Thanks for the update on the Porter out in NJ.
Back on track (pardon the pun)...
The Pacific Coast is a private operation on private property, in essence it almost is just a massive backyard railroad! The event held this past weekend was a benefit for the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum, which is being constructed in an old SP Freighthouse currently being restored in downtown SLO. The railroad does not generally open to the public as of this time.
There is approximately 2 miles of track on the grounds, with eventual plans for more. The track was professionally-installed by the same company that later rebuilt the Disneyland Railroad ROW earlier this year.
The railroad is located on the historic Santa Margarita Ranch, which is among the last undivided Ranchos in California (most of them were purchased by the government during the formation of the State of California in 1850). The Santa Margarita Ranch remained privately-owned, for many years by a family that went on to found a well-known Silicon Valley city; Sunnyvale.
Just beside the PCRy's tracks sits the historic Asistencia (Santa Margarita de Cortona). Not a Mission as it did not have its own priest, a friar from the nearby San Luis Obispo de Tolosa mission would come up to perform services to the Chumash Indian population in the area. The Asistencia's walls are protected within a barn, which was built over it around the turn of the century.
For a time, it was home to the PCRy's equipment; what Brad LaRose referred to as "The Oldest Roundhouse in America"! The Asistencia is among the first mortared stone structures in the state.
In addition to the PCRy's two steam locomotives, there's also one (or two?) Plymouth 'Critters' on hand. Rolling stock includes five flatcars; one of which was cut down many years ago from a D&RGW stock car to an idler flat, two of which came from a paper mill, and two from a munitions plant. The ex-IRCA Business Car "Cuscatlan" is also owned by the PCRy.
Sorry if this description bored anyone. As a Californian, I have a pension for going on and on about state history!
Ed Kelley
