Bunnies Are Frequent Depot Visitors

This little cottontail rabbit was captured digitally while hiding on the museum grounds on the morning of Sept. 30, 2010 by Director Gary Coombs.

Museum Guides Take Part In Central Coast RR Festival

Volunteer guides from the South Coast Railroad Museum will be a part of the Central Coast Railroad Festival, which takes place Oct. 7-11, in San Luis Obispo and neighboring communities. The SCRM volunteers, who are part of the National Park Service's Trails & Rails Program, will be presenting interpretive programs between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo aboard Amtrak's Coast Starlight trains on Oct. 7-10.

The program presentations will focus on local history, points of interest, local sights, and the natural history of the area. Among the topics: the Santa Barbara Channel, Point Conception, flora and fauna, Vandenberg AFB, and the 1901 completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad's Coast Route joining San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Wild Life At RR Museum! Hop Aboard.

Our museum visitors include bobcats, coyotes, rabbits, ground squirrels, owls, great blue heron, weasels, red-tailed hawks, and many other species, including the common egret shown at right (apparently trying to board Caboose No. 4023!) [Photo by Ann Winter, 9/25/2010].

 Botanical life on the museum grounds is also abundant. Visit

http://www.goletadepot.org/plants.php to see a website page devoted to the trees, shrubs, and other plants that we share with our guests. (At left: African Iris, Dietes Vegeta)

Rides on Bob Mahan's Speeder

Rides on Bob Mahan's inspection car ("speeder") will be a part of the 28th annual Depot Day celebration on Sunday, Sept. 26. The car formerly was used on the Ventura County Railway.