In Sunol, there are group of local artisans that create all types of different arts and crafts. Recently they decided to put together painted banners to decorate the light poles throughout town where the subject was our Niles Canyon Railway. With the banners complete, but the truck not quite available to hang them, it was decided that it would be fitting to put them on display in our freight room in our Sunol Station for our guests to enjoy until such time as they find their way on to the light poles throughout Sunol.
In Sunol, there are group of local artisans that create all types of different arts and crafts. Recently they decided to put together painted banners to decorate the light poles throughout town where the subject was our Niles Canyon Railway. With the banners complete, but the truck not quite available to hang them, it was decided that it would be fitting to put them on display in our freight room in our Sunol Station for our guests to enjoy. They will be heading to Main Street in Sunol the week starting 7/20/26 so look for them there.
Here is a gallery of images of all of the banners for everyone to enjoy, and we welcome you to come see them in person on Main Street before or after taking one of our upcoming train ride as well.
It’s Widows Weekend… Southern Pacific Railroad ‘Black Widow’ painted diesel locomotive weekend that is on our Niles Canyon Railway. Southern Pacific SD-9 #5472 will have the honors of pulling our trains on Saturday, 7/11 and Southern Pacific GP-9 #5623 will take over on Sunday, July 12th. Grab your tickets today to ride behind these unique diesel locomotives this weekend as we give them some much needed exercise.
It’s Widows Weekend… Southern Pacific Railroad ‘Black Widow’ painted diesel locomotive weekend that is on our Niles Canyon Railway. Southern Pacific SD-9 #5472 will have the honors of pulling our trains on Saturday, 7/11 and Southern Pacific GP-9 #5623 will take over on Sunday, July 12th. Grab your tickets today to ride behind these unique diesel locomotives this weekend as we give them some much needed exercise.
Learn more about new chances to ride our railroad in 2026 in this new blog post.
Ride East! with the M200 – August dates added
Given the popularity of our Ride East! rides this June with all departures nearly sold out, we have added four more dates for August during our second and third weekend operating dates. Hop on board our M200 motorcar for a unique ride EAST of our Sunol depot toward Pleasanton to the current end of track at Happy Valley Road Bridge.
Please visit our Ride East! page for more details and to purchase your tickets today!
Hot August Night on the Rails is back for one night in 2026!
Ride through the canyon on a beautiful summer night! Approximately 1 hour and 20 minute diesel powered round trip departing from our Sunol Depot at 7:00PM on August 29, 2026.
Adults $30 Children 3-12 $20 Seniors (62+) $20
Our snack bar will be open for hot dogs, cookies, chips, soda, and water.
Help Us Get Started… We are working to raise a total of $30,000 to purchase new batteries for three locomotives: WP #918-D, SP #1218 and U.S. Army #1856. Would you please help us with a donation today? Learn more in this blog post.
Support the purchase of new locomotive starting batteries for WP #918-D, SP #1218 & U.S. Army #1856
Western Pacific Railroad #918-D runs east into Sunol. This is one of the 3 locomotives we are fundraising for new batteries for. Image by: Christopher Hauf – Used with permission
One of the most critical components to maintaining and operating a diesel locomotive is a solid set of starting batteries. Most of the diesel locomotives we operate use EIGHT large starting batteries. Each battery is 8 volts and weighs several hundred pounds. Currently, these starting batteries cost around $1250 each. With eight needed per locomotive, the cost is around $10,000 per locomotive.
With some additional new volunteers joining our core of long time volunteers, we have started work to bring several of our locomotives back into active service. This includes Western Pacific Railroad EMD F-7 #918-D, Southern Pacific Railroad ALCO S-6 #1218, and U.S. Army Fairbanks-Morse H12-44 #1856. Each of these locomotives has a current set of batteries, but they are all close to or at the end of their life which makes it hard to do the work we need; sometimes where we may need to turn over or start the locomotive several times in one day.
Thus we are working to raise a total of $30,000 to purchase new batteries for all three locomotives. You can donate any amount or a $1250 donation will purchase one of the eight batteries for each engine. We are going to give you the chance to pick your favorite to donate to at one of the three buttons below via PayPal. We will update our progress graphic as we go on our Donate page where all of the same information as this blog post is included.
We gladly accept donations by mail. Please make checks payable to Pacific Locomotive Association (PLA). Please note which locomotive you wish you donation to be applied: WP 918-D, SP #1218 or USA #1856.
