5/5 Cary B. 3 years ago on Google
If
you've
ever
had
the
privilege
of
riding
in
a
stagecoach,
pulled
by
four
galloping
horses,
you
know
how
uncomfortable
and
dusty
it
can
be.
(I've
worked
on
Westerns.)
600
horsepower
locomotives
allowed
fast,
comfortable
travel.
But
a
train
without
tracks
is
just
a
hunk
of
steel.
It
took
thousands
of
incredibly
hard
working
people
to
connect
rails
of
steel,
from
the
waters
of
the
Atlantic,
across
the
great
plains,
crossing
rivers,
bridging
canyons,
and
tunneling
mountains,
to
the
goldfields
of
California.
Here,
elegantly
presented
in
dioramas,
charts,
maps
and
photography
is
the
history
of
the
men
and
woman
that
perform
the
Herculean
tasks
that
led
to
the
joining
of
the
rails
at
Promontory
Summit,
Utah.
Completing
a
transcontinental
continental
railroad
connecting
the
East
and
West
Coasts
of
the
United
States
into
one
nation.
With
incredible
craftsmanship
the
museum's
docents
have
restored
locomotives
and
specialty
cars
from
America's
past.
A
large
screen
movie,
available
at
no
charge,
helps
you
enjoy
what
the
museum
has
to
offer.
Be
sure
to
check
out
the
dining
car,
club
car,
and
sleeping
car.
The
sleeping
car
has
moving
images
outside
the
windows,
a
mechanism
to
shake
the
car,
and
the
sound
of
the
clicking
wheels
crossing
the
expansion
joints
in
the
rails.
It's
intoxicating.
So,
if
you
want
to
relive
Alfred
Hitchcock's
"North
by
Northwest,"
the
Cary
Grant,
Eva
Marie
Saint
movie,
here's
your
chance.
But,
please
don't
steal
the
Porter's
key.
On
the
museum's
high
second
floor
is
an
expansive
electric
train
display.
The
model
train
I
had
as
a
child,
a
Lionel
locomotive,
boxcars
and
a
red
caboose
is
there.
Running
on
longer
tracks
than
this
child
ever
imagined.
The
view
from
the
third
floor
balcony
of
the
full-sized
locomotives
and
specialty
cars
should
not
be
missed.
One
simulation
I
found
particularly
enjoyable
was
acting
as
the
engineer
on
the
developing
California
high-speed
train
system.
After
admission,
there
are
no
additional
charges
for
any
exhibit
in
the
museum.
On
the
first
floor,
is
a
moderately
priced
gift
shop
stocked
with
California
and
railroad
books
and
souvenirs.
Your
entire
family
will
enjoy
this
well
maintained
museum.
There
is
something
special
about
trains,
be
they
big
or
small,
that
children
and
adults
find
fascinating.
There's
lots
of
things
to
touch
and
climb,
and
docents
to
explain
how
things
work.
Many
of
the
docents,
now
retired
from
railroading,
share
their
experiences.
Children
and
adults
find
these
moments
fascinating.
Everything
is
wheelchair-accessible.
There
are
ramps
and
elevators
as
necessary.
Although,
some
of
the
lovingly
renovated
cars
are
difficult.
The
museum
does
not
have
a
cafeteria.
But
good
food
choices
are
available
in
Old
Sacramento,
just
a
few
steps
away.
Inexpensive
parking
in
a
public
lot,
is
across
the
street.