I hadn't been to the Central Coast town of Goleta in years, probably over a decade—mostly because when I'm heading north past Santa Barbara, I take the inland rather than the coastal route.
But when I finally got back there earlier this month, I knew there was once place I had to go: the South Coast Railroad Museum.
...and running its "Candy Cane Train" for the holidays.
Oh, it's the tiniest kind of tiny train that an adult could possibly ride—pulled by a mini version of the Southern Pacific locomotive engine 2569.
And once again, it was just me riding the rails solo, amidst all the parents and their children.
The 7 1/2-inch, narrow gauge tracks for the Goleta Short Line Railroad were laid in 1987—and today, the train ride provides a 9-minute, half-mile journey around the museum grounds.
It travels past markers for La Patera, one of two train stations that used to serve the rural community of Goleta at the turn of the last century...
...which was perhaps named after Rancho La Patera, the former land grant where the museum stands today...
...and Ellwood, a nod to the demolished Ellwood Station (perhaps named after Ellwood Cooper?) that once stood west of Glen Annie Canyon, just north of where the 101 runs today.
The centerpiece of the museum—and the train ride—is the Goleta Depot, a two-story, wood-frame stationhouse painted in "Colonial Yellow" and accented with brown trim and white window panels.
It was built in 1901, when Southern Pacific Railroad was completing its Coast Line to connect Los Angeles with San Francisco.
It was based on the Combination Station No. 22 plan—which dictated that the passenger and freight areas were “combined” under one roof.
This style was characterized by double-hung windows (with a six-over-six pane configuration), shingled gables, and a prominent window bay for the freight office.
When Southern Pacific eliminated passenger trains through the Goleta Depot in 1965, it spelled doom for the station. Freight operations weren't enough to keep it open, and it closed in 1973. Saved from demolition, it was relocated from South Kellogg Avenue to this plot of land, part of Lake Los Carneros County Park, in 1981.
Unfortunately the old turntable at the former Ellwood Station is gone—but the museum has got its own miniature turntable, modeled after the historic ones that were used to turn steam locomotives around.
And if you ride their tiny train, you can watch it in action at the end of the line.
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