Mail to: Pacific Locomotive Association, P.O. Box 515, Sunol,CA 94586-0515
Southern Pacific Railroad ALCO S-6 #1218 in service in 2012 in our Brightside yard. Image by: Christopher Hauf – Used with permissionU.S. Army #1856 in service in our Brightside yard in 2013. Image by: Christopher Hauf – Used with permission
Pacific Locomotive Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving California’s rich railroad history.
Due to vendor issue, we have decided to postpone the start of Train of Lights ticket sales until October 25, 2025. Read our new blog post for more details.
New Ticket on Sale Date Tickets now go on sale Saturday, October 25, 2025 @ 10AM
Through the past several months, we have worked very hard to improve the functionality behind our Train of Lights tickets sale including improvements to our website to better handle the intense demands on it at the start of the sale, and the functionality of our ticket seller’s website.
In testing this week, an issue was identified with one of our vendors that may have impacted some of our ticket purchasers. While a fix may have been ready by this coming Friday, we felt there would not be enough time to test and validate things before the start of the sale on Saturday.
To err on the side of safety, we have decided to postpone the sale until Saturday, October 25th at 10AM. This will give all parties enough time to ensure we have exactly the positive experience we want to deliver to our ticket purchasers this year.
Please accept our apologies for this delay, and we hope you will be there on the 25th to get your tickets for the 2025 Train of Lights! Our crews have already been working several weeks to get the train decorated inside and out!
View some images taken at the Knight Foundry in Sutter Creek, CA on September 6, 2025, as this non-profit museum undertakes a second round of casting iron brake shoes for steam locomotive, Clover Valley Lumber Co. #4. Museums helping museums…
In January 2024, our Niles Canyon Railway partnered with the Knight Foundry in Sutter Creek, CA to cast some brake shoes for our Clover Valley Lumber Co. #4 steam locomotive. They also helped us with some other parts as well. We were lucky enough to attend that casting event. Alas, several of the molds for the large brake shoes failed in pouring resulting in parts not being fabricated.
Fast forward to September 6, 2025, where a second casting event was held. Why the large gap? The Knight Foundry after the previous event found some issues with their furnace and had to take a fairly extensive rebuild which took some time. We were again invited to Sutter Creek to watch the second casting event, and again, our Marketing Manager, Chris Hauf, attended with cameras in hand.
Here are some photos of the second casting event which appeared much more successful. We again want to thank the volunteers of the Knight Foundry along with some members of the The Crucible in Oakland, CA who also participated in this most recent pour for all of their hard work in making the molds and flasks while doing the very hot pouring.
Welcome to the Knight Foundry in Sutter Creek, CA.The flasks containing the ready to pour molds for the #4’s brake shoes with the pattern in red sitting on top for illustration. The holes where the cast iron will be poured are covered to keep debris out prior to the pour.More of the flasks with molds on the casting floor.A view from the charging deck. This is where coke, limestone and iron are added as “charges” to the furnace during the casting process to keep renewing the supply of molten cast iron.Loading the initial load of coke into the furnace.The raw iron in this case are mostly scrap car and truck brake rotors. These will melt to form the iron to be pour. Each stack weighs 100 lbs and typically two stacks were added in a “charge” to properly fill a ladle of cast iron.Our museums actually share a few volunteers including the gentleman on the left who volunteers for both Knight Foundry and us.The initial charge of cast iron is going in. The coke is all lit, but the blower to increase the heat and intensity of the fire has yet to turned on. That would take place after a safety briefing.Let the pouring begin with some of our brake shoes.Pouring more brake shoes.Pouring some smaller flasks containing a variety of other objects for the museum and other people. Some included throwing weights used in Scottish Highland games.More brakes shoes being poured. Two people operate the ladle which is supported by the wood gantry crane. The gentleman in the green shirt works to prevent any slag from being poured into the molds.A poured flask. The weights are used to help hold the flash tight. Still the molten iron has found its way out of the interface of the top (the cope) and bottom (the drag) of the mold to the wood which has been scorched by the hot metal.More shoes being poured.With all of the charges in the furnace, our photographer was let on to the charging deck to get an overhead view of the work as the last of the molds were poured on the floor.The team of volunteers consisting of individuals from the Knight Foundry and The Crucible. We cannot thank them enough for their hard work. We certainly understand hot working in the cabs of our steam engines, but this is REALLY hot work! The wood flasks are removed about an hour after the casting process. The wood is taken out of the foundry and doused with water to both prevent fire and to hopefully reduce the damage to the flasks so there is a chance they can be used again. The sand molds would not be broken up until the next day.Then and now… This historic photo of the foundry was sitting on one of the tables. We could not help but make a comparison of then and now which looks just about the same.
