Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources

Last updated
Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources
Overview
Headquarters Fremont
Locale California
Dates of operation1988Present
Technical
Track gauge 3 ft (914 mm)
Length1.5 miles (2.4 km)
Antelope and Western Railroad Porter No. 1 at the SPCRR 2005 RailFair SPCRR Porter.jpg
Antelope and Western Railroad Porter No. 1 at the SPCRR 2005 RailFair
5 ton SPCRR 1 or Katie hauling cars, 1 January 2007 Ardenwoodfarm-050.jpg
5 ton SPCRR 1 or Katie hauling cars, 1 January 2007

The Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of railroad artifacts created by the Carter Brothers of California. The society operates The Railroad Museum at Ardenwood, which is a heritage railroad located at Ardenwood Historic Farm Regional Park in Fremont, California.

Contents

The Society's permanent collection consists of 6 flatcars, 1 caboose, 3 combination cars, 5 boxcars, a horse drawn street car, and an assortment of other small cars. In addition, the Society has a 1972 5-ton diesel Plymouth switch locomotive, a ballast car, and a tool car used for MOW and operations and leases 2 reproduction picnic cars and an additional diesel Whitcomb locomotive for operations.

Carter Brothers

Thomas and Martin Carter were Irish immigrants who began making railroad equipment in 1874, mainly building wooden cars for the South Pacific Coast Railroad (the original SPCRR). The Carter Brother's business lasted until 1902 during which time they built over 5,000 railroad cars mainly for narrow gauge lines. They also built cable cars and in later years 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge equipment. Their rolling stock was used on railroads all over the western United States, Hawaii, and Latin and South America.

The Railroad Museum at Ardenwood and Ardenwood Historic Farm Regional Park

The Society operates the Railroad museum at Ardenwood in Ardenwood Historic Farm Regional Park, Fremont, California. A 1.5 miles (2.4 km)-long, 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge track is laid along three sides of the park and the society's collection of Carter Brother's rolling stock is kept here. The collection is housed in the 3-bay Wissel Car Barn located in the Trudy Frank Railyard at the eastern end of track.

From April to November passenger trains are hauled by the Museum's switching locomotive between Ardenwood Station and Deerpark Station on three days a week and special event days.

The Society holds an annual Rail Fair each Labor Day weekend during which visiting steam locomotives are brought in by truck.

Ardenwood Historic Farm Regional Park is 210-acre (85 ha) farm operated by the East Bay Regional Park District. The outer part of the farm is a modern organic farm and the inner historic core is operated using the farming methods of the 1880s to 1920s. In the very center of the park is the Patterson House and Gardens, a fully restored Queen Anne style House built in the 19th century by the farms original owners, George Washington and Clara Patterson.

Related Research Articles

Heritage railway Railway used for heritage/historical/tourism purposes

A heritage railway or heritage railroad is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period in the history of rail transport.

California State Railroad Museum Railroad museum in Sacramento, California

The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the state park system of California, United States, interpreting the role of the "iron horse" in connecting California to the rest of the nation. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic Park at 111 I Street, Sacramento.

County Donegal Railways Joint Committee

The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive 3 ft narrow gauge railway system serving County Donegal, Ireland, from 1906 until 1960. The committee was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorised the joint purchase of the then Donegal Railway Company by the Great Northern Railway of Ireland and the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee.

Backyard railroad

A backyard railroad is a privately owned, outdoor railroad, most often in miniature, but large enough for one or several persons to ride on. The rail gauge can be anything from 2+12 in to 7+12 in or more. Smaller backyard or outdoor railroads that cannot be ridden are called garden railroads. Some backyard railroads use full-size rolling stock, such as the former 3 ft narrow gauge Grizzly Flats Railroad owned by Disney animator Ward Kimball.

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad United States historic place

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, often abbreviated as the D&SNG, is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on 45.2 mi (72.7 km) of track between Durango and Silverton, in the U.S. state of Colorado. The railway is a federally-designated National Historic Landmark and was also designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1968.

