Field Trip: Santa Clara Historical Railroad Society

 

Where: South Bay Historical Railroad Society (1005 Railroad Avenue, Santa Clara, CA 95050)
When : All year, with appointment
Who   : All ages. Max group size 40.

Cost   : Free, donations gratefully received.

When Caltrain launched its electric train service in September 2024, there were several launch parties along the Peninsula. One of them was at an open house at the South Bay Historical Railroad Society. Since our group members couldn't all attend the open house which was on a Saturday, we reached out to the society, and they agreed to host a school group visit for us.

The Society is housed in the historical Santa Clara depot (right besides the Santa Clara Caltrain station), so it was logical to take the Caltrain down. This was a new experience for many families who hadn't taken the new trains. YouTube has several videos documenting the experience, including this one.

When we arrived at Santa Clara Caltrain, the South Bay Historical Railroad Society was ready for us. First, they explained about the rise of the railroads allowing fruit grown in Santa Clara Valley ("Valley of Heart's Delight") to be shipped nationwide. In fact, the first shipment of fresh fruit (pears) over the transcontinental railroad was sent from this depot to the east coast.

We also had the opportunity to hear about California High Speed Rail developments, thanks to representatives from the project.  They helped us understand how Caltrain electrification, besides improving speed/reliability and safety, is part of a larger plan to connect with the California High Speed rail network. As of January 2025, construction has started in Central Valley and the plan will ultimately allow passengers to ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles in three hours (their full system map shows stops from Sacramento to San Diego). Students were excited about the prospect as some had taken high speed rail in other countries, while parents asked questions such as cost of tickets (~80% of an equivalent plane ticket) and overall cost. The HSR project has had a rough start (this Los Angeles Times' article discusses its funding challenges) but they are also trying to engage with the community more to give project updates and answer questions. 

Finally, the Historical Railroad Society had invited volunteers to run their model trains for us. Students could have stood there for the full hour of the field trip, there were so many details. They have a sample video (below), but being there in person allowed us to better appreciate the scope and scale. Also, they update their layouts so it's always novel to visit.

After the trip, we took the north bound train home, appreciating that we didn't have to deal with traffic . As of September 2024, Caltrain's youth fares are $1/one way, or $2/round trip (adult fares are considerably higher), making this a good option for field trips. If we had wanted to explore, Santa Clara University is 10 minutes walk from the train station and the De Saisset museum offers tours.   

We would like to thank the South Bay Historical Railroad Society as well as the California High Speed rail representatives for opening up the museum for our field trip, as well as offering the space for athe HSR presentation. This is an amazing opportunity for homeschoolers to learn about the past and future of rail transportation.