Rail Heritage Southwest

Project Outline

Docent Program

• Recruit and train volunteer docents as tour guides.
• Provide the public with guided educational tours through historic railroad cars.
  

  Tours to include four cars currently under restoration: Pullman cars Rose Bowl and Hunters Point, Union Pacific club car "The Little Nugget", and Union Pacific dining car 3669. Initiate tours on a one-weekend-a-month basis. Increase to three-weekends-a-month as resources permit.
  

• Upgrade current Archival and Collections Management system.
• Employ a part-time Program Coordinator to develop and manage program as it expands.

Expanded Tour Program

• Expand weekend public tours to include additional aspects of the Travel Town Museum.

  Include interpretation of other historic cars and locomotives in the Travel Town Collection, inspection of additional restoration projects, and tour of "East Valley Lines" model railroad layout.

• Expand tour program to a daily-basis, better accommodating school field trips and others.

Multimedia Presentation

• Produce an audio-visual presentation about the history of American rail passenger travel.

  Feature historic and contemporary photos and sounds to present an overview of American passenger train travel, concentrating on the principal Rail Heritage Southwest period 1900-1950.

• Create suitable presentation space at Travel Town; show in conjunction with docent tours.

Major Artifacts Restoration

• Restoration and conservation of the historic railroad passenger car "The Little Nugget".

  Dormitory - Club Lounge car, from the 1937 Streamliner, City of Los Angeles. Interior designed by American artist Walt Kuhn. A Los Angeles Historical-Cultural Landmark (#474).

• Restoration and conservation of the historic railroad passenger car Rose Bowl.

  18 Roomette sleeping car, from 1937 Streamliner service.

• Restoration and conservation of the historic railroad passenger car Hunters Point.

  2 Drawing Room - 4 Compartment - 4 Double Bedroom sleeping car, from 1941 Streamliner service.

• Restoration and conservation of the historic railroad passenger car U.P.R.R.-3669.

  36-seat heavyweight dining car, built in 1921 for the Union Pacific Railroad.

• Locate and secure artifacts and documents pertaining to above historic cars.

  Including builder's specifications, working drawings, photographs, written documentation, oral histories, furnishings, artworks, etc.

Permanent Museum Exhibition

• Locate and obtain selected artifacts and documents pertaining to railroad passenger transportation, especially items concerning Los Angeles and Southern California.

  Including promotional literature, on-train accouterments, photographs, written documentation, oral histories, artworks, etc.

• Preliminary and final design of the exhibit spaces, fixtures and presentation arrangements.

  To be accomplished in conjunction with the overall design of the new Interpretive Center at Travel Town.

• Encourage temporary exhibitions from private collections and other museums.

  Broadening the scope of the museum displays and fostering good relationships with other institutions.

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©2001 American Southwestern Railway Association, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Last Modified: April 06, 2001