124th Anniversary of the Ferrocarril Interoceanico

Photo by Sammy King.

Invitations have been sent via the Mexlist mail list to the general public for the 124th Anniversary of the Ferrocarril Interoceanico, to be held on June 18th in Cuautla, Morelos, Mexico at the FCI station. The event will feature the operation of NdeM #279, which is the same engine pulling the same train in the same museum from our "popular" article on the FCI. For further information please contact Inginiero Francisco Lagunes at ferrolag@gmail.com.

(Sammy King)

Western Railway Museum Capital Campaign Takes Giant Leap Forward

The Western Railway Museum, known for its collection of historic electric-powered trains, just got two electrifying jolts to energize the capital campaign for its new display facility.

On May 18, the California Cultural and Historical Endowment granted $310,520 to the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association (the non-profit parent of the Museum) for the Loring C. Jensen Memorial Car House project.

In addition, the Solano County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution recognizing, supporting, and encouraging the Association’s efforts to improve the care and interpretation of the artifacts at the Western Railway Museum.

Funds from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment will specifically support construction costs for the Museum's newest and largest facility: the Loring C. Jensen Memorial Car House. The 38,000 sq. ft. building will store, display, and interpret the rare, one-of-a-kind railway artifacts in the Museum's collection, making them accessible to the public while protecting them from the ravages of the wind, rain, sunlight and wildfires.

"The Western Railway Museum is the only place in California devoted exclusively to preserving a significant but vanishing thread of our State's history, its electric railway heritage," said Assemblywoman Lois Wolk. "This grant will help Californians make a connection between their past, present, and future. It was a pleasure to work with the museum and California Cultural and Historical Endowment commission to get funding for this project."

Senator Michael Machado added, "The California Cultural and Historical Endowment Program (CCHE) offers a unique historical opportunity for our community. I am pleased that the Western Railway Museum has received the CCHE grant to help preserve, protect, and expand this wonderful museum.”

Museum Chairman Bill Kluver exclaimed, “When combined with our previous fundraising, this grant from the Endowment brings us to 75% of our $2.1 million project goal! We are currently adding volunteers and expanding our campaign committee to make sure we reach
our goal.”

The California Cultural and Historical Endowment was created to distribute Proposition 40 bond funds. Proposition 40 called for the creation of the California Cultural and Historical Endowment to support the “acquisition, development, preservation, and interpretation of buildings, structures, sites, places, and artifacts that preserve and demonstrate culturally significant aspects of California's history and for grants for these purposes.” To carry out Proposition 40's mandate, the Endowment will, over cycles established by its Board, distribute $122 million of $276 million in Proposition 40 funds.

The Endowment Board met December 13-14, 2004 to hear presentations from 57 grant applicants requesting a total of $120,086,716 from the Endowment's first cycle of funding. The 57 presenters were recommended to the Board out of 276 grant applicants. At the conclusion of the 2-day meeting, the Board voted to reserve specific allocations for 33 grant finalists that most clearly demonstrated the Endowment's purposes and goals.

On May 18, 2005 the Endowment Board voted to approve funding for 13 of the 33 finalists, including the Western Railway Museum’s Car House project.

On May 3, 2005 the Solano County Board of Supervisors passed Resolution No. 2005-104, recognizing, supporting, and encouraging the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association’s efforts to improve the care and interpretation of the artifacts at the Western Railway
Museum.

Solano County Supervisor John Vasquez said, “The Museum has been serving Solano County since 1960, and has grown into one of the most well-regarded and most-visited museums in the region. As a living history museum that operates actual, historic trains, they offer a level of interpretation that is unmatched in our area. We are delighted to receive State-level recognition for our local efforts to preserve and interpret this unique thread of California history.”

The Western Railway Museum remains open during the new building’s construction, every Wednesday through Sunday from 10:30 am to 5:00pm. The Museum is located in Solano County on State Highway 12, 15 minutes East of Interstate 80, and halfway between Suisun City and
Rio Vista. For more information, visit the museum website or call (707) 374-2978.

(Phil Kohlmetz, WRW press release)