Subject: Our Fun Exploration Of The Western Pacific Railroad Museum On 5 - 21 -16
Date: 5/24/2016 3:02:38 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: LordOfThyNight@aol.com
To: ParanormalBuffalo@yahoogroups.com, ParanormalGhostSociety@googlegroups.com, paranormalghostsociety@yahoogroups.com, ParanormalGhostSocietyConnections@yahoogroups.com, TheParanormalGhostSociety@yahoogroups.com, SupernaturalFlorida@yahoogroups.com, ParanormalCalifornia@yahoogroups.com, ParanormalNevada@yahoogroups.com, Paranormalflorida@yahoogroups.com, sierraparanormal@yahoogroups.com, PGSPhantoms@yahoogroups.com
 
Everybody loves trains I remember when I was a kid my father would take me out to the country we would park on a country road under a full moon just to see a couple freight trains pass on by. I also remember being stuck in vehicle as a kid and the car stalling while the train was coming. But one of man's greatest marvels is the age of the steam and diesel locomotive. This helped shape America whether it was passenger or freight services.
 
Sadly, many lines have been removed, went out of business or replaced with trucking instead. Its hard to believe that hundreds of scenic rail lines that ran throughout the west no longer exist. I have walked the rail trail in Susanville today known as the Bizz Johnson for example but no other line was as scenic, luxurious and prestigious then the Western Pacific Railroad.
 
Today the railroad more or less is a museum yes with over 170 in rolling stock but back in the day this was a bustling freight and passenger station with a turn table. While the line was best known for its scenic run along the beautiful Feather River it also made its way out to the bay area and as far as the mid west where its passengers could board a train on another line.
 
My family asked me what I wanted to do near my birthday because they wanted to take me out also they wanted me to have a nice dinner after. So I decided I would explore the Museum this is one of the only train yards in the country that you can climb on the trains its really awesome and if you pay extra you can drive a locomotive down the trains. The main attraction is the Zephyr and the museum is in beautiful Portola which in my opinion would be an ideal town for me to retire in even near Quincy both historical towns in the California Mountains.
 
I had a few things planned on this adventure we would start off with the Museum in the morning work our way to the semi ghost town of Johntown along with its historic cemetery and then Old Jamison City along with the old Eureka Plumas Mine Camp. We would also stop at a smaller cemetery which was part of a old ranching town called Beckwourth Cemetery. Keep in mind that my expeditions are all about history and exploration. I want to visit sites people can learn about and be wowed by. Trains is something that wows me and probably allot of men in general so we would start there.
 
It was a nice early morning ride I generally go through Reno then drive along the Sierras and eventually through the pass to get to Portola. Lets just say its an awesome ride to do with music, coffee, breakfast and crisp air. While it was May 21st it still was chilly in the mountains I mean even this time of year quite a few peaks can be draped in snow. I love seeing forested mountains with snow on them and so their is some level of excitement journeying deeper into the Cali mountains to uncover jewels like this.
 
I was about to visit one of the largest train museums in the country not many know that because this is a home away from home type of place there are no cities its rural mountain life and here you have this historical train yard which was a diesel shop for many years turned into this museum because everything almost was preserved so we were about to step back in time. The museum is exciting because it was at one time a bustling train yard it even had above it on a hill a hospital which today was burned down thanks to an arsonist but the history here is quite enriched.
 
When you enter Portola you will drive along the Feather River at this time of year flowers were starting to come on out. I love nature you can even find some right along the tracks up here. We did get confused instead of going to the museum we ended up at some other rail and freight area. This still today is somewhat a railroading center freight trains come through here on the hour maybe even a few. But we found the train museum this is such a cute little town in the sierras its one of the reasons I live where I do because I hit this place in an hour and half drive.
 
 If you study the diesel shop it has not changed very much since it was first built and used to repair locomotives. Today the repairs continue but only to restore historical relics of the past so that they can be shared with visitors who take the time to value this museum. Personally I love giving to the museum most of these folks volunteer here and to restore these trains takes a pretty penny so if you can donate please do although it does not cost much to get in either so one hand helps the other.
 
Western Pacific Railroad Museum

Exploration One
 
I explained to the curator who I was and she gave me permission to film as well as photograph everything for our site. Sadly folks the footage or film I did is missing we have no idea how it occurred but we lost all the film from our day out in or around Portola so that really made me quite sad but also a bit upset as to what happened to the footage. I just wanted to get that part out of the way because I did film the trains or tried at least.
 
