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Articles Footlose
in
Vancouver The
Mighty
Yellowhead Rocky
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Romance THIS
EDITION IS IN PROGRESS. MORE TO
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Travel Series |
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Editor's
note: One of the highlights of our
career in publishing was a visit to
Railfair in Sacramento. It was held at
the California State Railroad Museum
and was certainly an event to remember.
We hope Railfair continues. The
Railroad Technology Museum at the
Southern Pacific Railroad Sacramento
Shops Momentum
Builds with Completion of Reconstructed
Transfer Table In late
1999, the Museum secured a lease from
Union Pacific Railroad on the complex's
two main structures, the Boiler Shop
and Erecting Shop. These cavernous
structures both date from the days when
steam locomotives were built and
repaired at the Sacramento Shops.
Portions of the massive, brick Erecting
Shop date from 1869 and SP predecessor
Central Pacific Railroad (CP). As such,
the Southern Pacific Sacramento Shops
include the only surviving CP
structures standing when America's
first transcontinental railroad was
completed. In
early 2000, the Museum completed moving
its restoration facilities into the
former Boiler Shop. In order to fully
occupy the Erecting Shop with
full-sized locomotives and cars,
however, reconstruction of the Transfer
Table&emdash;a bridge-like structure
that allows access to the many "work
bays" within the Erecting
Shop&emdash;has been essential.
Construction of the Transfer Table
began during mid-2001, and it was
completed in spring 2003. This $500,000
project has been funded through State
Parks Deferred Maintenance allocations
and a major fundraising campaign
conducted by the CSRM Foundation in
2000-2001. The
completed Transfer Table now allows
access to the Erecting Shop for the
Museum's collection of historic
railroad locomotives and cars. Stored
outside for years, these historic
items&emdash;many awaiting
restoration&emdash;are considered a top
priority for conservation by the
Museum. Many of the locomotives and
cars will become exhibits within the
new Railroad Technology Museum,
showcasing over a century of
technological development and
innovation in the railroad
industry. Restoration
and maintenance activities for the
Museum's collection of full-sized
locomotives and cars have been
conducted since 2000 in the complex's
Boiler Shop. In December 2002, the
latest project&emdash;refurbishment of
a 1920s vintage coach with a
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad heritage
for operation on the Museum's excursion
railroad, the Sacramento
Southern&emdash;was completed at the
facility. Construction of the Transfer
Table has also taken place in the
complex's Boiler Shop, given its
proximity to necessary tools and
expertise. Ongoing
maintenance of the Museum's operating
steam and diesel locomotives takes
place in the Boiler Shop, along with
maintenance of the Museum's coaches and
converted freight cars which regularly
carry school groups in spring and fall,
and families during the summer. The
necessary support systems for the
Museum's operating
railroad&emdash;track materials,
specialized machinery, and wayside and
at-grade crossing signals&emdash;are
built and maintained here as well. Also
under way is a railcar conservation
project for another State Park, Colonel
Allensworth State Historic Park,
attesting to the Shops' ability to
provide skills and tooling for a
variety of activities. Background The
Railroad Technology Museum (RTM)
was envisioned in the very first
planning documents created to guide
development of the California State
Railroad Museum. Planning for the RTM
began in the mid-1980s, following
completion of CSRM's flagship, the
100,000 square-foot Railroad History
Museum in Old Sacramento. Intended to
complement that facility, the RTM would
convert a portion of the 44-acre
historic Southern Pacific Sacramento
Shops site into a dynamic cultural
attraction. The
ambitious project would increase the
drawing power of Sacramento as a
cultural and tourism destination, and
provide a unique focal point for
surrounding Downtown Railyards and
waterfront redevelopment efforts.
