In celebration of Black History Month, the California State Railroad Museum is proud to present two special guest presentations and book signing opportunities with Professor Theodore Kornweibel, Jr., author of Railroads in the African American Experience: A Photographic Journey.    After 30 years of research and work in the field of black history, Kornweibel will share his thoughts and findings during two special illustrated presentations on Saturday, February 18, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., each to be followed by book signing opportunities.  His photographic book is a captivating, illustrated tour of the black railroad experience from slavery to Amtrak. It includes nearly 200 compelling image

The city of Sacramento responded to the recently released California High Speed Rail Authority business plan with a letter of support – and a couple of suggestions for the authority to consider as the project develops. City Councilman Steve Cohn said Tuesday that the city is in support of the project overall, but Cohn and the council want to emphasize two points: recognition that the high-speed rail project must be phased in, and funding should also upgrade existing connecting infrastructure. “It can’t all be built at once,” Cohn said at the Law and Legislation Committee meeting at City Hall Tuesday. “The revised business plan does a more realistic job of explaining this phasing process

It’s Polar Express time again in Old Sacramento. If you have been anywhere near Old Sacramento lately, you may have been surprised to see children of all ages roaming the streets dressed in their pajamas. It’s the annual running of the Polar Express, in Old Sacramento. Every year, the volunteer docents of the State Railroad Museum conduct special one-hour train rides from Old Sacramento down the river side tracks to the North Pole. Along the way, songs are sung, hot cocoa is served, and each passenger gets a small gift from Santa. It’s a perennial treat, and with only 19,000 tickets available, they sell out in a few hours. So, even though you can’t get tickets to ride the train, it’s wor

Travelers on Amtrak riding through the Capitol Corridor will now have Wi-Fi access on board the trains – and it’s free. Amtrak launched the new service Monday to coincide with “Cyber Monday,” the busiest Internet holiday shopping day of the year, according to a press release from Amtrak. The Capitol Corridor is an intercity passenger train system that provides rail service along a 170-mile rail corridor to 16 stations in eight counties, including Placer, Sacramento and Yolo. The route extends from Auburn to San Jose, and includes stops in Rocklin, Roseville, Davis, Richmond and Berkeley and other cities. Passengers can connect to the Wi-Fi service onboard the trains through any laptop

There’s something about toy trains that captures the imagination of adults and children alike. This year’s “Small Train Holiday” at the California State Railroad Museum is drawing a steady stream of wide-eyed admirers to its special displays of toy and model trains over Thanksgiving weekend. Grown-ups and kids clustered around the working train displays run by avid toy train operators. Joe Montgomery’s train layout includes treasured trains from his youth. When he was a boy, his father traded several bushels of corn to a store-owner so that his son could have a pre-1950s Marx electric train. Montgomery played with the set for years until called into the armed services, and now he comes ev

Widely known as North America’s most popular railroad museum, the California State Railroad Museum has exciting plans to dazzle, delight and engage post-Thanksgiving visitors with a special “Small Train Holiday” focus on November 25 and 26.  Expanded holiday offerings inside the Museum include fun interpretive handcar rides, crowd pleasing scale models and toy train displays, story time with Mrs. Claus, period-appropriate holiday decor and much more. In addition to these new activities, the “Small Train Holiday” focus includes other fun favorites such as amazing scale models and toy train layouts on display throughout the Museum, a Polar Express model train running on the “Small Wonders”

To the delight of rail enthusiasts of all ages, the California State Railroad Museum will debut a new exhibit titled “Common Diversions: Toy Trains and Scale Model Railroads” on November 3, 2011.  While the items on special display will all be miniature in size, the goal of the exhibit is to clearly distinguish the big differences between scale models and toy trains, both of which have unique characteristics and avid collectors.  In addition to the Railroad Museum’s popular “Small Wonders: The Magic of Toy Trains” exhibit and in contrast to the impressive collection of 21 full-size meticulously restored locomotives and cars on display throughout the Museum, visitors will soon have a uniqu

All aboard for Halloween fun!  For three weekends beginning in mid-October, the California State Railroad Museum will once again offer engaging and entertaining rides aboard its popular “Spookomotive” train this fall season. “Spookomotive” trains operate Saturdays and Sundays beginning the weekend of October 15-16 and continuing the weekends of October 22-23 and October 29-30. For these three weekends only, “Spookomotive” trains depart on-the-hour from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., departing at the Central Pacific Railroad Freight Depot at Front and “K” Streets in Old Sacramento. The diesel-powered “Spookomotive” pulls the whimsically decorated train, crawling with spiders, cobwebs and cornstalks an

The California State Railroad Museum will debut a fascinating documentary-style exhibit titled “Wedlock’s Gift: California Railroad Depot Images in Ink” in two phases with the first set of 26 sketches beginning on September 1, 2011 and continuing through February 2012.  Then, in August 2012, the second set of 26 sketches will debut and continue through December 2012.  Following the completion of his quest to interpret many of California’s disappearing historic railroad depots in brush and ink, commercial artist Walter J. Wedlock gifted the complete set of 52 drawings and one watercolor to the California State Railroad Museum in 1985 after seeing the collection together for the first time d

Lights, Camera, Action! The California State Railroad Museum is proud to host a unique “Trains & Tripods Photo Opportunity & Lighting Seminar" on Friday evening, September 16 and Saturday morning, September 17.  The two-part program includes an optional seminar on existing light photography and a photographers-only photo session inside the visually-enticing museum before it opens to the public for the day.   Amateur photographers of all skill levels can choose to attend one or both of the activities. Conducted by former Sacramento Bee photographer and Canon USA consultant Dave Henry, the fast-paced and information-packed lighting seminar is scheduled for Friday evening with the “bring you