When you enter the museum its a diesel shop. They currently have a Union Pacific Luxury Car, antique car, steam engine they are rebuilding as a museum piece and a few other pieces of rolling stock. They have this funny engineering thing you put your face through I was stoned and getting silly so I stuck my tongue out. Nearby also was a freight cart with a casket and an old fire engine. There are all sorts of pictures, logs, documents, railroading relics and artifacts inside the museum.
 
Their is also an H.O. Scale model of what the freight and passenger center looked like its really amazing. It was at one time quite massive with different train lines on different sets of tracks so when you look at the model you can see what it all use to look like back in the day when this line was fully operable. It is amazing because when you visit the yard today it is just not the same buildings are gone, no more turntable and most tracks have been torn up leaving behind the freight yard where today these museum pieces sit rain or shine almost like a train graveyard.
 
I actually brought a train magnet for my fridge and I believe we bought a book. Its been awhile since I am writing this report two years after the fact so my apologies. But again we bought some things at the gift shop as a way to donate.The gift shop here is simply awesome and the folks that volunteer here are very kind as well as informative. I mean really being the founder of PGS allows me to go out into the community meet folks tell them who we are and in a sense if I put a link on our website were definitely going to send thousands of people there way so everybody wins here!
 
We did not stay long in the diesel house or museum although honestly my son, Tammy and I were the only ones here so we had the entire place to ourselves. I really enjoy when I get something just meant for me and it was. I had free range to go out in the yard climb freight trains or board cabooses. For me its exciting because its history decades and decades of history where people lived their lives on the railroad. The curator told me about the hospital nearby it was right near the tracks I seen photos it was a creepy place then some moron burned it down so that explorers like me do not get to enjoy urbexing such a place. To be denied because of what someone else did is very disheartening being that my intent is to journey to these places to preserve there history through our hard work.
 
While out in the yard a couple trains passed by not sure if I was chasing them more or running around the yard climbing in the engineers seat. The engineers on site were moving some of the locomotives around seemed like they were not fully open for the day for example the zephyr which they were going to show me they ended up not opening it not sure why but I hope next time to go back I can board it because this is a really luxurious train that went from the mountains of the sierras to the big city carrying people to and from. Their was not many zephyrs at least not many left today but the line was nice and today what is left of the line can be found right here in this museum.
 
I am a big kid yeah I was hoping to uncover some ghosts this property is very old even before the railroad came to it. But at the same time climbing into a caboose or on these massive engines is fantastic. I found a few engines with open doors and ill tell you they were not built for comfort in regards to the engineers that operated these locomotives here. No wonder they get paid so much its closed quarters and long hours piloting these engines.
 
We walked down many isles of trains some of them are quite long some are even overgrown kind of a sense of creepiness in the yard then again if you knew how many folks get killed from trains you might start to think that these locomotives may have been a witness to one or more deaths. You can hear all sorts of train noises here for example the horns from the Union Pacific in the yard, clinks, clanks and even trains that come rushing by on some more active tracks. There is an engine on a flatbed, box cars rusting away and even military train cars with bunk beds. Most of the trains are locked up id assume they are still under restoration then gain some may never be restored to their former glory.
 
I also seen snow plow car the entire front has blades trust me you would not want to stand in front of it while its barreling through snow, wood cars, tankers, prison car, crane car for moving rocks in the pass, subway train, luxury passenger cars, dozen or more cabooses, train parts everywhere like rail wheels, freight and passenger engines mixed in with one another. The yard has beautiful pieces with it being a partly sunny day the view of the mountains, greenish foliage and rusty trains never felt as cozy as it did while I stood there catching the warmth of the sun on my cheeks. I felt as if I was at home here I mean honestly if you want to see more you just have to go back and we will in October of 2018!
 
I spent sometime messing around in the yard to you guys know I screw around constantly. I like to have fun I was standing on rail shovels on the front of engines, climbing on top of the engines looking down at my son who is on this freight car pretending he is being chased and my son hitting switches. He is small so he fits into places so he is all climbing onto old gutted passenger cars. Most of it closed up but some of it you can go into and check out like the Cabooses.
 
The Cabooses in my opinion are creepy some of these date back to a half of a century ago maybe even older. Men spent their lives living in these cabooses because they worked for the railroad so they had a job to do and railroad employees also needed to have a way to travel the line. So these cabooses are more like apartments on wheels. Some had nice leather seats others beds even a sink and a small wood stove for heating. I believe there is even an area you can dine maybe play cards if the train stopped you had gotten out even in the dark and yes even in the middle of the high sierras where the wildlife roams.
 