View a short reel from Instagram of one of the brake shoe molds being poured.
Take a wander in 360 degrees around the foundry from the charging deck.
Watch the casting taking place in this 360 degree video.
We hope soon to be able to share some of the final results from the casting event with everyone.
Knight Foundry typically has two open Saturdays per month, and we encourage people to visit both the foundry and its historic machine shop. Sutter Creek is a ~2 hour drive from the Bay Area and less than an hour from Sacramento.
For the weekend of May 17th and 18th, 2025, our Niles Canyon Railway operated our weekend excursions out of our Niles Station in celebration of Charlie Chaplin Days in Niles, …
For the weekend of May 17th and 18th, 2025, our Niles Canyon Railway operated our weekend excursions out of our Niles Station in celebration of Charlie Chaplin Days in Niles, the location of early silent film production by Chaplin and Broncho Billy in the 1910s. For the Sunday rides, our steam locomotive, Robert Dollar Co. #3, led the trains.
Robert Dollar Co. #3 leads its train east over Mission Bridge as it departs Niles Station for Sunol on May 18, 2025. Image by Christopher Hauf – Used with permission
For our 10:30 AM departure, we noticed a familiar face in the crowd, the man of the weekend, Charlie Chaplin himself. Here is a set of photos of Mr. Chaplin interacting with our passengers and thanks for coming over from the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum for a visit and ride. We encourage everyone to check out this wonderful museum in downtown Niles filled with local film history!
Our weekend train rides will move back to our standard Sunol departure station from June on. Steam will make a return on Sundays in September and October. Please visit our 2025 Rides Page to learn more.
Our Build East Railroad Construction Crew was out for their usual first Saturday in May work session this past Saturday, May 3, 2025. With a crew of 13+ volunteers including some new to the NCRy, the order of the day was leveling and tamping the newly hardened track between Happy Valley Bridge and Castlewood Bridge.
Our Build East Railroad Construction Crew was out for their usual first Saturday of the month work session this past Saturday, May 3, 2025. With a crew of 13+ volunteers including some new to the NCRy, the order of the day was leveling and tamping the newly hardened track between Happy Valley Bridge and Castlewood Bridge.
With good weather and a good crew, a lot of progress was made with a first pass on almost the entire section between the bridges. Here are a series of photos taken mid-morning as the crew and our tamper worked their way east. First jacking the track to meet the grade stakes places earlier and then using the tamper to set the stone solidly under the ties. Some ballast cleanup was also undertaken.
Our crew will again be back at it the first Saturday of June, and we always welcome new people to join the crew. It is a great workout! Questions? Please feel free to contact us.
All images by Christopher Hauf. Used with permission.
Just east of Happy Valley Bridge, our tamper works tie by tie to force stone under the ties providing a solid base for the track.To level the track, it is jacked into position. As the tamper gets closer to a set of jacks, they are removed since the track now under the tamper is sitting on a firm base.Jacks are set down the track to create the proper height and level.Yes there is a good amount of shovel work to get the ballast ready to be tamped.Occasionally a tie will come loose and the ballast needs to be cleaned out from between the rail and tie to allow the tie to be snugged back up tight.The vibratory forks of the tamper work and vibrate the ballast into a tight formation under the ties.Jacking to the right level based on grade stakes set by an earlier crew.Jacking to the right level based on grade stakes set by an earlier crew.Tamping stone by hand. Our tamper makes this one all human powered process much faster.More level checking…Working their way east, Castlewood Bridge is in the distance. At this point, they were setting jacks in the mid-point between the two bridges.Our tamper operator and NCRy Treasurer, Pat Stratton, concentrating on working each tie.Jacks are set waiting on the tamper.Sometimes the best way to check the level and set the jacks is just to get down and sight down the rail. There will be more than one photo of crew supervisor, Steve Hill, laying down on the job and setting the proper height of each rail.Sighting down the rail…Jacking to level…Turns out railroad track with ballast on it can be a little heavy.The crew awaits directions on setting jacks.Going up!Leveling out ballast to ensure the tamper has a proper amount to drive under the ties.The tamper waits during final jacking. The MOW train waits in the distance on the west side of Happy Valley Bridge.First pass tamped and leveled.Great progress by late AM.The current End of Track stop board at Happy Valley Bridge with the crew working in the distance.
