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Truckee railroad museum rolls into town
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Sierra Pacific Railroad caboose
By Inga Aksamit, Inga’s Adventures
The Truckee Donner Railroad Society has been working to bring a railroad museum to the area, and achieved several milestones this year. The Truckee Town Council granted approval to a new site in April, and last week brought the caboose that will house the museum into town by crane.
The caboose is located next to the new California Welcome Center and Chamber of Commerce in downtown Truckee. One benefit of the site is that it is at the original train station in town, lending an aura of historical significance. The caboose is from the Sierra Pacific Railroad line and was used in the area.
The caboose will be restored and volunteers will create the interior displays showing how railroads contributed to the development of the area and the challenges of dealing with the deep snows that blanket the area in winter.
Within the next five years the Society plans to add a sleeper car, diesel switcher, rotary snow plow and logging train to the site to provide a broader overview of the role the railroad played in the area.
The Society hopes that the museum will be open to visitors by Christmas, if all goes well. In the meantime, the caboose may be viewed from the 10,000 block of Donner Pass Road in downtown Truckee. Area merchants are pleased that the museum will attract visitors to the area.
The Society welcomes volunteers who want to contribute labor, and accepts donations to fund the project. So far they have raised $40,000, which is a little short of their $50,000 goal. For information on how to help, go to the Truckee Donner Railroad Society website at www.truckeedonnerrailroadsociety.com
Photos by Keith Pattison, Truckee Donner Railroad Society, with permission
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