Earlier this month, the Golden Gate Railroad Museum and the NWP’s owner, the North Coast Railroad Authority, made an agreement to move the museum’s collection of historic Southern Pacific equipment to Sonoma, about 45 miles north of San Francisco.
Among the highlights of the Golden Gate Railroad Museum’s collection is SP 4-6-2 No. 2472, a Baldwin built in 1921. It was first restored in the late 1980s and early 1990s and in recent years has been found operating on the Niles Canyon Railway.
David Hensarling tells Trains News Wire that the museum has been looking for a more permanent home and that the group is excited about the future. “This move will let us continue our mission of preserving the history of passenger railroading in the Bay Area,” Hensarling says.
Hensarling says the museum hopes to move the equipment – most of which is at Niles Canyon – to Sonoma in the first half of 2017. After that, the group will turn its attention to building a restoration facility.
NWP’s Jonathan Kathrein says the railroad is excited about hosting the museum. “This is just a wonderful opportunity for everyone involved,” he says.
Aside from No. 2472, the Golden Gate Railroad Museum has a wide array of ex-SP equipment, including a GP9, two F7s, a Fairbanks-Morse H-12-44 and numerous passenger cars. For more information, visit www.ggrm.org.
