Little Buttercup ( 2 Articles )

1899 Santa Fe Railroad Steam Locomotive “Little Buttercup” has been placed on permanent loan to the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation for eventual display and use as a demonstration exhibit at the proposed San Jose Railroad Museum.

Little Buttercup is currently displayed within CTRC’s trolley barn at the San Jose Historical Museum.

1215 Restoration ( 2 Articles )

Locomotive 1215 has recently been moved from Portola, California to San Jose.

In San Jose, the 1215 will be on display and cosmetically restored. Perhaps, someday, but after the 2479, it will even be restored to working condition.

The articles below describe the move of the 1215 and the progress of its restoration.

2479 Restoration ( 5 Articles )

The 2479 is a big locomotive; restoration is a big project.

We have several items on the history of the 2479 and its wreck in 1937.

Visitors are welcome to come watch the restoration. But they will be even more welcome if they come wearing steel-toed boots and work gloves (we will provide the hard-hat).

The restoration site is at the Santa Clara County fairgrounds, click here for directions.

Trolleys and Trolleybarn ( 20 Articles )

CTRC has restored and placed back into operation a number of historic trolley cars including a horse drawn street car.

CTRC and the History Museum of San Jose own a number of antique vehicles which have been restored and are on exhibit at the Trolley Barn.

Photos of the trolleys and vehicles may be seen in our gallery.

In 1992 Mac Gaddis made a presentation to the American Public Transit Organization on the blending of historic trolleys with light rail vehicles.

Museum ( 5 Articles )

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 in 2002, the Board of Supervisors voted to rescind support of our proposed railroad museum at that location. Since that time, CTRC has been actively working with various public agencies for a suitable location within our community. The proposed location is near History San Jose at the south end of Kelley Park. Please read Museum Development Process for background information on this project.

For more information please take a look at the full Museum Proposal and the layout of the proposed site

Other Projects ( 4 Articles )