sp camera car sierrra 3

[matt fisher]

does any one remember the southern pacific's camera car that they built ini sacramento ,ca it was used to train engineers , it still lives at the csrrm but they really let it go to hell ,why? when then first got it ,it ran on it's own power and it still had it's square nose , today it looks like it came back from the scapper the csrrm took the nose off , ihave'nt been able to find out were it is in the sp sacramento does any one know?
does any one know it's future ,or does any know a volunteer at the california state rr muesum? i have the rear light off of the camera car from the back end , also
if want look around the former sp shop walk over from the amtrak station and dont go straight to the first shop , walk east along the side of the shop then come around but watch out for chp officers , you're best off going on a saturday morning from 8am till about noon that 's when musem members are there just ask them and they'll let you walk iin side the open shops .
does any one know when the sierra railway #3 is going to come back to life ? and what sierra railroads plans are for the sp 0-6-0 they have in there oakdale yard in oakdale,ca

matt

 

[liven_letdie]

Matt,

Where do you hail from? You certainly sound like a local =]. I am from Turlock and while I know nothing about the Sac shops I can certainly answer your questions about the Sierra. The Sierra Railroad (the one that does the dinner trains and is unaffiliated with Railtown) has a hold of the old SP 0-6-0 and is planning a FULL restoration in order to have a steam powered passenger train in the late 2007 season. It is in pretty rough shape however so we shall see. If anyone has the drive to do it though, they do. Last I heard they were looking for volunteers to start working on it this summer, if I hear more would you like to know? Secondly, the Sierra Railway #3, owned by the GGSRM at Railtown in Jamestown, CA is caught up in red tape. The costs keep getting more expensive, the requirements keep getting higher, and the loco sits rotting. I heard from some of the people I know from the GSRM that there was supposed to be a huge grant being set aside for the 3 this year and it would be done by 2008. But this is the same story heard since it was shopped, so who knows. I know some of the volunteers that got her to where she is now and they only need a little bit of money to at least make a lot of progress. It really is a shame. Well, I think I am out of breath now =], See YA!

Cory in Turlock

 

[jetrock]

I'm a docent at CSRM, I don't know anything about that particular car but I do know that restoration funds are VERY limited--there is a huge collection and a lot that needs restoration! A lot of the collection is now under the roofs of the shops buildings, thanks to the transfer table, but there is not enough room for everything.

Sneaking into the shops: Some do it, I'm not sure how the MoW crew respond to it (there have been some vandalism incidents) so enter at your own risk...normally the rare tour groups they do let through (by special arrangement) have to sign damage waivers and wear helmets.

In another decade or so the Shops will actually be part of the museum that can be visited by the public. For right now, Parks & Rec budgets are so low that "deferred maintenance" (meaning "anything not actively on fire has to sit around and break down some more") is the rule.