RAILHEAD Jul 2010 - Sacramento Valley Historical Railways

RAILHEAD
VOLUME 29 NUMBER 2
JULY 2010
From the Right Side of the Cab
By Mike Adams
Each year the SVHR Board of
Directors works hard to identify
the best uses of the organization’s
resources. After lively and thoughtful discussion, we then set goals for
the year. This year’s goals remain
ambitious but also take into consideration the slow economy. As
always, we keep in mind the SVHR
Mission Statement to guide us in
our decision making.
Here are the goals for this year:
1. Repair the depot roof.
During the last couple of years,
leaks in the roof developed around
the chimneys in the office and
waiting rooms. At first, our volunteers were able to seal the leaks
effecively with tubes of roof sealer.
This worked for awhile, but eventually the leaks would reappear and
it became obvious that we needed
professional help. We had a
number of roofing contractors take
a look and came up with an estimated cost which was not cheap.
Fortunately, Salvador Perez and
Alejandro Arana from the United
Union of Roofers, Waterproofers,
and Allied Workers, Local 81 came
to our rescue and did the repairs
for just the cost of materials. Now
we have come up with a plan to get
the chimneys themselves repaired
so that they can once again be used
with cast iron stoves.
2. Continue the restoration of
the Depot restrooms and waiting
rooms and complete additional
identified Depot projects.
In order to complete the restrooms, certain modifications must
be made to the waiting rooms so
that the restrooms have proper
ADA access. For example, the exterior double doors in the women’s
waiting room need to be replaced
with double windows as the room
was originally built so that the
door to the ADA restroom can
open properly. Also, in order for
the men’s restroom and women’s
waiting room to be completed, the
chimneys must be repaired so that
the holes in the walls can be sealed
(see above).
3. Develop and implement a new
fundraising plan to complete the
Depot restroom project.
Additional fundraising is still
needed to complete the water and
sewer hookups to the Depot. As
such, we are exploring new ways
to raise the funds needed for this
project since previous sources of
funding are not currently available.
Plus, we plan on meeting with
the City of Woodland to discuss
alternative ways to get our needed
hookups.
4. Develop a restoration plan
for the Section Tool House and
continue restoration.
Now that this historic structure
has been stabilized, restoration has
begun. Currently, volunteers are
re-installing the two large wooden
doors. One door is already in place
and once the second door is installed, the structure can finally be
secured. After that, we will begin
work to restore the roof, exterior
siding, and interior fixtures. This
tool house was once home to the
track crew’s motorized speeder
(maybe even a handcar) and now
houses a speeder trailer.
5. Continue stabilization of the
rolling stock.
The door to the caboose has
been repaired and re-installed and
the interior rewired. We are still
searching for a welder to help us
reattach the smokejack to the roof.
Locomotive 50 has been getting
some attention lately, and we hope
to have some good news to report
on it soon.
6. Identify fundraising sources
and apply for grants for specific
projects.
We are continually looking for
new ways to fund our restoration
projects. The Board has identified
several projects that need to be
done but lack funding. My goal
is to post a list of these projects on
the SVHR website so that donors
can pick projects they want to help
fund. Each project will have a brief
description of the work to be done
Go to Adams, Page 2
A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY HISTORICAL RAILWAYS
1120 Lincoln Avenue, Woodland CA 95695-4116 -- Tel: (530) 400-3202 -- email: [email protected] -- http://www.SVHR.org
2
FROM THE
PLATFORM
By Al Van Hoosear
Several months ago, Board member Ron Burch casually mentioned
that one of his colleagues was an
electrician and was interested in
visiting our depot restoration. Talk
about a busman’s holiday! Mike
Gove did stop by during one of our
Saturday workdays, rolled up his
sleeves and dug right into the chaotic electrical systems of our old depot. Mike’s first task was to rewire
the ceiling lights in our waiting
rooms, a task that required countless hours in the hot and dirty attic
by Ron and Mike. When that was
done, they installed a much needed
receptacle in the main waiting
room and one in the outside arcade.
Next they rewired the lighting and
receptacle circuits of the caboose.
Then they returned to the attic to
wire and install two vintage outside
lights, one beside the top of the baggage room and the other over the
main waiting room door.
