Here at one of the Western Pacific’s last diesel locomotive shops is a great collection of rolling stock. The focus is on one of the West’s most beloved railroads, Western Pacific, which traveled through beautiful mountain scenery and hosted the legendary California Zephyr. The setting couldn’t be more appropriate at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum.
Choices
The 37-acre site of the Western Pacific Railroad Museum displays more than 100 pieces of equipment. Three former Western Pacific streamlined diesels call the museum home, as do locomotives from the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific. Western Pacific 0-6-0 No. 165, a steam switcher currently being restored, is the only steam locomotive in the collection. Rolling stock includes passenger cars, boxcars, cabooses, and maintenance-of-way equipment. The museum is hands-on, so you can climb into cabs and hop onto cars.
When to go
The museum is open noon to 4 p.m., Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., April into September and select days after that. On summer weekends, caboose rides through a pine forest on a 1-mile loop of track make for a fun train trip. Pumpkin trains run in October and Santa trains in December.
Good to know
Visit in August for the annual Portola Railroad Days festival, which includes train rides, food, music, and a parade.
Worth doing
Close by is Lassen Volcanic National Park, where you can see hydrothermal features such as boiling mud pots, steaming ground, and roaring fumaroles.
Don’t miss
Run a locomotive through the museum’s program that puts you in the engineer’s seat.
Getting there
Portola is located in the Feather River Canyon between Sacramento and Reno. From the west, take I-80 to Highway 89 and go north to Highway 70, which runs into Portola. From the east, take Interstate 80 to Highway 395 to Highway 70.
Location: 700 Western Pacific Way, Portola, CA
Phone: 530-832-4131
Website: wplives.org
E-mail: info@wplives.org
