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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Western Pacific Railroad Museum
The Western Pacific Railroad Museum (WPRM) in Portola, California, known as the Portola Railroad Museum until January 1, 2006, is a heritage railroad that preserves and operates historic American railroad equipment and preserves documents, photos and information. The museum's mission is to preserve the history of the Western Pacific Railroad and is operated by the Feather River Rail Society (reporting mark FRRX), founded in 1983. It is located at a former Western Pacific locomotive facility, adjacent to the Union Pacific's former Western Pacific mainline through the Feather River Canyon.

Museum collection

The museum holds in its collection twenty-nine diesel locomotives, one electric locomotive, one steam locomotive (Operational as of April 2022), fifteen passenger cars (including four from the well-known California Zephyr), numerous freight and maintenance cars and eighteen cabooses. They offer excursions and a "Run A Locomotive" program during the summer. The WPRM has one of the larger collections of early diesel era locomotives and freight cars in North America. The museum is often considered to have one of the most complete and historic collections of equipment and materials from a single railroad family. The holdings also include extensive corporate records and images, as well as personal collections from those who worked for the Western Pacific.

Logos of the Western Pacific Railroad and the Feather River Rail Society, operators of the Western Pacific Railroad Museum.

The WPRM is a "hands-on" museum that allows visitors to board and explore locomotives and train cars in their collection.

Among the significant pieces in the WPRM collection are Western Pacific 805-A, an FP7 model passenger locomotive that pulled the California Zephyr; Southern Pacific EMD GP9 #2873, nicknamed "the Kodachrome" by the volunteers, due to it being painted with the Kodachrome scheme from the failed Santa Fe–Southern Pacific merger; WP 2001, the first GP20 locomotive (an early turbocharged diesel); WP 501, an early switch engine and the first diesel purchased by the Western Pacific; Western Pacific 0-6-0 steam locomotive 165, an oil burning switch engine built by ALCO in 1919; WP 3051, one of only two remaining GE U30B locomotives; WP 106 business car "Charles O. Sweetwood", built in 1917 and used during the Korean War as a rolling blood bank; WP 37, a 200-ton rail-mounted crane, two track clearing snowplows (one wedge type and one rotary); and several rare, early 20th century freight cars. Also located at the site are the Portola Diesel Shop, built in 1953, and an interlocking tower from Oakland, California, currently stored unrebuilt. The Western Pacific Hospital, built in 1911 and one of the few remaining railroad hospitals in the country, was part of the museum until it was destroyed in an arson fire on September 7, 2011. The WPRM maintains several of their road diesels in mainline operating condition and has made occasional movements on Class I railroads using their own historic motive power.

For a complete summary of the museum's equipment, see Rolling stock of the Western Pacific Railroad Museum.

Currently owned

Photograph Locomotive Model Build date Builder Status Notes Refs.
Western Pacific 165 S-34 November 1919 ALCO-Schenectady Operational as of April 2022
Western Pacific 501 EMD SW1 8/1939 Electro-Motive Division Out of service for maintenance
Western Pacific 805-A EMD FP7 January 1950 Electro-Motive Division Out of service
Feather River and Western 1857 FM H-12-44 January 1953 Fairbanks-Morse Out of service
Southern Pacific 2873 EMD GP9 December 1956 Electro-Motive Division Out of service, Oil system repairs complete, water pump removed for rebuild.

Formerly owned, surplus

Photograph Locomotive Model Build date Manufacturer Declaration date as "Surplus" Status Notes Refs.
Southern Pacific 4404 SD9E April 1955 Electro-Motive Division February 6, 2013 Sold to Western Rail Inc. in 2014.
Southern Pacific 4450 SD9E April 1954 Electro-Motive Division February 6, 2013 Scrapped on August 20, 2013
Milwaukee Road 5057 U25B August 1965 General Electric February 6, 2013 Stored at the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad

Operating a locomotive

One aspect of the Western Pacific Railroad Museum is its nationally known Run A Locomotive (RAL) program. Except for winter and certain weekends when special events are in progress, the museum provides visitors a chance to be an engineer for an hour. Participants are given on-the-ground instruction, then they get to operate a real locomotive of their choice for an hour. A qualified engineer joins them in the locomotive for oversight and further instruction.

Zephyr Project

The Zephyr Project is a program of the Feather River Rail Society to acquire, preserve and restore cars, locomotives, personal stories and artifacts relating to the California Zephyr. Currently, the Project's collection of equipment includes Western Pacific FP7 no. 805-A, Silver Hostle, a dome lounge car, dome-coach "Silver Lodge" and dining car "Silver Plate". In addition, the dome-coach "Silver Rifle" is on long-term loan from the Golden Gate Railroad Museum.

See also

References

  1. ^ Railinc Corporation, Search MARKs Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine, accessed September 2009
  2. ^ "Western Pacific Railroad Historical Society-WPRRH History". Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  3. ^ "Welcome to the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola!". Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  4. ^ ""FRRS/WPRM Updated Equipment Roster September 2020" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  5. ^ "Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola — Locomotive Roster". Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  6. ^ "Western Pacific Railroad Museum Steam Department". Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  7. ^ "Equipment Toster" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  8. ^ "Equipment Roster". Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  9. ^ ""FRRS/WPRM Updated Equipment Roster September 2020" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  10. ^ "Calendar". Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  11. ^ "WP 805A". Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  12. ^ "WP GP20 History". Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  13. ^ "Outside-the-Gate". Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  14. ^ Finnegan, Paul (2022-07-12). "Latest WPRM equipment list" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  15. ^ ""FRRS/WPRM Updated Equipment Roster September 2020" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  16. ^ "WPRM Locomotives". wplives.org. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  17. ^ "Western Pacific Railroad Museum Steam Department". Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  18. ^ "WPRM - WP 501". wplives.org. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  19. ^ "WPRM - WP 805A". www.wplives.org. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  20. ^ "WPRM - USARMY/FR&W 1857". wplives.org. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  21. ^ "WPRM - SP 2873". wplives.org. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  22. ^ Vicknair, Eugene (2013-06-02). "FRRS BoD Mtg Report 02-09-13 Surplus Property Locomotives" (PDF). Feather River Rail Society. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  23. ^ Vicknair, Eugene (2006). "Issue 135 (May/June/July 2006): Golden Gate Railroad Museum Hospital Train" (PDF). Feather River Rail Society. pp. 8, 10. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
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