I've been following with some interest the Fullerton Railway Plaza's Association efforts to build a railroad museum in Fullerton, especially since they are now claiming they are merging with the SCSRA which was terminated from their permits at Travel Town.

While a new museum in Southern California on the scale of CSRM would be a neat thing, and given good leadership and civic support land can be found and a building built, what are they going to put in it? The SCSRA claims they are moving two cabooses from Travel Town, and they keep hinting that ATSF 3751 will move into it, but other than that what is available?

Their website says "The special equipment that will be on display in the museum represent the finest and largest steam and diesel motive power and passenger cars used by the railroads during the "Golden Age" of railroading. Preservation of historic rail artifacts will be an ongoing process in the restoration facility." There isn't exactly a lot a unclaimed steam engines floating around, and I can't see many of the other existing railroad museums giving up anything, at least without something to trade.

Is a brand new museum really the best use of the limited funds out there? Or is this just an ego trip? Wouldn't the money and effort be better spent improving the museums at OERM, SDRM, Travel Town or others?

Brandi

Southern California Railway Museum at Fullerton
brandi_n_la@yahoo.com

SBRHS has not spoken to SCRM or any museum about storing the 3751 at any proposed facility.

> SBRHS has not spoken to SCRM or any museum
> about storing the 3751 at any proposed
> facility.

Sounds like the new steam excursion operation proposed in Oregon, the thread shown not far below this one. The marketplace has its limits.

amiller@rtms-movietrains.com

If that is true (and I don't doubt that it is) what is their anchor going to be? You can't build a museum and restoration facility around two cabooses.

I'd sure like to know more specifics before I donate any money.

Brandi

> SBRHS has not spoken to SCRM or any museum
> about storing the 3751 at any proposed
> facility.


Southern California Railway Museum at Fullerton
brandi_n_la@yahoo.com

Art,

In Oregon's case, we aren't exactly swamped with railroad museums and attractions. The only current steam operation is the Sumpter Valley in eastern Oregon. The Tillamook Bay is getting steam up sometime next year I believe, and there are a few restorations going on. There are also a handful of small museums, I think the Medford group is the largest, but that's about it. A central Willamette Valley museum and excursion line isn't that bad of an idea in my opinion.

Thanks, Taylor

Sumpter Valley Railway
thrush@smt-net.com

> If that is true (and I don't doubt that it
> is) what is their anchor going to be? You
> can't build a museum and restoration
> facility around two cabooses.

But you can build a dream and a web site.

The larger question is, who are these people and what can they actually accomplish?

Bearing in mind the already saturated railroad museum / tourist railroad market in California, they have an uphill battle ahead of them.

dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

I don't believe the idea is an ego trip. What you have is two groups, one that wants to run a museum and interpretive center, and another group which specializes in operations of railroad equipment. OERM is over 70 miles away from downtown LA, San Diego is over 120 miles. Sacramento is over 300 miles away. Travel Town does not currently offer trips since the start of construction of the train shed.
I don't expect it to be as large as CSRM, but to have the good qualities from it on a smaller scale.
The group is successfully raising money and is doing this from the ground up. They also have city support for the project.
Equipment will come in time as with any new museum.
If you are interested then come and take a look for yourself, vist Railroad Days in May or attend a quarterly membership meeting (one this month)and get information straight from the horses mouth.
Will it succeed, only time will tell, but it does look promising.

mvitale@ep-services.com

I have been to RR days. And my questions come from talking to people there, reading the information online, (what little current information there is) and then thinking.

Your statement below "Equipment will come in time as with any new museum" sounds a lot like a "if you build it, they will come...” which might work for baseball players, but there just aren't a lot of unemployed steam locomotives or vintage diesels lying around. And there is even less Sante Fe, which seems to be SCRMF's focus.

Travel Town, Orange Empire, SDRM and all the others started by acquiring one or two locomotives or trolleys, and them developing that into a museum around those assets. It seems that you have to have your core first. 3751 would make a great start, but it doesn't sound like that is going to happen, at least not yet. And there was a lot more stuff on the way to the scrappers when those museums were starting than there is now.

I'm not saying the FRPA doesn't have a plan, just that they aren't communicating it very well. And before I donate money, or any major benefactor does, the plan has to be laid out a lot better.

You mention a membership meeting this month. But I find no mention of it on either FRPA or SCSRA's website, as the calendars are still for 2003. Is it open to the public?

You imply you want to operate trains? Do you mean occasional excursions with equipment like 3751 or something more regular? If so, where? I can't imagine BNSF or Amtrak is going to let you onto their mainlines.

What you suggest is tantalizing, but please tell us more about what you plan to do so we can determine if you are worthy of our support and our money, of if we should move on to the next petition for support.

Brandi

> I don't believe the idea is an ego trip.
> What you have is two groups, one that wants
> to run a museum and interpretive center, and
> another group which specializes in
> operations of railroad equipment. OERM is
> over 70 miles away from downtown LA, San
> Diego is over 120 miles. Sacramento is over
> 300 miles away. Travel Town does not
> currently offer trips since the start of
> construction of the train shed.
> I don't expect it to be as large as CSRM,
> but to have the good qualities from it on a
> smaller scale.
> The group is successfully raising money and
> is doing this from the ground up. They also
> have city support for the project.
> Equipment will come in time as with any new
> museum.
> If you are interested then come and take a
> look for yourself, vist Railroad Days in May
> or attend a quarterly membership meeting
> (one this month)and get information straight
> from the horses mouth.
> Will it succeed, only time will tell, but it
> does look promising.


Brandi_n_la@yahoo.com

Ok I checked around and the website http://www.scrmf.org/ has been updated with the current meeting information. Just a time lag in the updates. As to the specifics, I cannot speak on behalf of the board, but just my feelings from information I have received. We would not be operating on the 'main' line but probably a spur track that is not regularly used. Feel free to check out the meeting and get a good meal and hear information directly from their board of directors.

Where is this spur track? I'm assuming that it is not adjacent to the museum? Will it connect to the proposed museum at all?

You say "not regularly used". Does that mean BNSF or UP still owns it and/or is operating on it? Have they agreed, or is this still more daydreaming?

What are you going to operate on it?

> We would not be operating on the
> 'main' line but probably a spur track that
> is not regularly used.

heislerfan@engineer.com

I was reading on either here on on Train Orders that some private passenger cars were going to move to the sidings at the Fullerton depot. Has that happened yet? If so, the the Coast Rail caboose leave?

Brandi


brandi_n_la@yahoo.com

I understand that the cars in question have indeed moved from their previous location in Anaheim so they should be at the Fullerton Depot siding by now. The Coast Rail caboose may not leave until it has to, as the Travel Town "cabeese" move is still likely a ways off.

> The group is successfully raising money and
> is doing this from the ground up. They also
> have city support for the project.
> Equipment will come in time as with any new
> museum.
>
When offered a Santa Fe heavyweight baggage car that is in very good condition, the group reported that it didn't have the funds to move the car and declined the gift.


bakerst@best.com

Where was that car offered from? And where is it now? Is it still available?

> When offered a Santa Fe heavyweight baggage
> car that is in very good condition, the
> group reported that it didn't have the funds
> to move the car and declined the gift.


heislerfan@engineer.com

Now that the passenger cars have moved, is there any update on the Travel Town cabooses moving? Is there still room for them?

Brandi

> I understand that the cars in question have
> indeed moved from their previous location in
> Anaheim so they should be at the Fullerton
> Depot siding by now. The Coast Rail caboose
> may not leave until it has to, as the Travel
> Town "cabeese" move is still
> likely a ways off.


Brandi_n_la@yahoo.com