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Railroad Museum Announces Special "Diesel Days"

April through September

August 15, 2014
On one weekend each month from April thru September, California State Parks and the California State Railroad Museum are offering special train rides on the Sacramento Southern Railroad featuring two visually-exciting and gracefully-styled diesel locomotives. Especially when these eye-catching diesels are in operation, guests of all ages will enjoy taking a memorable and relaxing weekend excursion train ride that is reminiscent of train travel from an earlier era. Those aboard are treated to a six-mile, 45-minute roundtrip excursion along the levees of the Sacramento River. The train features a combination of vintage closed coaches with comfortable seats and open-air “gondolas” with bench style seating. Excursion train ride tickets are available to book online in advance at www.csrmf.orgor can be purchased in-person starting at 10:30 a.m. the day of the train ride (based on availability) at the Sacramento Southern Railroad ticket office located on Front Street between J and K Streets. 
 
SACRAMENTO – California State Parks and the California State Railroad Museum are proud to offer special “Diesel Days” one weekend each month – April through September -- by operating two visually-exciting and gracefully-styled diesel locomotives as part of the popular weekend excursion train rides on the Museum’s Sacramento Southern Railroad.  These brightly painted diesels -- Western Pacific No. 913 and Southern Pacific “Daylight” No. 6051 -- will pull the excursion trains both Saturday and Sunday on the following weekends:  April 19-20, May 17-18, June 14-15 (Father’s Day Weekend), July 19-20, August 23-24 and September 20-21, 2014.  These eye-catching and classic streamlined locomotives are representative of the so-called “First Generation” of diesel-electric locomotives which replaced steam engines all across America during the 1940s and 1950s.
 
Weekend excursion train ride tickets are available to book online in advance at www.csrmf.orgor can be purchased in-person starting at 10:30 a.m. the day of the train ride (based on availability) at the Sacramento Southern Railroad ticket office located on Front Street between J and K Streets.   All excursion trains depart from the Central Pacific Railroad Freight Depot in Old Sacramento (located on Front Street between J and K Streets). Departures are on-the-hour from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekends the trains are running.  
 
Regular excursion train tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 for youths (ages 6-17), and ages five and under ride free. For passengers desiring a ride aboard the first-class car El Dorado, tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for youths and are free for children five and under.  Note: there is a small per-ticket service fee when booking online. Groups interested in reserving the entire El Dorado car for a regularly scheduled ride need to do so in advance by calling 916-322-8485.  If summer temperatures reach 100 degrees or higher, trains may be cancelled for the remainder of that day.  For more information about the weekend excursion train rides or the California State Railroad Museum in general, please call 916-323-9280.
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Calendar Announcement 
What:             
“Diesel Days!”
          
Where: 
California State Railroad Museum, Old Sacramento State Historic Park   
Excursion trains depart from the Central Pacific Railroad Freight Depot 
(On Front Street between J and K Streets)                                              
When:            
April 19-20, May 17-18, June 14-15 (Father’s Day Weekend), July 19-20, August 23-24 and September 20-21, 2014
 
Time:             
Weekend excursion train rides depart hourly from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 
Cost:              
Regular train rides*: $10 adults; $5 youths ages 6-17; free for children ages 5 and under 
VIP El Dorado*:  $20 adults; $15 youth; free for children ages 5 and under
*online bookings include a small per-ticket service fee 
                        
For More:      
916-323-9280, 916-322-8485 (for booking the entire El Dorado for a regularly scheduled train ride) or www.csrmf.org
 
 
About the California State Railroad Museum
Operated by California State Parks with financial assistance from the non-profit California State Railroad Museum Foundation, the California State Railroad Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Widely regarded as North America’s finest and most popular railroad museum, the complex of facilities includes the 100,000-square foot Railroad History Museum plus the reconstructed Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station and Freight Depot, 1849 Eagle Theatre, and Big Four and Dingley Spice Mill commercial buildings in Old Sacramento. For 24-hour information, visit www.csrmf.org or call 916-323-9280.