The San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum, in San Luis Obispo, California, was founded to preserve and present the railroad history of California, and specifically the Central Coast, by collecting, restoring, displaying, and operating historic railroad equipment. The museum also maintains a research library, and document and photographic archives, and is developing an oral history program. The museum is open every Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, and hosts special events in May and October each year.The FacilityOpened in 2013, the museum occupies the restored former Southern Pacific Freighthouse at 1940 Santa Barbara Avenue, adjacent to the Union Pacific main line and about one-quarter mile south of the San Luis Obispo Amtrak station. A standard-gauge display track extends along the east side of the building, and a short narrow-gauge display track is on the west side. The Freighthouse contains an exhibit hall and a model railroad depicting the three-foot-gauge Pacific Coast Railway at Port San Luis circa 1920 and the standard-gauge Southern Pacific Coast Line from Surf to Paso Robles, including the Cuesta Grade crossing of the Santa Lucia range circa 1950 . There is a children's play area incorporating hands-on train tables and a Museum Store offering railroad books, lanterns, and clothing, and other items. The building, its restrooms, and the model railroad area are fully accessible. The platform along the display track provides a safe place to view and photograph passing and waiting trains.The collectionOn display are express wagons, station furnishings, switch stands, signal components, telegraph equipment, historical and contemporary photographs, a handcar, a velocipede, push cars, mine and orchard railway equipment, and locomotive headlights, bells, and whistles. Library books, documents, and photographs are being cataloged and are available to researchers by arrangement.
