] | |
GGRM 9 | GE | 65-ton | B-B | 1943 | Operational | Originally built for U.S. Navy in 1943; used for shop switching duties at GGRM and formerly numbered as 3 when collection was at Hunters Point. | [19] |
Fleet No. | Image | Mfr. | Model | Wheel arr. | Built | Status | Notes | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Locomotives | ||||||||
4450 | EMD | SD9 | C-C | April 1954 | Scrapped | Subsequently sold to WPRM in 2006, scrapped in 2013. | [20] |
In the 2003 season of the television show MythBusters , the episode "Peeing on the Third Rail" was filmed at the original location in Hunters Point. [21]
The Southern Pacific was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific Company and Southern Pacific Transportation Company.
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.
The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the California State Parks system that interprets the role of railroads in the Western U.S.. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic Park at 111 I Street, Sacramento, California.
The Coast Daylight, originally known as the Daylight Limited, was a passenger train on the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, via SP's Coast Line. It was advertised as the "most beautiful passenger train in the world," carrying a particular red, orange, and black color scheme. The train operated from 1937 until 1974, being retained by Amtrak in 1971. Amtrak merged it with the Coast Starlight in 1974.
The Niles Canyon Railway (NCRy) is a heritage railway running on the first transcontinental railroad alignment through Niles Canyon, between Sunol and the Niles district of Fremont in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States. The railway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad Historic District. The railroad is operated and maintained by the Pacific Locomotive Association which preserves, restores and operates historic railroad equipment. The NCRy features public excursions with both steam and diesel locomotives along a well-preserved portion of the first transcontinental railroad.
Southern Pacific 4449, also known as the Daylight, is the only surviving example of Southern Pacific Railroad's "GS-4" class of 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives and one of only two GS-class locomotives surviving, the other being "GS-6" 4460 at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri. GS is an abbreviation of "General Service" or "Golden State," a nickname for California.
The California Northern Railroad is one of several Class III short-line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. It operates over Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) tracks under a long-term lease.
The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a 271-mile (436 km) mainline railroad from the former ferry connections in Sausalito, California north to Eureka, with a connection to the national railroad system at Schellville. The railroad has gone through a complex history of different ownership and operators but has maintained a generic name of reference as The Northwestern Pacific Railroad, despite no longer being officially named that.
The Western Pacific Railroad Museum (WPRM) in Portola, California, known as the Portola Railroad Museum until January 1, 2006, is a heritage railroad that preserves and operates historic American railroad equipment and preserves documents, photos and information. The museum's mission is to preserve the history of the Western Pacific Railroad and is operated by the Feather River Rail Society, founded in 1983. It is located at a former Western Pacific locomotive facility, adjacent to the Union Pacific's former Western Pacific mainline through the Feather River Canyon.
The Quincy Railroad is a 3.27-mile terminal railroad located at Quincy, California. The QRR interchanges with the Union Pacific at Quincy Junction in Plumas County, California, United States.
The Santa Maria Valley Railroad is a 14.8 miles (23.8 km) shortline railroad that interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad's Coast Line at Guadalupe, California. As of 2006, the Railroad is owned by the Coast Belle Rail Corporation.
Southern Pacific 2472 is a P-8 Class 4-6-2 heavy "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) in 1921. No. 2472 is one of three surviving Southern Pacific P-8 class 4-6-2 Pacific locomotives, the other two being Nos. 2467 and 2479. The 4-6-2 designation means it has four leading wheels, six driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. The locomotive was used by the Southern Pacific Railroad to haul passenger trains until being retired in 1957. The locomotive was then donated to San Mateo County and placed on static display at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds. After being restored to operational condition in the early 1990s, the locomotive would pull excursion trains on the Niles Canyon Railway until being retired in 2015. The No. 2472 was then moved to the Northwest Pacific Railroad, where it is as of 2023, undergoing its Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) mandated 1,472 day inspection and overhaul.
The Peninsula Commute, also known as the Southern Pacific Peninsula or just Peninsula, was the common name for commuter rail service between San Jose, California and San Francisco, California on the San Francisco Peninsula. This service ran as a private, for-profit enterprise beginning in 1863. Due to operating losses, the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) petitioned to discontinue the service in 1977. Subsidies were provided through the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in 1980 to continue service, and it was renamed Caltrain.
The Museum of the American Railroad, formerly known as the Age of Steam Railroad Museum, is a railroad museum in Frisco, Texas. The museum has more than 70 pieces of steam, diesel, passenger, and freight railroad equipment sitting on 15 acres making it one of the largest historic rail collections in the US. Guests may walk through some of the equipment on guided tours.
Southern Pacific 1215 is a preserved 0-6-0 switcher steam locomotive. It was built by Baldwin in 1913, and it was primarily used to switch rolling stock in rail yards, until it was removed from the Southern Pacific's active roster in 1957. It subsequently spent thirty-seven years on static display in Hanford, California until 1995, when it was removed from display while going through a few ownership changes. As of 2022, the locomotive is owned by the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation, and No. 1215 is displayed in San Jose, California.
Southern Pacific Railroad 2467 is a preserved 4-6-2 “Pacific” type steam locomotive. Built by Baldwin in 1921, it was used by the Southern Pacific Railroad to pull passenger trains until it was retired from service in 1956. On July 25, 1960, it was donated to the city of Oakland, California, who had it placed on display at the Harrison Railroad Park. In July 1990 a restoration began by the Friends of the 2467, which later merged into the Pacific Locomotive Association. In June 1999 it was returned to operation and made an appearance at Railfair 1999. Although serviceable, SP 2467 is currently on static display while on loan from its operator, Pacific Locomotive Association, Inc., to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California.
Southern Pacific No. 1744 is a preserved American class "M-6" 2-6-0 "Mogul" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Southern Pacific Railroad in November 1901. Originally equipped with Vauclain compound cylinders, it was rebuilt with conventional cylinders in 1912. It operated for many years out of Oakland, California on the Southern Pacific's Western Division and in California's Central Valley where the locomotive and its classmates were fondly called “Valley Mallets” by their crews. The locomotive was made famous in later years by pulling some of the last steam excursions on the SP alongside other steam locomotives, including 4-8-4 4460. In 1959, No. 1744 was donated to the Sons of Utah Pioneers in Corinne, Utah where it remained on static display, until 1980. That year, it was restored by New London Railroad and Village Incorporated to operate on the Heber Valley Railroad in Heber City for the rest of the decade.
The Southern Pacific Class P-8 was a class of 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotives that were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Southern Pacific Transportation Company in 1921.
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