As part of a special exhibition debuting on August 26, the California State Railroad Museum is proud to showcase award-winning photographs from the prestigious Center for Railroad Photography & Art’s 2011 Creative Photography Awards Program. With submissions received from all over the world, the theme of this year’s competition was “A Story in Three Photographs,” which challenged photographers to tell a story through three images that depicted an event or a day unfolding, illustrated a span of time, or was a creative interpretation of a single subject.  The top prize in the Center’s 2011 Creative Photography Awards Program went to Miško Kranjec of Ljubljana, Slovenia.  Second place went

Generations of model train enthusiasts came to the Sacramento Convention Center this weekend to experience the ultimate showcase of model railroading. The 21st Annual National Train Show came to town with thousands of square feet devoted to model train displays inside the Convention Center. The National Train Show is held at different cities in the U.S. and showcases the industry’s new and one of a kind products and services from retailers and manufacturers from around the U.S. and world. Model trains, accessories, track and collectibles were shown at different miniature venues. This is a prime show for model train connoisseurs, from those who have been involved for the past half cent

Railroad expert Peter Hansen has been named as project consultant for the Railroad Technology Museum, an expansion of the popular California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento which is part of California State Parks. His position, which is effective July 1, 2011, has been added by the California State Railroad Museum Foundation to assist California State Parks in the development of the project. Hansen has a long and impressive background as a rail historian, exhibit curator, lecturer and writer.  His extensive work history includes serving as editor and publisher of Railroad History -- the journal of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society -- for the past four years, and also as

The California State Railroad Museum and Historic Park is calling all volunteers to enter its 50th volunteer academy – volunteers who, according to officials, are the museum’s backbone. “We couldn’t run the museum without our docents. They are everything,” said Theresa Gonsolis, a guide and volunteer coordinator. She added that the museum – founded in 1981 – is considered the premiere indoor railroad museum in the country. Applications for the volunteer docent class are online and are being accepted through May 31, though Gonsolis said there is some “wiggle room” in the deadline. “Our philosophy is: the more the merrier,” she said. Docents are only required to work seven hours per mon

With a special “Family Fun Day” and crowd-pleasing favorites such as the always popular steam-powered excursion train rides on the Sacramento Southern Railroad and the coveted second season of the intriguing underground tours, Old Sacramento bursts into spring full steam ahead on Saturday, April 2.  With so much to do, guests to Old Sacramento are encouraged to spend the day exploring old favorites and unearthing new discoveries.  Check it out: “Pick Me! Family Fun Day” at the California State Railroad Museum - April 2 ONLY In celebration of the new and visually exciting “Pick Me! Fruit Crate Art & the California Dream” exhibit, the California State Railroad Museum invites the community t

With news of Amtrak’s new firearm policy to take effect Dec. 15, The Sacramento Press wanted to get an idea of what travelers think about the decision. First-time Amtrak traveler Tina Stephens simply doesn’t see the need for such a policy. “I don’t see any reason why anybody would need a firearm on the train anyway,” Stephens said. “I see no need for people to carry one if the people who work for Amtrak don’t have to carry them. That just opens yourself up for a lot of problems.” Christina Miller of Redding also has mixed feelings about the policy. “I don’t see a problem with it, but then again the terrorist thing is kind of scary,” Miller said. “If I were a hunter and I was traveling,

                             From the time I was very young, I found myself drawn to cemeteries.  It is not a creepy or morbid infatuation that lures me, but the palpable sense of history they provide. Where some see death in graveyards, I see a connection to lives past.               I've also always been enamored by the railroad.  As a child, I spent countless hours playing with the model train sets in the attic of my grandfather’s house in Portsmouth, Ohio.                From my station in the attic, I could look out the window, down the hill and see the headstones of Greenlawn Cemetery.               The Old City Cemetery offered a "History of the Railroad" tour on Saturday morni

Light, Camera, Action! The California State Railroad Museum is set to debut a visually appealing exhibit titled “Rails and Reels: Hollywood, Trains and the Making of Motion Pictures” on Friday, July 2, 2010.  The upcoming exhibit will feature a variety of railroad-related artifacts, such as scale models of train cars used for special effect crash scenes in the 1939 epic Union Pacific, a full-size smokestack and headlamp used to “backdate” steam locomotives to represent the “old west,” and station signs used in movies, including “High Noon”; a costume from the 1979 television movie Orphan Train; plus sheet music, movie posters, lobby cards, original film scripts, and other Hollywood-themed

A 1950s Lionel train advertisement shows a father, mother, little girl and boy peering into a window display featuring a model train going through a city, over a bridge and into the mountains. The father appears to be the most interested -- head cocked, hand on his chin, ready to help his child build the toy train set. An adjacent Lionel Train advertisement shows a father sitting on the ground assembling a train set, while his son sits in the background frowning. California State Railroad Museum's "Some Assembly Required" exhibit, which opened today, featured a somewhat similar scene. Many families were in the museum, but the historical toy exhibit seemed to strike the strongest chord wi

Lots of train-lovers showed up at the Lionel® Collectors Club of America (LCCA) Train Show in Sacramento from Wednesday through Saturday at the Radisson Hotel. The Trading Hall was full of trains and accessories for sale, including hard-to-find items.  The“Gee Whiz”, a new, large Lionel company train layout was set up in the hotel and in continuous operation Wednesday evening through Saturday afternoon of convention week.    Many enjoy the excitement, elegance, and power of real trains as well as the equally fascinating but smaller-in-scale O-gauge electric train models made by Lionel LLC and other manufacturers. Modern technology built into today’s toy trains enables a highly interacti