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Central Coast is pleased to offer its members and their guests a field trip to ride and view the historic equipment at the Railroad Museum at Ardenwood, which is operated by the Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources (SPCRR). This will take place on Sunday August 18, 2024, at 10:00 am. This visit is also planned to include a ride aboard newly restored equipment.

Thomas and Martin Carter were brothers that had railroad car building shops in Northern California. Active from 1874 to 1902, the Carters probably built about 5,000 cars over 28 years. They specialized in narrow gauge equipment, but also built horse cars, cable cars, a few electrics, and some standard gauge equipment. Early shops were located in Monterey, Sausalito, and San Francisco. By 1877 they built what would be their final shop in Newark, California on the South Pacific Coast Railroad, less than a mile from Ardenwood Farm. These shops were located just east of the Newark station and were adjacent to the South Pacific Coast Railroad's back shop and roundhouse. They had a significant influence upon the operation of the South Pacific Coast Railroad, which was an 80-mile narrow-gauge rail line that ran from Alameda, Newark, and San Jose to Santa Cruz in California. The line was known for its (then) high-speed passenger service (the trip from San Francisco to Santa Cruz took three hours and 55 minutes including the ferry ride across the bay to Alameda). Freight consisted of redwood lumber and slaked lime from the Santa Cruz Mountains, fruit from the Santa Clara Valley and Mountains, and explosives from the California Powder Works.

SPCRR works to research and restore of Carter Brothers' railroad artifacts, which include collections of photographs, documents, drawings, and physical remains of railroad cars and equipment. They also have other significant narrow-gauge equipment in their historical collection. They have a shop where they restore their equipment, which we believe is worthy of viewing. They will give us a special tour of the shops and their collection of equipment. They are currently restoring narrow-gauge Northwestern Pacific Caboose #6101 (5591) built circa 1890 by the North Pacific Coast RR in Sausalito, which we plan to ride aboard. Also for viewing is their new acquisition, 1929 Baldwin 0-4-2RT Kiso Forest Railway #9.

This will be a drive-to field trip. It is located at Ardenwood Historic Farm Regional Park located at 34600 Ardenwood Blvd. in Fremont California on the Fremont/Newark Border. If coming from San Jose or Oakland, please allow about 35- minute drive time. We will send directions and final information to all who sign up.

Reservations should be made online at www.GoldenStateRails.com . Alternately you can send your name, reservation numbers, email, and phone number via email to steveferrari@yahoo.com . Please contact Steve Ferrari (steveferrari@yahoo.com or 408-504-0112) with questions. Note: Due to limited space, advance sign-up is required and the field trip is reserved for Central Coast members and guests. We request that you make reservations by August 7. You will receive confirmation via return email.

Although there is no cost, Central Coast always welcomes donations if you are inclined to do so to offset our insurance costs. You will have to pay an admission fee to get into Ardenwood Regional Park of $6/adults (18+ years), $5/seniors (62+ year), $4/children (4-17 years), under 4 years - free.

Sign Up online for this event HERE (There is no charge for this event)

Information about this event can be downloaded HERE