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| Landmark #780 | Sacramento County | Visited: March 22, 2015 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A plaque in the California Railroad Museum! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: Here, on January 8, 1863, Governor Leland Stanford turned the first spade of earth to begin construction of the Central Pacific Railroad. After more than six years of labor, crews of the Central Pacific Railroad from the west and the Union Pacific Railroad from the east met at Promontory, Utah where, on May 10, 1869, Stanford drove the gold spike signifying completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The Central Pacific Railroad, forerunner of the Southern Pacific Company, was planned by Theodore D. Judah and constructed largely through the efforts of the ‘Big Four’-Sacramento businessmen Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins.
OTHER TIDBITS: This museum is super impressive! It hosts 21 antique trains, including the Governor Stanford, the first locomotive of the Central Pacific Railroad, which was built in Pennsylvania and shipped in pieces all around Cape Horn! It pulled California’s first excursion train, freight train, and passenger train! There was a time when train travel was a grand affair, and the passenger train lines played a huge role in attracting tourists to come to California. Rail lines competed with each other, not with sales, but with glamour. The finest chefs served meals on the finest china, and comfort and elegance were key! My, how things have changed since then! One exhibit that I found particularly noteworthy was a small description of E.H. Harriman, who ran the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads in the early 1900s. He stepped in to repair the damage from the great Imperial Valley flood of 1905, and the following year, he organized the evacuation of San Francisco after the great earthquake! He picked up the cost of all of the transportation during these disasters! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: Old Sacramento State Historic Park Sacramento, California State Railroad Museum rear lounge area ANNOTATIONS: 125 I St From Los Angeles: ~385mi (620km) — 6.5hrs |
| When should I go? | The museum is open daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, except on major holidays! |
