Fact Finding...
August 16, 2008
Rob Himoto (left), President of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad (SMVRR), and Kevin O'Roark, President of the Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad (FoSMVRR) visited the South Coast Railroad Museum (also known as the Goleta Railroad Museum). Jamie Foster was along as well, behind the camera. It was a fact-finding mission...
What a beautiful park-like setting this facility occupies. The depot building itself was moved to this location in two pieces from its original location a few miles away along the Southern Pacific mainline. Inside rooms are set up as they were in the building's prime, complete with a working telegraph on which you can try your skill. Also inside the depot is a room with a very nice HO layout depicting the area.
Outside is a Southern Pacific bay-window caboose that's open for viewing. And on third Saturdays of the month, visitors can take a crack at running a handcar up and down the stub track in front of the depot.
A 7.5" gauge ride-on railroad wraps around the facility, and rides are available. Tickets are available in a very nice gift shop on the grounds, which Rob says he can never get through without buying something. Today was no exception.
The Stow House is right next door to the Goleta Railroad Museum. It's a beautiful mansion built in 1872 by William W. Stow, an attorney for the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was the headquarters for Stow's 1043-acre ranch.
On the way back, we spent a little time just off Highway 101 at the Cachuma Pass exit (Highway 154). Between the interchange and Los Olivos, remnants of the old Pacific Coast Railway may still be seen today. In this first picture you can see a grade at left and right with a location for a bridge in between.
In this next picture, the grade runs across the center of the image.
Note the level grade/cut that runs from the base of the large tree at right gently to the left (and a little up).