Originally envisioned at a waterfront
location south of Old Sacramento, the
Railroad Technology Museum is much
better suited for development in the
former Southern Pacific Sacramento
Shops. This adaptive yet historic
re-use project would preserve the very
structures that best commemorate and
celebrate the history and technology of
railroading in California. It
would benefit the Museum's commercial
and residential
neighbors&emdash;including Old
Sacramento, the Union Pacific Railroad,
and the City and County of
Sacramento&emdash;and help spur
redevelopment of the Railyards in a
positive, historically appropriate
manner. The spacious railroad shop
buildings would house CSRM's collection
of historic locomotives and railroad
cars, plus formal museum exhibit
galleries interpreting railroad
engineering and technology. Children
would have the opportunity to explore
fundamental physics and engineering
principles through hands-on,
interactive exhibits. Through the use
of sectioned locomotives, scale models,
interactive displays, oral histories,
and other interpretive techniques, the
Museum and its staff would educate the
public about steam and diesel
locomotion, track structure design and
wheel interface, the importance of the
Shops and its labor force in the
development of Sacramento, and the
relevance of railroads in helping meet
the transportation challenges of the
future for California and the United
States. Another
significant aspect of the Railroad
Technology Museum is the opportunity
for the public to regularly view
ongoing restoration work. Previously,
this important aspect of the California
State Railroad Museum's work has been
conducted offsite, not accessible to
the public. The ability to watch
artisans working "real time" on steam
and diesel locomotives, wooden and
steel railroad cars, and other types of
projects has significant informational
and educational value. The facility
could easily support curriculum-based
educational programs for teenagers and
young adults. Vocational educational
programs could be established in
conjunction with ongoing renovation
work, offering new skills training and
development. To this
end, the Sacramento City Council in
late 1999 voted unanimously in support
of the concept of locating the Railroad
Technology Museum in the former
Southern Pacific Sacramento Shops. The
Railroad Technology Museum portion of
the project is estimated to cost
approximately $25 million. Development
of other existing structures within the
historic Shops complex are being
discussed with the Union Pacific
Railroad and railyard developers, as
well as other cultural organizations
potentially interested in the
site. Benefiting
the Community The
Railroad Technology Museum represents a
unique opportunity to secure public
stewardship of the oldest (and for a
time, largest) industrial complex west
of the Mississippi River, which for 80
years was also the Central Valley's
largest employer. It would create an
urban museum complex contiguous with
the Old Sacramento Historic District,
itself internationally known, and its
location and appeal would help foster
surrounding transit-oriented
development. The
Railroad Technology Museum would
benefit the community in numerous ways.
As the region's largest employer for
decades, the Southern Pacific
Sacramento Shops fundamentally
influenced the development,
concentration, and growth of many
ethnic groups in Sacramento and the
Central Valley. Ethnic diversity and
community pride will be demonstrated
through ongoing study and exhibition
focused on the thousands of workers
once employed in the Shops. The
California State Railroad Museum is
uniquely equipped to foster the
preservation and appreciation of
California's rich railroading heritage.
The Museum's primary mission is to
preserve key railroad heritage
resources, and make them available to
the widest possible audience. Assisting
the Museum (a unit of California State
Parks) in its mission is the California
State Railroad Museum Foundation, a
non-profit organization chartered to
raise and manage funds on behalf of the
Museum and to provide a variety of
additional support services. Operated
by California State Parks with
assistance from the non-profit CSRM
Foundation, the California State
Railroad Museum is open daily from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. except Thanksgiving,
Christmas, and New Year's Day. Widely
regarded as North America's finest and
most-visited railroad museum, the
complex of facilities includes the
100,000-square foot Museum of Railroad
History plus the reconstructed Central
Pacific Railroad Passenger Station and
Freight Depot, 1849 Eagle Theatre, and
Big Four and Dingley Spice Mill
buildings in Old Sacramento State
Historic Park. Cruise
in the wake of Haida Chiefs, Explorers and
Soldiers of Fortune CRUISING
TO ALASKA
By
Angela Warner "Most
people who travel look only at what they are
directed to look at." John Muir, Travels in
Alaska. While John
Muir's assertion may be true of many
destinations in the world, I would challenge
anyone to try to ignore the scenic beauty
totally surrounding them on a cruise from
Vancouver, British Columbia via the Inside
Passage to Alaska. From the soaring tree-clad
mountains, to the looming glaciers, to the
breathtaking waterfalls, the passing panorama is
just so vast, so overwhelming, it would take the
most cynical and world-weary not to be impressed
by it. From the home port of Vancouver, the
larger cruise companies offer two major routes:
the Inside Passage Cruise and the Glacier
Cruise- on both you can be assured of the same
kind of luxury and service as on the more
established Ocean or Caribbean cruises. A
typical Inside Passage Cruise would take you on
a 7-day, 2000 mile journey from Vancouver to the
top of the Alaskan Panhandle and return, between
the BC mainland and the offshore islands.
