To Shiny Rails

It was a boy outing to the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. Phil Tillman gave a talke about the history of the Chinese in our area, then the Cal Poly Lion Dance Troupe gave a performance out front of the Museum. Pretty cool. All the pics are here.

After some introductory remarks and a brief update on the railroad, Rob Himoto presented his new 45-minute slideshow spanning the existence of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad and its impact on the development of the City of Santa Maria. This program was held at the Santa Maria Library’s Shepard Hall (421 S. McClelland Street). All the pics: http://friends-smvrr.org/160127.html

As usual, Kevin took great care of us as we headed south and east of Santa Maria to track the route of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad to the end of its line at Roadamite and then follow the Pacific Coast Railway right-of-way from Palmer back into town. And we got some “rare mileage” out of the deal! Kevin got permission (and the gate code) from the private property owner where the Roadamite oil loading racks were located. We stood at the very spot that was the end of the line.

All the pics are here.

The right-of-way went just underneath the line indicated.

Lunch at the Garey Store

Just ahead of the group is the end of the line for the SMVRR.

The California Shortline Railroad Association held its Fall Meeting and Train Ride November 4-6, 2015. We met in San Pedro, toured the harbor by boat, and then took the BNSF Special to San Diego. The next morning we boarded the train for the return to San Pedro. All the pics are here.

I gave a talk on the SMVRR at the SLO Railroad Museum on Saturday morning. I also gave a talk Thursday evening at the SLO Library entitled “Railroading Galore in the Greater SLO Area” (PDF of the slides). All the photos, schedule, etc. are still available at the CCRRF website. I particularly enjoyed the participation by the Jack House and the SLO History Center.

Rob and I ventured to San Diego for a shortline meeting and we got to stay on the Tioga Pass the entire time and ride it back to L.A. from San Diego. All the pics: http://JF2.com/150803/