A railroad museum celebrating the rich legacy of railroading within Santa Clara County has been under development by CTRC since 1992. This project was originally intended to be located at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, California; however on June 25, 2002, the Board of Supervisors voted to rescind support of our proposed railroad museum at that location. Please read Museum Development Process for background information on this project.
The major components of our museum will include:
- Restored 4-6-2 steam locomotive #SP2479
- Rebuilt six stall San Jose Roundhouse and eighty foot turntable
- Rebuilt water tower
- Restored Herder's shack
Along with additional rail equipment, these museum components are presently stored at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. Because the fairgrounds location lacks rail access, all of this material will have to be trucked to a new site that has yet to be identified.
Our museum will include a full sized replica of the Market Street depot and arcade structures that served downtown San Jose until 1935. If space is available, a separate restoration shop and a replica of the College Park switching tower will also be built. Read our Walk Thru document for a narrative description of our completed museum facility.
Currently, CTRC is actively searching with local entities to identify a new location. These entities include the cities of Gilroy, San Jose and Santa Clara. Compounding our search is a minimum requirement of 3 to 5 acres with access to an active rail line.****