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Posted October 20, 2020

2021 CCRRF Set for October 1-3

For now, the plan is the same as usual... Preliminary activites of the 2021 Central Coast Railroad Festival (CCRRF) will start in September, model layout tours will start Thursday 9/30, Saturday 10/2 at the SLO Railroad Museum, etc. This is all tentative, of course, but that's the plan right now!

If you've got some ideas on what to add, make better, etc... Or, better yet, want to be a Participant or Sponsor in 2021, please contact us through the CCRRF Contacts page.

Help the Swanton Pacific Railroad

The Swanton Pacific Railroad in Davenport was destroyed during the CZU Complex Fire in Santa Cruz County. Pictured is what is left of the Roundhouse and the locomotives from the 1915 Pan Pacific Exhibition. Two of the three locomotives were badly damaged, and all the passenger cars were lost to the fire. There is another locomotive that was off site to be fitted with a new boiler. Cal Poly has set up a crowd funding site to make it easy for those who want to help to be able to make donations. Click here to help fund the recovery. The Swanton Pacific Railroad's website is here.

Parlor Car Chats

The Parlor Car Chats online (COVID-free) program of the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum (SLORRM) has been running since May 2020. The next Chat is on Halloween morning, 10am PDT, on the topic of The Circus Train. We're very excited to have a Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey clown with us live to tell stories from his seven years aboard the RBBB Circus Train. There are video/audio recordings of all completed sessions that you can watch online any time. Completed topics include:

• Riding the Rails from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara
• 150th Golden Spike Anniversary
• Rail Route Guide SLO to Paso Robles
• Railroad Chapel Cars
• Ten Central Coast Railroad Festivals
• Pacific Harbor Line and Ports in L.A.
• Santa Maria Valley Railroad
• SMV #205
• Royal Gorge Route Railroad
• Colorado Fall Colors by Speeder Part 1
• Colorado Fall Colors by Speeder Part 2 and the "REAL" Golden Spike 150th Anniversary
• Garden Railroads
• Cumbres and Toltec's Geology Special
• Amtrak's Coast Starlight and Great Lodges
• Union Pacific's Bailey Yard, the Golden Spike Tower, and Great Acts of Kindness
• Guided Photoshoot on the SMVRR

If you have a railroad passion about which you'd be willing to do a little show-and-tell (that's really what a Chat amounts to), please contact the SLORRM webmaster from the Contact page.

SMVRR Update ONLINE October 28th

The next Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad event on Wednesday, October 28th will be virtual! An update of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad and an update on Friends will be presented by Rob Himoto, President of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad. The Zoom presentation will be live from the offices of the railroad starting at 6pm PDT. Join the Zoom meeting here (Meeting ID: 993 2162 7329, Passcode: 304754). If you want to call in by phone (audio only), find your local phone number to call here.

Danny the Diesel Locomotive

The SLO Railroad Museum has a children's book out, Danny the Diesel Locomotive, intended for ages about three to six. It's free to view and download, but a donation of $10 will help continue Museum programs for our younger visitors. It's here: Danny the Diesel Locomotive.

PMT Exhibit

The SLO Railroad Museum now has two PMT (Pacific Motor Trucking Co.) trailers representing Southern Pacific's intermodal, door-to-door, freight transportation system. Brad LaRose narrates a video about the project to complete this exhibit with an SPRR flat car on which to place these two PMT trailers. This is an extremely unique opportunity. The video is here: PMT Exhibit (YouTube).

San Luis Obispo Model Railroad Association

The San Luis Obispo Model Railroad Association's public events have been on hiatus during the pandemic. We have been holding virtual meetings among our members and guests at 7pm on the third Monday of the month. Please email your contact information to Matthew Metoyer, SLOMRA Secretary, at secretary@slomra.org if you'd like to join us.

Latest Friends-of-SMVRR Newsletter

The Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad has just posted their latest newsletter, Fall 2020. All their newsletters are here.

SLORRM Video Library Index

We've updated the page on the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum's website that provides an easy-to-find index list of all videos available on the site. The index includes CCRRF videos. It's here: Video Library Index.

Wine-Rail Excursions in 2021

The SLO Railroad Museum is working on Wine-Rail Excursions for next year. Three Santa Ynez wineries have expressed interest. This trip would include bussing to the Santa Ynez Valley, have lunch, visit two wineries, and then home on the Surfliner (#777) from Santa Barbara. Likewise, two Paso Robles wineries may participate in trips north for which we'd use the Coast Starlight to Paso. No promises yet, but stay tuned!

SMV Historical Society Museum: Updates

The SMV Historical Society Museum recently sent Ladies of Our Valley (cover pictured) to the publisher which we hope to release mid-November. We are also working on a Cliff-Notes publication for the Gatewood Family: First African American Family in Santa Maria. We currently have Roemer, Hart and Battles completed. Gatewoods will be the fourth in the series written by Clif Garrett with Cindy Ransick and Mike Farris completing the picture.

The museum has re-opened and is following all the appropriate protocols: masks, social distancing, etc. All the volunteers are back and we are taking donations and helping families learn more about themselves!

Central Coast Trains is Open

Central Coast Trains in Atascadero is open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm. If the door is locked, please knock. Face masks must be properly worn and tracking information (name, where from and contact number) will be taken per government instruction.

Area Railroading Opportunities

There's a plethora of railroading going on in our area (broadly speaking, in some cases). Check out this Index of Area Railroading. Be sure to check with any of interest to you to verify their COVID-19 status.

Do you have a Central Coast railroad event to add to our next broadcast email? Email it to: addevent@ccrrf.com.

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