Because these islands act as a buffer from the
turbulent seas of the North Pacific Ocean, the
cruise is very calm so motion sickness should
not be a problem (map
of coast) FILM FESTIVAL
AT SEA: The Films to Sea Festival, a
seven-day Alaskan cruise, showcased 14
international film premiers while sailing
through the Inside Passage and Glacial Bay
National Park starting in August. Holland
American Lines' M.S. Zaandam's screening room is
not as big as downtown Vancouver's Tinseltown
theatres, but is elegant nonetheless. Dusty
Cohl, Toronto's film festival czar, organized
the first such cruise in 1990 as a fun way to
bring his friends together. Its success led to
more such experiences and this year, organizers
decided to host the West Coast cruise to involve
Vancouverites who had shied away from Cohl's
East Coast excursions. RECOMMENDED
CRUISE LINK. ALL ALASKA CRUISES In some places
the passage is quite narrow and twisting, making
for some exciting moments as the skillful
officers navigate the vessel through seemingly
impossible places. Seymour Narrows, 100 miles
north of Vancouver is such a place- much safer
since the mid-channel Ripple Rock was blasted in
1958, but still a tight, S-shaped pass. Another
is the fjord named Grenville Channel- difficult
to maneuver, but spectacular to behold, with
mountains creating walls against which
waterfalls tumble. Once you enter
American waters, it's like you've taken a step
back in time as you go ashore to visit the old
frontier towns. Ketchikan is Alaska's
southernmost major city and is the home of the
world's largest collection of totem
poles. Its waterfront
buildings rise above Tongass Narrows supported
by a forest of pilings and joined together by a
picturesque boardwalk. Wrangell began as a
fur-trading post in 1834 and has been governed
under three flags: Russian, English and
American. Evidence of even earlier inhabitants
can be seen in some intriguing petrographs.
Juneau, Alaska
has the distinction of being the only US capital
that can be reached only by air or sea. This
gateway to Glacier Bay rests between towering
Mt. Juneau and the Gastineau Channel. Skagway is
the historic town where the great Klondike Gold
Rush of 1889 is relived. It is headquarters of
the White Pass and Yukon Railroad, the last
single gauge railroad in operation. Sitka sits
in the shadow of Mt. Edgecombe, a 3201 ft high
extinct volcano. It was once the seaside capital
of Russian America and a visit here certainly
evokes the 18th century. In
our
"Super Cruise Guide," we salute the sleek
Empresses that wore the colours of Canadian
Pacific, and as an extension of the mighty CPR,
sailed from Vancouver to exotic ports o'call in
the distant Orient. They did us proud. Their
smaller, more modest sister
ships, Princesses of the BC to Alaska fleet
plied the Inside Passage from Seattle, Victoria
and Vancouver to the Northern ports along the
Alaska Panhandle. They carried freight and
passengers to remote points; setting the stage
for today's love boats and floating hotels. It
was on the SS Princess Norah that I experienced
my first memorable sea cruise as featured in my
series 'Klondike Memories.' Since I found the
history of the Inside Passage such a fascinating
study, I am sure our potential cruise passengers
would like to know more about its background and
discovery. The new Super
Cruise Guide is based on the success of our
Air
Highway Supermaps
and the earlier overland versions created for
Best Western and Avis, which feature auto
travel,accommodation and intermodal connections.