On April 26, 2025, the Niles Canyon Railway offered use of its M200 motorcar, its volunteer crew, and its railroad east of Sunol to the help the Sunol Glen School celebrate their 100th Anniversary. We are always happy to help the communities we serve and have our facilities in, and this was a cause worth supporting.
On April 26, 2025, the Niles Canyon Railway offered use of its M200 motorcar, its volunteer crew, and its railroad east of Sunol to the help the Sunol Glen School celebrate their 100th Anniversary. We are always happy to help the communities we serve and have our facilities in. This was a cause worth supporting!
The M200 ran several trips east from Sunol for the event’s guests. Here are some photos from the one of the rides as the M200 boarded at our Sunol station.
We are hoping to have the possibility for the public to ‘Ride East” as early as this June with the M200 as another trip possibility during our regular operating with our regular Sunol to Niles trains. Please stay tuned for more details.
Meanwhile, please let us congratulate the Sunol Glen School again on their 100th Anniversary!
Our M200 motocar backs into Sunol on one of its return trip east of Sunol. Photo by: Christopher Hauf – Used with permissionThe banner marks the celebration and our support of the event. Photo by: Christopher Hauf – Used with permissionLooking from the inside out, the next set of riders picks up their tickets from our ticket window. Photo by: Christopher Hauf – Used with permissionAll Aboard… Photo by: Christopher Hauf – Used with permissionFour punches in their ticket to match their age. Photo by: Christopher Hauf – Used with permission Smiles all around… Photo by: Christopher Hauf – Used with permissionYour motorman and our Museum General Manager, Steve B., ready to take the M200 out on another run east. Photo by: Christopher Hauf – Used with permission
Our Build East Track Construction Crew was back out for its first Saturday work session in February which happened to coincide with the first day of the month. Alas it also coincided with an atmospheric river that was bringing rain to much of northern California, but still a lot of progress was made.
Our Build East Track Construction Crew was back out for its first Saturday work session in February which happened to coincide with the first day of the month. Alas it also coincided with an atmospheric river that was bringing rain to much of northern California. Still working through it, a lot of progress was made.
The early morning was somewhat dry allowing crews to remove their rain gear and get to work. Alas by the late morning and through the afternoon, the tides had turned to the damp and sometimes very damp. Still the crew was able to get a great amount of work done in the new section of track already placed between the bridge at Verona Road and the Castlewood Bridge. From replacing, plugging and installing new spikes to tie replacement and ballasting, all was done by the various volunteers throughout the day.
Here are some photos taken during the earlier morning portion of the work session.
All photos by: Chris Hauf – Used with permission
Inserting a replacement tie.
Inserting a tie.
Railroad with a view…
The current end of track with a tee box from Castlewood Country Club off to the right.
Checking on tie spacing.
Getting the ties spaced.
Since these ties have already been used, wooden plugs are used to fill the old spike holes prior to either driving new spikes into the holes or simply filling them to prevent water infiltration. A spike with its taper end cut off is used to drive the plugs down into the tie.
Given this was panel track when laid down, some of the spikes need to be removed and replaced. Here a spike is removed from the tie.
Spiking on Castlewood Bridge.
A tie is slid down the rails before it is inserted just before the current end of track east of Castlewood Bridge.
Setting spikes.
Loading up ballast from the stockpile just west of Verona Road where this section of track has been completed and is cleared for service. And yes, we bring a rail-borne Porta-Potty with us.
Loading up under the careful watch of NCRy General Manager, Steve B.
Foreman, Mike S., works one of the ballast shoots on our MOW ballast car as it is moved slowly down the track dumping ballast in the this case to the outside of the rails.
Dumping ballast.
Museum General Manager, Steve B., works our Cat backhoe to pull the ballast stockpile back from the railroad and prepare it for loading into our ballast car.
Loading up with ballast.
Keeping a close eye… Possibly the luckiest guy on the crew was Steve K. who had the enviable task of running our MOW donkey, ‘Mongo” which was being used to handle the ballasting with our small ballast car. Here is the car is being loaded with new ballast just west of Verona Road.
Our Build East Team will be back again the first Saturday of March. We always welcome new hands so please visit our website to learn more how you can help volunteer with us to Build East!
