My friend Steve invited me to attend the inaugural run of a restored steam locomotive at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, California. Interested in all things related to transportation, I was excited to be included in this event.
We started by taking a vintage Union Pacific caboose down the line where we disembarked to await the arrival of the 0-6-0 switching locomotive built by the Schenectady Works of ALCO, the American Locomotive Company, in 1919. The restoration of this locomotive took volunteers over 10 years to complete in the Western Pacific Railroad Yard, now the museum’s home. Hearing and seeing this roaring, hissing, huffing and puffing mechanical locomotive from the past was exciting and the best part was we got to ride in the cab for a loop around the museum tracks. We also took the opportunity to tour the restoration workshops and explore the many locomotives and rolling stock that are in the museum’s inventory.
Today rail is a significant piece of the national transportation network, however its primacy has been superseded by truck and airfreight for moving goods around the country. This museum presents an important part of our transportation history that transformed the economy as well as the physical and cultural landscape of the nation.
All images were taken with Nikon D750 with Nikon AF Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 D zoom lens in RAW format and processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC 14.4
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