Former SP/Central Pacific depot, reportedly built 1868:

http://calistogawinestop.net/

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Calistoga ... 2,,0,-0.21

Google Street Views shows a minimum of four clearstory cars, apparently all heavyweights, and apparently one SP lettered. And if we look at the wine shop website, one has either had a building erected around it, has been shoved inside the depot, or has been replicated inside.

Does anyone have more on this gathering of cars?

I made a quick stop here once to check it out. It appears we have a railroad roof obs, RPO, baggage, and several Harriman cars. I suspected they were shipped on their own wheels before the far end of the Napa Valley branch was torn up. Perhaps they were to be part of an early tourist rail operation?

I did not know about the wood car seen at the Wine Stop website. It shows a number - CP #12. It would be interesting if this indeed is one of the early CP cars which have survived all these years.

The Calistoga railroad car "mall" is one of several that are around northern CA. I know of others in Sebastapol, Cordelia, and in Rocklin.

The wooden CP car is for real... I believe its car 29, one of two surviving cars which were at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869.... (the other being Stanford's private car, now V&T 17 at the Nevada State Railroad Museum.)

Calistoga was the end of the Napa Valley Railroad... a very early (1863) California line. It became part of the California Pacific, which in turn became part of the Central Pacific.

The name Calistoga was the result of a blunder of speech, By Sam Brannon, California pioneer, who when christening the town, while drunk, tried to say, "the Saratoga of California" which came out as the Calistoga of Sarafornia...

Randy,

The wooden car was on the CP at the time of Promontory. But, I had not heard before that it was at Promontory.

I remember Kyle Wyatt saying that the car is one that a builder's photo had been taken of when it was built back east.

So I went searching the web and found this page with information and photos: Calistoga Depot Marker

I believe Kyle now believes that it was supposed to be one of the cars being delivered (from Jackson and Sharp) on its own wheels, traveling west carrying US Army troops assigned to the Presidio. The troops gathered at Omaha, and were sent west, were present at Promatory on May 10th (they are visable in many of the photos)

Capt. John Currier maintained daily journal of the trip which was published by the Sacramento County Historical Society some years ago.

That story sounds familiar. I'll stand corrected on this.