Railtown 1897 kicks off ‘Working on the Railroad’ celebration

JAMESTOWN — California State Parks, Railtown 1897 State Historic Park and the California State Railroad Museum Foundation present the fourth annual Working on the Railroad: A Celebration of Sierra Railway Workers on Saturday.

The special event was created to recognize and honor the hundreds of former Sierra Railway and Sierra Railroad workers, their descendants and family members.

The celebration will include special activities and elements, such as a “Memory Wall” and interpretive display with photographs and stories about former workers, posted by Railtown staff or attendees who are descendants of the workers themselves.

In a special event this year, Maintenance of Way workers will be featured along with many aspects of track work and the equipment used — including a 1929 Sheffield style 40B “putt-putt” speeder, a velocipede and handcar — in addition to fan-favorite speeder rides for visitors.

Designed to celebrate all the workers who built, maintained and operated the railroad, the interpretive event is focused on sharing information about the workers, their job duties and who they were as individuals.

Interested visitors with a past connection to the Sierra Railway are encouraged to bring photos and documents to the park so copies can be made and added to the collection.

In addition, steam train rides behind Sierra No. 3 will be available that day departing at 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. All train ride tickets include park admission and are available for advance purchase online as well as at the ticket window while supplies last.