Join Us for a Day of Volunteering and Fun on October 19, 2024 Goleta, CA – The South Coast Railroad Museum is excited to announce the return of its Community Workdays, a beloved tradition that invites local volunteers to help maintain the museum’s grounds, exhibits, and the iconic Goleta Short Line. After several years...
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This article originally appeared in the “Goleta Depot Dispatch,” Volume 38, Number 2, Summer 2018. Keeping the Museum beautiful is an unending task – a chore always in need of helping hands from the community. One young lady in particular has stepped up to keep our treasured depot looking fresh and pretty as, well,...
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This article originally appeared in the “Goleta Depot Dispatch,” Volume 38, Number 2, Summer 2018. We think old Ben Franklin would have approved. We’re talking about the little free library located in front of our museum gates. It is a terrific replica of our train depot and was lovingly constructed by long-time volunteer Clay...
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Eugene G. Allen (April 13, 1921 – April 21, 2016) was a dedicated and influential figure in the Goleta Depot Project, remembered for his remarkable craftsmanship, community spirit, and profound love of trains. As a member of the original Goleta Depot Committee formed in 1980, Gene was instrumental in the effort to save and...
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A small museum like ours needs lots of friends. When they are called upon to help, those friends become nothing short of heroes. Andrew, Angelica and Alexander Garcia have been museum friends and heroes for a long time, going back to their days as students at Dos Pueblos High School. The brothers and sister...
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The first step in preparing the museum for the Candy Cane Train and other holiday activities is to decorate the buildings and property. This year, hundreds of ornaments were skillfully attached to the branches of trees and shrubs around the grounds by Hollanda Harwin, sons Evan and Connor, and her mother, Yollanda Leon. UCSB...
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Rick Reeves, one of the museum’s newest volunteers, completed his engineer training and hauled his first passengers behind Engine No. 1316 on Saturday, Jan. 26. Rick has been serving as a conductor on the Goleta Short Line for several months. An accomplished singer and guitarist, Rick has also performed for passengers aboard the museum’s...
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The Goleta Short Line turntable has received a major upgrade, thanks to the efforts of John Green and the other volunteers who spend most of their Wednesday mornings working on projects around the museum. The upgrade included the installation of a new mechanism that locks the turntable in line with the corresponding lead track....
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The South Coast Railroad Museum lost a longtime friend on Dec. 19, 2012, with the passing of James Higman. Jim was perhaps best known around the museum for the tabletop display of miniature stationary steam engines and steam-driven tools and devices that he helped organize for museum events, including a long string of Depot...
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You couldn’t ask for a better volunteer than Ben Torres. He helps with grounds care and has supervised our County SWAP workers on many occasions. Ben is the husband of another museum volunteer and longtime Trails & Rails guide, Bev Torres....
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