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, and its operating entity, the Sierra Railway, is known as "The Movie Railroad." Both entities are a heritage railway and are a unit of the California State Park System. Railtown 1897 is located in Jamestown, California. The entire park preserves the historic core of the original Sierra Railway of California. The railway's Jamestown locomotive and rolling stock maintenance facilities are remarkably intact and continue to function much as they have for over 100 years. The maintenance facilities are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Sierra Railway Shops Historic District.

Colorado Railroad Museum Railroad museum in Golden, Colorado

The Colorado Railroad Museum is a non-profit railroad museum. The museum is located on 15 acres (6.1 ha) at a point where Clear Creek flows between North and South Table Mountains in Golden, Colorado.

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad

The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad (YMSPRR) is a historic 3 ft narrow gauge railroad with two operating steam train locomotives located near Fish Camp, California, in the Sierra National Forest near the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park. Rudy Stauffer organized the YMSPRR in 1961, utilizing historic railroad track, rolling stock and locomotives to construct a tourist line along the historic route of the Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company.

East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company United States historic place

The East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company (EBT) is a 3 ft narrow gauge historic and heritage railroad headquartered in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania, 19 miles (31 km) north of Interstate 76 and 11 miles (18 km) south of U.S. Route 22, the William Penn Highway.

William Jones (1884–1968), a seasoned veteran of the steam era who established the Wildcat Railroad in Los Gatos, California, was born the son of a teamster in the town of Ben Lomond, California, USA.

Detroit and Mackinac Railway Railroad that formerly operated in Michigan, U.S.

The Detroit and Mackinac Railway, informally known as the "Turtle Line", was a railroad in the northeastern part of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The railroad had its main offices and shops in Tawas City with its main line running from Bay City north to Cheboygan, and operated from 1894 to 1992.

North Pacific Coast Railroad Railroad in California

The North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPC) was a common carrier 3 ft narrow-gauge steam railroad begun in 1874 and sold in 1902 to new owners who renamed it the North Shore Railroad (California) (NSR) and which rebuilt the southern section into a standard-gauge electric railway.

Union Station (Ogden, Utah)

Union Station, also known as Ogden Union Station, is a train station in Ogden, Utah, at the west end of Historic 25th Street, just south of the Ogden Intermodal Transit Center. Formerly the junction of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads, its name reflects the common appellation of train stations whose tracks and facilities are shared by railway companies.

Ardenwood Historic Farm United States historic place

Ardenwood Historic Farm is a Regional Historic Landmark in Fremont, California. It is managed by the East Bay Regional Park District. The Ardenwood Historic Farm consists of the Ardenwood Station, the former Ohlone village and burial site, a blacksmith shop, an area with farm animals, Patterson House, and a gazebo. The Ardenwood Farm today is a working farm, producing grain and vegetables.

Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum

The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum is the official state railroad museum of Alabama. Dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and operation of historically significant railway equipment, the museum is located at 1919 Ninth Street, Calera, Alabama, on I-65 approximately 30 miles (48 km) south of Birmingham.

Grizzly Flats Railroad Full-size backyard steam railroad owned by Disney animator Ward Kimball

The Grizzly Flats Railroad (GFRR) was a 3-foot narrow-gauge heritage railroad owned by Disney animator Ward Kimball at his home in San Gabriel, California. The railroad had 900 feet (274.3 m) of track, and was operated from 1942 to 2006. It was the first full-size backyard railroad in the United States.

Heritage railways in Kauai United States historic place

There are two heritage railways in Kauai, the birthplace of Hawaiian railroading. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 19, 1979.

Carter Brothers

Carter Brothers manufactured railroad cars in northern California during the late 19th century. The firm was founded in 1872 by two Irish carriage-makers who moved to California during the American Civil War. Their cars built more than a century earlier were used into the 21st century on the San Francisco cable car system and the White Pass and Yukon Route.

Southern California Railway Museum Railroad Museum & Heritage Railway in Perris, California

The Southern California Railway Museum, formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum, is a railroad museum in Perris, California, United States. It was founded in 1956 at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, before moving to the former Pinacate Station as the "Orange Empire Trolley Museum", in 1958. It was renamed "Orange Empire Railway Museum" in 1975 after merging with a museum then known as the California Southern Railroad Museum, and adopted its current name in 2019. The museum also operates a heritage railroad on the museum grounds.

References