Southern California Railway Museum Podcast

VC-2 1472 Inspection Introduction

SCRM's iconic Ventura County Railway No. 2 is undergoing its regularly scheduled 1472 inspection. To help us understand what is involved in this rigorous process RailPass is talking to Jeff Lamb, the Steam Crew Foreman about the inspection, what they have accomplished so far, and what work is still needed to get VC-2 back up and running at SCRM.

RAIL PASS

We discuss the day to day runnings at the Southern California Railway Museum, chatting to volunteers and interesting people. We share event information and talk to the people and vendors at the events.

Previous Episodes

Volunteerism – with Chuck Painter

What goes into making the West's largest railroad museum successful? Our volunteers!

Machine Shop – with Jim Gronning

Historic locomotives, trolleys, freight and passenger cars need historic parts for repair - how do you get historic parts in a modern world?

BBQ, Boots & Brew

Learn the secrets behind the competition BBQ greats.

Middleton Collection – with Dave Wolven

Learn how the collection came to be, how it has evolved. and what the plans are for the future.

Dino Train – Community Partners

Join us as we talk to all of the community partners who made this event such a success.

Harvey House – with Pat Wolven

Taming the wild wild west was no easy task - but Fred Harvey & Harvey Girls did just that.

Grizzly Flats

Grizzly Flats is an iconic exhibit at the Southern California Railway Museum. It holds some of our oldest collection pieces, and is also home to Ward Kimball’s collection. On this episode we are speaking with John and Suzie LePrince who volunteer as the lead curators for this space.

Tales from the Rails Video Series

Volunteers Bryan Watts and John Cunningham are part of a team that produce a video series called Tales from the Rails. This series explores the history of the trains and trolleys in Southern California Railway Museum’s collection and provides updates on ongoing projects.

Santa Fe Post Office Car 60 – with Chuck Painter

This beautiful example of a post office car has been restored and offers guests the opportunity to step back in time to 1924 and see what a working mail car would look like.

SCRM Docent Program – with Gary Cochrane

Docents are an important part of any Museum, and particularly for the Southern California Railway Museum.

Cottonwood Station

How Cottonwood was transformed from a diesel parts storage room to a beautifully recreated historic train depot

Railway Operations – with Operations Manager Ryan Gallaher

We run our historic trains and trolleys each weekend for the general public, and ensuring the safety of the public and our historic equipment during these operations is paramount.

Mt Rubidoux (Soo Line 54) – with Dave Wolven

The SOO Line 54 Business Car, known familiarly as the Mt. Rubidoux, is a gem within Southern California Railway Museum’s collection. Unlike many items within SCRM’s collection the Mt. Rubidoux is unrestored and in pristine condition.

Emma Nevada Restoration Project

Southern California Railway Museum is a working restoration museum. Volunteers work diligently to restore and maintain historic trains and trolleys for future generations. One restoration project that is currently underway is the Emma Nevada. Join me, your host - Sarah Harty - as we talk to the volunteers behind the restoration of this 141 year old steam engine.

Emergency Services

Southern California Railway Museum is the largest railway museum in the Western United States, and as such it contains numerous priceless and irreplaceable artifacts, both large and small. In order to maintain the safety of our collections SCRM implemented a Fire and Emergency Services unit. In this episode we talk to Chris Baldwin who spearheaded the implementation of this unique discipline and learn the different ways that FESU protects our unique collection.

Signal Garden

Southern California Railway Museum has many exhibits, but the most interactive exhibit on display is our Signal Garden. Learn what went into its restoration and ongoing maintenance, as well as why this exhibit is so unique!

SCRM Archives

On this episode we are talking with Darrell Calvillo and Harvey Laner about SCRM’s archives and the exciting work that is going on - especially as it relates to making this collection accessible to the public.

Electric Collection Introduction

Southern California Railway Museum houses both an extensive diesel and electric collection. In this episode we are going to delve a little deeper into the electric collection with the help of Collection Manager Rod Fishburn. We will hear about what projects are going on and coming up.

Harvey Laner

Join us as we talk to Harvey Laner, one of SCRM's founding members. Learn how his railfan journey helped create the legacy we see today.