The mission of the Truckee Donner Railroad Society is to perpetuate the study and advancement of knowledge of working railroads in the Truckee Donner area with the goal of building a railroad museum to preserve and share what we have learned.

Golden Spike Sesquicentennial

The Truckee Donner Railroad Society is joining with the Truckee Donner Historical Society and the Donner Summit Historical Society to help celebrate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad and the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869. The history of Truckee is intertwined with that of the Central Pacific Railroad, the western half of the transcontinental railroad.

A series of events are planned in the Truckee area to celebrate the Golden Spike Sesquicentennial.  A partial list of these events is presented below. For more details, please see the complete list of events at the Donner Summit-Truckee Golden Spike Celebration Facebook page or visit https://www.goldspike.org/

5/4/2019	Truckee Tahoe Community Chorus Truckee Historical Revue	Community Arts Center - Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District
5/10/2019	Ribbon Cutting-Kickoff	Truckee, California
5/10/2019	Art Show Reception-Gold Spike Sesquicentennial	Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District - Community Recreation Center
5/11/2019	History Talk - The Meaning of the Railroad	Truckee Tahoe Airport
5/18/2019	History Talk - Sierra Speaker Series featuring Norm Saylor	Donner Memorial State Park
5/20/2019	Dedication George Wyman Plaque	Truckee, California
6/1/2019	"Historical Talk The Firsts, Speaker Bill Oudegeest"	Truckee Tahoe Airport
6/8/2019	Historical Talk - The Story of Tunnel Six - Bill Oudegeest	Clair Tappaan Lodge
6/10/2019	Historical Talk Locomotive Technologies Jerry Blackwill	Pizza On The Hill
6/15/2019	Historical Interpretive Walk Boca Town Site Nelson Van Gundy	Boca, California
6/15/2019	Historical Talk Sierra Speaker Series Dave Burkhart Anchor Steam	Donner Memorial State Park
6/22/2019	Historical Talk The Chinese and their Importance to the Railroad	Truckee Tahoe Airport
6/29/2019	Historical Talk Snow Sheds Fires and Other Related Subjects	Truckee Tahoe Airport
7/4/2019	July 4th Parade	Truckee, California
7/13/2019	Information Booth at Airport	Truckee Tahoe Airport
7/20/2019	Historical Talk Lincoln Highway	Donner Memorial State Park
7/20/2019	Old Timer's Picnic and Community Reunion	Truckee River Regional Park
7/24/2019	Historical Talk Henness Pass-Independence Lake	Truckee Tahoe Airport
7/27/2019	Historical Talk Logging Railroads	Truckee Tahoe Airport
7/28/2019	Trestle Tour Drive/Walk	Tahoe National Forest
8/3/2019	Historical Talk Truckee Tahoe Railway Jerry Blackwill	Truckee Tahoe Airport
8/10/2019	Historical Walk	Jibboom St, Truckee
8/10/2019	Historical Talk	Art Truckee
8/17/2019	Historical Talk Vigilantism in America	Donner Memorial State Park
8/31/2019	Picnic and Train Rides	Truckee River Regional Park

Truckee River Railroad

All Aboard!

The Logging  Railroad display is interactive in our Caboose museum. At the press of a button, the visitor can initiate a recorded interpretation of the display with lighting directing his attention to individual features as they are discussed.

Live locally? Like Trains? - Fun Opportunity!

The Truckee RR Museum has had over 6,000 visitors annually, and we need your help.   We try to be open weekends and major holidays or about 16 three-hour shifts a month. At present the bulk of the shifts are being worked by just a few docents, each working several shifts a month.

Being a docent is fun, very simple, and does not require a deep knowledge of trains or history.  It just involves being friendly, welcoming the visitor, and sharing what you do know.  Quite often we learn interesting new things from the visitors.  An experienced docent will work alongside beginners until they feel comfortable.

There are also several fun projects in need of someone with writing or graphics skills that are waiting for someone to come along and pick them up. If you have any questions, think you might be able to help, or would like to learn more, please E-mail our museum manager.

Rails, Tales and Trails

While most history writers stick to doing their rambling through dusty tomes, Granite Bay’s Bill George has taken the roadbed less taken to author Rails, Tales and Trails. The result of his work is an epic travelogue that starts in Old Town Sacramento and then wends its way over the Sierra as the book follows the route of the Central Pacific (now Union Pacific) through not only Auburn, but lesser known and visited locations such as Dutch Flat, Big Bend and Giant Gap.

Copies are available at the California State Railroad Museum Store.

We need unrestricted donations to build our fundraising efforts.
All contributions are appreciated: