Pacific Locomotive Association
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Pacific Locomotive Association, Inc. (PLA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the physical aspects and atmosphere of
Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...
railroading Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
during the period from 1910 to 1960. The Pacific Locomotive Association operates the
Niles Canyon Railway The Niles Canyon Railway (NCRy) is a heritage railway running on the first transcontinental railroad alignment (1866, 1869) through Niles Canyon, between Sunol and the Niles district of Fremont in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, ...
, and has railroad artifacts on display in the Niles Depot Museum in
Fremont, California Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...
. It also owns a collection of
locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
s and other
railroad car A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...
s, with restorations complete or in progress.


History

The PLA was formed by six people from the San Francisco Peninsula in 1961. Prompted to take action by the recent demise of mainline steam railroading, the PLA was established to promote passenger excursion trains featuring unique and unusual locations and equipment. They also hoped to preserve elements of the steam era for future generations. Two of the PLA's first trips set the stage for the organization's early activities. The first of these was a May 1961 visit to the Howard Terminal Railway, and featured their last steam locomotive, No. 6. Shortly afterward, this steam engine was officially retired. Three members purchased this engine for $250 from Peter and Harmon Howard, on the condition that 'the engine never be scrapped'. Thus No. 6 became the first artifact of railroad history to be preserved by the PLA. The bell of the locomotive was not part of the sale but was kept by Peter Howard for a number of years. He then gave it to the PLA gratis. A second field trip was held the following month. This trip featured the Blake Brothers rail operation on the shore of
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
at Point Molate, near the eastern end of Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Their two-truck
Heisler locomotive The Heisler locomotive is one of the three major types of geared steam locomotives and the last to be patented. Charles L. Heisler received a patent for the design in 1892, following the construction of a prototype in 1891. Somewhat similar to ...
was operated over the railroad after many years of storage, but only after the group dug out the rails which had been buried by years of quarry dust. The formal organization of the Pacific Locomotive Association took place at
Burlingame, California Burlingame () is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame and is known for its numerous eucalyp ...
, in July, 1961. The original members were Charles Heimerdinger, Jr., Karl R. Koenig, Henry Luna, Thomas Eikrenkotter, Bart Gregg and Robert Field. Henry Luna was elected as the first president. As there were six charter members, and the first field trip featured engine No. 6, the present PLA logo is in the form of a locomotive's number plate with '6' in the center. In 1962 two trips open to the public were sponsored over the
California Western Railroad The California Western Railroad , AKA Mendocino Railway popularly called the Skunk Train, is a rail freight and heritage railway, heritage railroad transport railway in Mendocino County, California, United States, running from the railroad's he ...
. The first was from Ft. Bragg to Willits and return in August, using the railroad's M200 "Skunk". This trip sold out quickly, so it was repeated a month later. Round-trip fare, including coffee and donuts, was $6.35. The historic M200, built in 1926, was later purchased by PLA to save it from being scrapped, and now operates regularly on the
Niles Canyon Railway The Niles Canyon Railway (NCRy) is a heritage railway running on the first transcontinental railroad alignment (1866, 1869) through Niles Canyon, between Sunol and the Niles district of Fremont in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, ...
. In the mid 1990s a group of current and former
Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
employees operating an organization known as "Project 2467 Inc." with the goal of restoring and maintaining former Southern Pacific steam locomotive number 2467 merged into the PLA. The PLA news bulletin, sent to members each month, grew into a full-fledged railroad news magazine. Single issues and subscriptions to PLA's '' Pacific News'' were sold as a fund raiser. They were initially written, edited and produced by Karl R. Koenig on a
Ditto machine A spirit duplicator (also referred to as a Rexograph or Ditto machine in North America, Banda machine in the UK, Gestetner machine in Australia) is a printing method invented in 1923 by Wilhelm Ritzerfeld that was commonly used for much of the ...
, but as demand increased it eventually became cost-effective to use a professional printer. The magazine was eventually spun off and published independently, by Chatham Publishing Company until 1983 when it was sold to
Interurban Press Interurban Press was a small, privately owned American publishing company, specializing in books about streetcars, other forms of rail transit and railroads in North America, from 1943MacDougall, Kent (May 19, 1983). "Books Ring Bell With Devotees ...
(and later
Pentrex Pentrex Media Group, LLC, is an American producer and seller of railfan-related videos and DVDs. It was founded in 1984 and was originally headquartered in Pasadena, California, Pasadena, California.
). The name was later changed to ''
Pacific RailNews ''Pacific RailNews'' ''(PRN)'', originally named ''Pacific News'' and later ''RailNews'', was an American monthly magazine about Rail transport, railroads and Urban rail transit, rail transit, oriented for railfans. It was published from 1961 unt ...
'' and, with expanded coverage and national distribution, it was later shortened to its final name, ''Rail News''. Although successful for many years the magazine was discontinued by
Pentrex Pentrex Media Group, LLC, is an American producer and seller of railfan-related videos and DVDs. It was founded in 1984 and was originally headquartered in Pasadena, California, Pasadena, California.
in 1999.Magazine Subscriber Information
(2000).
Pentrex Pentrex Media Group, LLC, is an American producer and seller of railfan-related videos and DVDs. It was founded in 1984 and was originally headquartered in Pasadena, California, Pasadena, California.
. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
In 1965 two other steam locomotives became available for preservation. A donation by Connell Brothers Trucking of Stockton gave the PLA two additional steam locomotives; No. 5, a rare three-truck Heisler locomotive, and No. 12, the oldest standard gauge three-truck
Shay locomotive The Shay locomotive is a geared steam locomotive that originated and was primarily used in North America. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a ''geared st ...
known to exist. By 1967, the previously mentioned Blake Brothers quarry railroad, then owned by Quarry Products, Inc., had ceased rail operations at Point Richmond. Originally known as the Castro Point Railway and Terminal Co., this railroad had been a joint operation with the
Key System The Key System (or Key Route) was a privately owned company that provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany, and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area fr ...
, which used the railroad for its streetcars to reach the Richmond-San Rafael Ferry terminal. Quarry Products leased the railroad to the PLA for one dollar per year. As other historic locomotives and cars were acquired, they were moved to the Castro Point Railway. An agreement was reached in 1973 to use trackage in the adjoining
Point Molate Naval Fuel Depot Point Molate Naval Fuel Depot is a decommissioned United States Navy fueling station on the western shore of Richmond, California on San Francisco Bay. It has undergone years of litigation and debate as to its redevelopment with proposals rangin ...
for a terminal where PLA's equipment could be stored and maintained. Over the years, eleven steam locomotives and ten internal combustion locomotives, plus more than 35 passenger and freight cars, have been added to PLA's historic collection. Many of these were restored to active status and operated over the Castro Point Railway. This operating railroad museum began in 1969, and ran for the public until December, 1985, when the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
, concerned about security, canceled the agreement. As operations were coming to an end at Castro Point, the
Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
was in the process of ending service on its line through
Niles Canyon Niles Canyon is a canyon in the San Francisco Bay Area formed by Alameda Creek, known for its heritage railroad and silent movie history. The canyon is largely in an unincorporated area of Alameda County, while the western portion of the canyo ...
and over
Altamont Pass Altamont Pass, formerly Livermore Pass, is a low mountain pass in the Diablo Range of Northern California between Livermore in the Livermore Valley and Tracy in the San Joaquin Valley. The name is actually applied to two distinct but nearby c ...
, transferring its right-of-way to
Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...
after removal of the track. The County agreed to lease the Niles Canyon portion of the right-of-way to the PLA as a new home for the PLA’s collection and operations. Volunteer PLA members began relaying the track with some rail donated by both the
Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
and
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
. The first section, between Sunol and Brightside, was opened using California Western "Skunk" M200 on May 21, 1988. Between 1988 and 1994, track laying through the Canyon continued to Vallejo Mill Park, just short of Niles. Rails were extended to downtown Niles on September 19, 1998. Today the PLA operates the NCRy, a seven-mile railroad through the well-preserved and scenic Niles Canyon, and tens of thousands of people visit the railroad annually. Track reconstruction presently continues to the east along the five miles of right-of-way available between Sunol and Pleasanton.


Current activities

Today, the PLA has over 1000 members and contributing sponsors. A variety of railroad activities are available to the membership. Some enjoy rail trips to unusual destinations. Others take pleasure from the social aspect, attending the monthly meetings, special
barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...
s, events and dinners. While others take an interest in preserving railroad history, whether through research, writing, photography or working on the Niles Canyon Railway, still others, not living near the Bay Area, take pride in the continuous improvements and expansion by making contributions to help the museum grow. The PLA has continued to operate public excursions over most of California's railroads, including the Sierra, Santa Fe, McCloud and the Union Pacific. Other rail trips have taken members across Canada and as far as Ecuador, Chile, Cuba and China. At Niles Canyon, all restoration, expansion and preservation work, including track building and maintenance work on locomotives, rail cars, buildings, etc., is accomplished by PLA volunteer members. Activities vary from simple tasks requiring no experience, to working as a skilled mechanical technician, locomotive engineer or other member of a train crew.


References


External links


Niles Canyon Railway website
{{authority control Railroad museums in California