I also seen a twisted mangled railroad crossing maybe a train hit it or it was part of some accident. If you look around hard enough you will find some weird things here just pay attention. Unlike most museums they are not going to baby sit you here they encourage exploration that is why they have our vote and we put this museum on our website. Within an hour I had climbed dozens of train cars lol. Yeah I go ape sometimes what can I say! Trains are marvels and some of the engines found in this yard are massive diesels. You will not see these trains anywhere people come from everywhere to visit this yard so I felt honored just to hug a train or two.
 
The Union Pacific Train Car is one of my favorites its probably for their rail employees might even be for military personnel who may have used the Union Pacific to transport generals, high ranking officials etc who knows. What I do know is its like an apartment on wheels but a bigger one then the caboose. Each bedrooms has two beds in the middle is a dresser also nightstand with a mirror above it and curtains over the windows to keep the sun out.
 
Also in between the few rooms is a dining area with a table and four chairs, clock on the wall, calendar, ceiling corner metal fans, an office, bathroom perhaps shower in one room I seen, private room with twin bench seats and even a den with cozy chairs perhaps a radio/tv or something just so they were not bored out of their minds. I just love this car so when we got back in two months ill refilm it because its not something you see often.This is a nice train car its made for comfort and long trips through the mountains it must be a first class ride! Keep in mind the style of the curtains and overall style inside is like stepping back into the 50s or something its strange but awesome at the same time if you get my drift.
 
I had a chance to talk to an engineer to really nice guy told me about a project he is working on. Like I said I like to meet new faces all the time that is why I do this. I get out there just to meet people see these sites then we put them on our site for you guys to enjoy you cant go wrong with that you just cant. If I could stay here all day I would but we still had a busy day ahead. As I drove away you could hear the engines humming and horns blowing. Leaving behind rusty relics of the past or silver lined zephyr cars as railroad ties are piled along side of the road.
 
Trains played a huge part of my life as a kid I would watch them with my father for years sit down by the tracks squash a penny on the tracks, wave to an engineer or just count cars. But at this museum I could get up close and personal with the relics. I could walk through train cars or climb on engines which by the way is quite the task. The step up is not always easy to get up onto these engines and well it must had been scary to walk on the decks around the engine while the train was trucking along. I knew my knee would pay for it later being that I have a bad knee but no matter I simply did not care.
 
I did visit The Feather River even drove around downtown Portola I just love this place the woods, scenery, train coming through town, hikes, history, nature etc and of course the Feather River. I did take a time out for nature here seen a hawk and a few pretty flowers which I photographed from the journey. I made sure to take a time out to follow the tracks along the river capture some of the scenic beauty. As a matter in fact I liked it so much a couple weeks later I just took a road trip to drive along the Feather River below all the old train trestles so its pretty awesome.
 
Before I went to Johntown which is west of Portola I chased a train pulled right up near it and watched it go by and it was cruising. But I still felt for a short time like I was that boy again that grew up around the train yards of Buffalo NY. I cannot say for sure that I had captured any ghost or if my EVP is of one. But their is a haunting feel to old train yards. I have done quite a few train yards once in Florida we boarded five or six abandoned trains a few yards also in NY but out of them all the trains found at the Western Pacific are just simply amazing! This was a good urban exploration and one ill do again when I can film a documentary for everyone to enjoy.
 
I would head west with Eureka Peak covered and draped in snow. Little did I know that eventually I would offroad to a lake up near the peak and get up close and personal with it. For now though we were heading deeper into the sierras following the trails which took us up near the other side of the Sierra Buttes. You guys remember Sierraville? Its below the buttes well so is Johnstown aka Johnsville and the Eureka Mine Camp. I would head into the quiet lonely town I did not even realize folks lived up here its a very quiet scenic town in the national forest with Eureka Peak overshadowing it all.
 
Their are many small gold mining boom towns that were built below the buttes and each of them towns all hold history this is real wild western type of places we generally visit so with the rails to our back we were now visiting the towns where men had gotten often off the railroad in hopes of finding work or making a new life out west.Much of what I was bearing witness to the regions visitors endured the same. The views have not changed the train coming through the canyon brings back memories while a world away from an other world its snowing as we descend upon a small town of 12 people live the same folks who are old timers probably remembering the regions railroad boom. We were only 11 miles away from Portola and we were in another realm so amazing.
 
The views are very awesome especially since there was a few snow flurries on some of the peaks you could see just a wall of white mist atop of some of the peaks. As a matter in fact many of the trees in the area were dusted with fresh snow you could see it flurrying and here we were nearing the end of May. You have to love the mountains! I seen some old cabins and a stone structure before I arrived in Johnstown. Rather then explore Johnstown first I decided when I arrived at the old pioneer church which caught my eye then realized the cemetery was just down the hill from it and we were well on our way to another adventure!
 
Peace,
Lord Rick
PGS Founder

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