Close to 500,000 of our various maps are in
circulation. Above:
Inside Passage from Vancouver to Alaska. The
Fotomation sequence (above) is from the Ship to
Shore Conference, where the major Alaska cruise
lines entertained and educated Travel Agents
from across North America. Having cruised
the Inside Passage between Skagway, Alaska and
Vancouver, BC, since I was old enough to walk
the decks, I can vouch for the fact that it is
one of the most breathtaking experiences in the
world. Little did we dream that it would develop
into a major route for luxury cruises and that
Vancouver's Five Sails cruise terminal, pictured
above, would be such an important hub of marine
activity, fed by a greatly expanded and enhanced
Vancouver International Airport (YVR). It's good
news to hear that there are well advanced plans
for a SkyTrain extension connecting the
waterfront with the air terminal for seamless
convenience of cruise passengers among
others We feel very
close to happenings at Vancouver's BC-Alaska
cruise ship terminal, since our offices are only
a few blocks away. With the help of my friend Ed
Anderson, we will be documenting in words and
pictures some of the major changes occuring all
around the inlet. Regarding the Inside Passage,
some of the fun ports of call when I was young
were Prince
Rupert and
Alert Bay, which until now had been bypassed by
the Alaska bound love boats and floating hotels,
but the times they are a changing. We can expect
Prince Rupert to blossom as a cruise port, and
Victoria
to rapidly increase its share of the cruise
business. While Expo '86 served to put Vancouver
and BC on the map, the 2010 Olympics will add
another boost of world attention -- and the
entire travel tourism sector will benefit.
If you don't
have time for a full Alaska cruise, we had a
wonderful time on BC Ferry's Discovery
Coast route
between Port Hardy, BC and Bella Coola, where
explorer Alexander Mackenzie landed in 1792. In
a video I wrote for the Alaska Highway's 50th
Anniversary, featued the strategic importance of
the Alaska
Marine Highway
during the dark days of World War II. Watch for
much more information about upcoming cruises and
trends on our Air Highways and BC
Scene Magazine
websites Aprés
Cruise?
Fly Helijet's..Super
City
Triangle New shorter
"Pocket Cruises" Royal Caribbean International
is offering something new for cruise enthusiasts
with the addition of a "pocket cruise," a
shorter three-to four-day cruise between
Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle on its Vision of
the Seas, pictured in the 'fotomation' above.
The numbers reflect healthy growth for the
Vancouver-Alaska cruise industry. Everyone
involved in the Vancouver-Alaska cruise
experience should be proud of this exceptional
performance," said the VPA Chairman. The number
of ships dedicated to this itinerary has
remained steady over the last couple of seasons,
with 24 vessels representing 10 cruise companies
calling on Vancouver. The average number of
passengers per voyage climbed steadliy, a new
market offering will begin with the addition of
the pocket cruise option of three to four-day
cruises, which should provide further growth for
the industry. |
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California
State Parks, with the support of the
California State Railroad Museum
Foundation, continues to make progress
toward placing the Railroad Museum's
next phase in the historic Southern
Pacific Sacramento Shops complex.
Located adjacent to downtown
Sacramento, the Shops are one of North
America's most important industrial
heritage sites. Proposed for the site
is the Railroad Technology Museum
(RTM), a major expansion of the
California State Railroad
Museum.
While
most travelers approach the fabled 'Inside
Passage' from various points due south, my first
experience of this 1,200 mile Marine Highway,
was from Canada's Klondike, having plied the
Yukon River for four eventful days aboard the SS
Casca, a classic paddle-wheeler ; chugging and
puffing our way upstream from Dawson City to
Whitehorse. After an overnight at the Regina
Hotel, with its ornate lamps and Victorian
furnishings, we boarded the narrow-gauge White
Pass & Yukon Railway for a day trip,
detraining on a wooden platform at historic
Skagway. This sleepy little seaport on Alaska's
Lynn Canal, came to fame 100 years ago, during
the Jefferson (Soapy) Smith era, as a lawless,
rough and ready frontier town at the foot of the
White Pass.