Mike and Ron were recently
asked to install a holophane ceiling light in the agent’s office in an
experiment to back date that room
to the early teens. No problem.
They arrived at 7am on a Friday
and completed the task without any
fanfare. Mike was not comfortable
with our main breaker box, so he
and Ron have been spent several
months installing a new one. This
job led them back into the attic
where they concluded that a larger
junction box was also needed there.
Needless to say, SVHR has been
extremely fortunate to have the expert services of Mike. He has been
in that nasty attic every workday
for at least 5 months now and he is
not telling us how many unofficial
work days he has put in. He has
been very attentive and sensitive to
retaining the historic atmosphere of
the depot and has always gone that
extra mile to satisfy our demand for
detail. Many thanks to this important and friendly volunteer.
Mike Gove at the April 3 work day at the former SP Woodland Depot (Ron Burch
From Adams, Page 1
and a cost estimate. We will also
be applying for project grants from
such newly identified sources as the
National Railway Historical Society.
7. Increase the number of educational presentations for the community.
Since education is an important
part of our mission as a non-profit
organization, we are seeking more
opportunities for our educational
presentations. We have increased
our presence at local events, conducted tours of the depot and rolling stock, and hope to resume our
presentations to service groups.
8. Increase SVHR’s presence on
electronic media.
Sending our newsletters via email
and posting them on our website
has been a success but we still are
looking at ways to improve the
presentation and distribution of our
emails. We are also exploring the
use of Facebook, local Wiki sites,
etc. to publicize our organization.
9. Redesign and print new brochure and fundraising envelope.
The demand for our brochures
has been increasing and our brochure has not been redesigned in
some time. Having a preprinted
fundraising envelope will make it
more convenient for SVHR supporters to make donations.
With your continued help we can
accomplish these goals and continue to be an effective organization
preserving the railroad history of
the Sacramento Valley.
3
Motor Cars of the
Southern Pacific Railroad
in the Sacramento Valley
By: Mike Adams
An unusual railcar once traveled
the through the Sacramento Valley
during the early part of the 20th
century and made regular stops in
Davis and Woodland. These selfpropelled, gasoline-powered motor
cars were manufactured between
1905 and 1917 by the McKeen Motor Car Company of Omaha, Nebraska. They were designed by William
McKeen, the Superintendent of
Motive Power and Machinery for
the Union Pacific Railroad and were
meant to be an economical way to
transport passengers on less travelled routes. The Southern Pacific
Railroad was a major purchaser of
the limited number (152) of McKeen
motor cars that were built.
Most of these cars had distinctive
characteristics including a pointed
front end, rounded back end, and
porthole style windows. They were
notoriously difficult to operate and
broke down often due to engine
and transmission problems. Many
trainmen considered them to be underpowered as well. You can view
one of the few surviving McKeen
cars at the Nevada State Railroad
Museum in Carson City (www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmOSWNmjfsY).
The museum has recently restored
former V&TRR No. 22 to operating
condition.
In 1911, the year that our depot
was built, the Woodland Democrat
newspaper ran a column entitled,
Railroad Notes, which documented
the activities of the local railroads.
Here are some excerpts that document the travails of the Southern
Pacific McKeen motor cars in Yolo
County.
February 3. 1911; The northbound motor known as No. 96, due
in Woodland at 8:12 p.m., was two
hours late Thursday night. It was
disabled at Davis and was towed
back to Sacramento by a freight
train. Another motor was started
out from Sacramento on the ar-
A Southern Pacific railcar and US Mail car at the Sacramento Depot in 1918 (from
the collection of Mike Adams).
rival of the freight train. In the
meantime the passengers from San
Francisco for Woodland and points
north as far as Willows, spent two
weary hours in the Davis depot.
June 2, 1911; Special Motor
Service: Commencing Sunday, June
4th, and continuing every Sunday
thereafter until further notice, the
Southern Pacific Company will
run a special motor Sacramento to
Orland and return to accommodate
baseball fans and other business.
Car leaves Woodland about 9:45
a.m., returning… about 10:30 p.m.
June 5, 1911; Conductors and
agents are keeping tab on the
number of passengers that go south
on No. 525, the motor which leaves
here at 6:45 p.m. The presumption is that the traffic is getting so
heavy that a change to a steam train
is contemplated. Forty-one tickets
were sold from Woodland Friday
and thirty-nine on Saturday.
