articles

Weekend Train Rides & Underground Tours Have Resumed

October 24, 2014
Looking for Fun Local Excursions? Old Sacramento has Just the Ticket...
Weekend Train Rides & Underground Tours Resumed on April 5 & 6! 
  
SACRAMENTO – Interested in riding the rails along the picturesque Sacramento River?  Or maybe exploring the alluring underground is more your style.  Either way, Old Sacramento State Historic Park has just the ticket with history-rich weekend excursion train rides and crowd-favorite Old Sacramento Underground Tours resuming on April 5 & 6, 2014, with each program offering fun new twists to experience this season.    
 
Weekend Excursion Train Rides
California State Parks and the California State Railroad Museum are proud to announce the opening of the 31st season of weekend excursion trains on the Sacramento Southern Railroad on April 5 & 6 and continuing through September 2014.  New this season, guests will treated to updated commentary aboard the trains that changes regularly depending on the special theme for each month.  Also, the Railroad Museum will offer special “Diesel Days” one weekend per month when the popular excursion trains are pulled by two gracefully-styled, streamlined diesel locomotives.  
Excursion train ride guests delight in the sights, smells and sounds of an authentic, working locomotive as it rolls along the levees of the Sacramento River for a six-mile, 45-minute roundtrip excursion. Appealing to all ages, the experience offers guests with the chance to enjoy train travel from an earlier era. The train features a combination of vintage closed coaches with comfortable seats, and open-air “gondolas” with bench style seating.  
Also new this year, 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 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.
  
Old Sacramento Underground Tours 
Now in its fifth consecutive season, the popular Old Sacramento Underground tour program will resume on weekends beginning April 5 & 6 and will continue through mid-December 2014 (with schedules fluctuating and expanding with the seasons).  New this year, Old Sacramento Underground Tour guests will have a special, hands-on opportunity to learn what it was like to raise and level a building by operating “mini-jacks” during the tours.  Custom-designed jacks will be placed at four corners of a scaled down building and tour participants will work collaboratively to spin the jacks and watch their raising and leveling progress. The hands-on experience allows guests to gain an understanding of and appreciation for the ambitious yet painstaking process successfully completed by Sacramento property and business owners in the 1860s and 1870s.  
 
The Old Sacramento Underground tour program is coordinated by the Historic Old Sacramento Foundation (HOSF) in partnership with the City of Sacramento, California State Parks, Old Sacramento Business Association and participating merchants and businesses.  While tour schedules vary with the seasons, Old Sacramento Underground tours will kick off on weekends in April, departing as follows for the month:  11 a.m., noon, 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.  Additionally, the popular “Adult Only” Old Sacramento Underground Tours will resume in 2014 with the first two offered on April 24 & 25 at 6 p.m. then expanding to every Thursday through Saturday beginning in May.  For the “Adult Only” evening tours, guides lead guests on special walking tours while sharing some of the dark secrets and racy tales lurking in Old Sacramento’s underground history.  
 
Regular tours of the underground last approximately one hour in length and cost $15 for adults, $10 for youths (ages 6-17), and children five and under are free.   The “adult only” evening tours depart at 6 p.m., last approximately an hour and a half in length and cost $20 per person (only guests 21 and older will be admitted).   All underground tours check-in at the Sacramento History Museum located at 101 I Street in Old Sacramento. Interested tour participants are encouraged to check the website at www.historicoldsac.org for tour dates, times, availability and to purchase advance tickets. More information about the Old Sacramento Underground tour program or the Foundation is available by calling 916-808-7059. 
* * *
Calendar Announcements 
What:             
Weekend Excursion Train Rides!  
Where:           
Trains depart from the Central Pacific Railroad Freight Depot 
(On Front Street between J and K Streets)
Old Sacramento State Historic Park                  
When:            
Weekends beginning April 5 through September 2014 
Time:             
Departing hourly from 11 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) or www.csrmf.org 
Suggested Copy:  
All aboard for the California State Railroad Museum’s popular excursion railroad -- the Sacramento Southern Railroad -- as it officially returns to operation for its 31st consecutive season!  Guests will delight in the sights, smells and sounds of an authentic, working locomotive as it rolls along the levees of the Sacramento River.  Appealing to all ages, the experience offers guests with the chance to enjoy 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. New this year, 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. 
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, please visit www.csrmf.org or call (916) 323-9280. 
* * *
What:              
Old Sacramento Underground Tours -- Season 5 Starts Soon!
 
Where:            
Sacramento History Museum
101 I Street in Old Sacramento 
                
When:             
April 5 thru December 14, 2014 
                                                
Time:              
Regular tours: weekends at 11 a.m., noon, 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2 p.m. & 3 p.m. in April
“Adult Only” tours:  April 24 & 25 at 6 p.m.
Check website for updated tour times May thru December                                 
 
Cost:               
Regular tours: $15 for adults; $12 for HOSF members; $10 for youths (ages 6-17) and children five and under are free
“Adult Only” tours:  $20 for adults (guests 21 and older)                          
                                
For More:       
916-808-7059 or www.historicoldsac.org
 
Hidden beneath the city for nearly 150 years, Old Sacramento’s underground has long been the capital’s best-kept secret.  Now in its fifth season -- that begins the weekend of April 5 & 6 -- visitors have the opportunity to uncover the facts behind the legends that lie below historic buildings and sidewalks. Tour guests explore excavated foundations and enclosed pathways while entertaining and knowledgeable tour guides recount the tales of the devastation, perseverance, and determination that led to California’s only successful street-raising project.   New in 2014, Old Sacramento Underground Tour guests will have a special, hands-on opportunity to learn what it was like to raise and level a building by operating “mini-jacks” during the tours.  Custom-designed jacks will be placed at four corners of a scaled down building and tour participants will work collaboratively to spin the jacks and watch their raising and leveling progress. The hands-on experience allows guests to gain an understanding of and appreciation for the ambitious yet painstaking process successfully completed by Old Sacramento residents and business owners in the 1860s and 1870s.  Plus, special “adult only” underground tours will be available on two evenings in April (then on Thursday thru Saturday evenings beginning in May) where guides lead guests on special walking tours while sharing some of the dark secrets and racy tales lurking in Old Sacramento’s underground history. For all of the guided walking tours of the underground, guests need to check in at the Sacramento History Museum before descending below several historic Old Sacramento buildings and be prepared to walk in areas with uneven surfaces and low ceilings. Due to the popularity of the    tours, advance tickets are recommended and can be purchased at www.historicoldsac.org.

About the Historic Old Sacramento Foundation
The Historic Old Sacramento Foundation (HOSF) is a 501(c)3 public benefit corporation.  Old Sacramento is a living historic district.  The mission of HOSF is to convey the importance of historic Sacramento as a place that connects our past to our present and future through engaging and entertaining events, activities and programs. More information is available at www.historicoldsac.org or by calling 916-808-7059.