June 10, 1911; A new time card,
which goes into effect tomorrow,
reads as follows: Marysville passenger, No. 17, 7 a.m.; San Francisco
Express, No. 13, 8:45 a.m.; Oroville
passenger, No. 21, 3:20 p.m.; Red
Bluff passenger No. 29, 3:30 p.m.;
Shasta Limited, No. 11 (no stop),
6:06 p.m.; Hamilton-Sacramento
motor, No. 523, 10:50 a.m.; TehamaSacramento motor, No. 525, 6:53
p.m. North-bound trains will arrive
as follows: Portland Express, No.
14, 1:25 a.m.; Red Bluff passenger,
No 30, 11:06 a.m.; Oroville passenger, No. 22, 11:20 a.m.; Shasta
Limited, No. 12 (no stop), 2:35 p.m.;
Sacramento-Hamilton motor, No.
522, 3:55 p.m.; Marysville passenger, No. 18, 7:10 p.m.; SacramentoTehama motor, No. 524, 7:53 p.m.
August 12, 1911; The motor has
been entirely inadequate to accommodate the people who have been
going to Sacramento every evening
this week. One passenger refused
to go Friday evening, after he had
purchased a ticket, because of the
crowded condition of the car. An
extra motor will arrive this evening
in time to run back with regular
motor as No. 525, so there will be
ample accommodations for southbound passengers at 6:50 p.m.
August 14, 1911; About 75 passengers bound for San Francisco,
among them a number of Woodlandites, went as far as Davis Saturday evening, where they arrived
just in time to see the smoke of
the departing train with which the
motor should have connected. As
that was the last opportunity to go
to San Francisco that evening there
were many sore and disappointed
people. Some returned to Woodland, others went to Sacramento.
4
Calendar of Events
Historic Woodland Train Depot
Open House
Saturday, September 11
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Yard Sale at the Depot
Saturday, October 16
7:00 a.m. to noon
New Volunteer Orientation
Saturday, November 6
10:00 a.m. to noon
Holiday Open House at the Depot
Saturday, December 11
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
The Sacramento Valley Historical Railways
thanks the donors below
for their generous contributions to the SVHR
Annual Fund.
Up to $50
Gill Walker, Woodland
If you would like to contribute to
the SVHR Annual Fund, send your
tax deductible donation to: Sacramento Valley Historical Railways,
1120 Lincoln Avenue, Woodland,
CA 95695. Donations can now also
online by going to our website at:
www.svhr.org and clicking on
the “Support SVHR” button.
Recent Acquisitions
The Sacramento Valley Historical Railways museum collection
is growing with generous gifts and
other acquisitions such as these
listed below:
Drinking fountain, manufactured
by the Haws Drinking Fountain Co.
matching Southern Pacific Common
Standards
Gift of Al and Karen Van Hoosear
of Davis, and Mike and Nancy Adams
of Woodland.
Dressel railroad lantern, kerosene burner, grey paint, marked
“S.P.CO.”
Gift of John Murphy of Davis.
American Flyer model train layout from the early 1950’s
Gift of Mike Wall of Woodland.
Two books of Southern Pacific
Company Rules and Regulations,
dated May 1, 1915 and April 1, 1956
Gift of the Friends of the Woodland
Public Library.
Collection of railroad items including lanterns, a conductor’s hat,
cap badges, timetables, and manuals
Gift of Frank Camp of Pleasanton.
If you would like to donate an
item to the SVHR museum collection, contact us at: Sacramento
Valley Historical Railways, 1120
Lincoln Avenue, Woodland, CA
95695 or visit our website at: www.
svhr.org.
Mike Adams took this photograph on
July 31, 2010 just prior to the removal of
the last section of the last steel overhead trolley support pole remaining in
Woodland. This pole was between 5th
and 6th Streets on Main Street and is
a remnant of the interurban passenger
service of the Sacramento Northern
Railway. Although passenger service
ended October 31, 1940, electric freight
operations continued on this part of
Main Street until 1947, when the entire
Woodland branch was converted to
diesel operation, Two of these poles
previously removed from Main Street
in Woodland are present at the SVHR
former SP Woodland Depot.