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Calendar of Museum Events NEW 2008 CALENDAR -- CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE NEW 2008 CALENDAR Click on any underlined item for more information
The museum offers free showings of railroad history and travel documentaries, as well as train-theme feature films, in the Gandy Dancer Theater. Admission is free but seating is limited, so our guests are encouraged to call ahead (805-964-3540) for reservations. Showings are every Sunday and Thursday at 1:30 and 2:45 p.m. The program changes monthly. Showings for 2006 were: January — Ustinov and the Orient Express
"Toy Trains and Teddy Bears! What better symbols are there of the Holidays, Past and Present. In that spirit, these cherished keepsakes are shared anew this Joyous Season - as their gift to you - by members of our Museum Family, young and old." So reads the label that introduces the museum's annual holiday exhibition, which opens Friday, Nov. 24, 2006 and continues through December in the Waiting Room at Goleta Depot. The display features toy locomotives and cars and a menagerie of stuffed animals - some rare, all precious - borrowed from the homes of Junior Engineers Club members, museum volunteers, members, trustees, and staff, as well as from the museum's own collections.
Saturday, May 19. Unlimited free miniature-train and handcar rides will be given on this May Saturday, as the museum celebrates the 26th anniversary of its spring fundraiser. This will be the 11h year in which the event will use a "Great Goleta Rail Race" theme. The event is made possible by contributions from hundreds of museum members, friends, and supporters. Reminiscent of the tale of John Henry, the Great Goleta Rail Race offers its own version of the epic struggle between human and machine, as the people-powered museum handcar is pitted against the Goleta Short Line miniature-train in a competition to determine which can complete the greatest number of passenger-miles over a three-hour period. From 1 until 4 p.m. on race day, both the handcar and train will operate continuously, giving free rides to all visitors. Race officials will keep careful record of the total passengers carried and the distance completed by each conveyance. The Great Race winner will be determined based on these totals, adjusted using a handicap based on the previous years' results. Museum members, as well as the general public, are invited to attend, to observe the action and cheer on the participants, as well as to actively join in as rider-participants, themselves. At the event, you, your family members, and friends may throw your support behind either the handcar or train, simply by riding that vehicle once or as often as you like; or, you may use the opportunity to enjoy the free rides on both the train and handcar. All riders will receive a certificate acknowledging their Great Race participation. The museum's normal, slow operating speeds will be maintained throughout the event. Train riders must be at least 34 inches tall; the handcar ride has a 48-inch height requirement.
The 12th Annual "Super Saturday!" will be held at the museum on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008, the day before the Super Bowl football game. Hours: 1-4 p.m. The event marks the first weekend day of unlimited free miniature-train rides during the new year. It is open to the general public. Sponsors for the 2008 Super Saturday event are: Bartlett
Tree Experts The 15th annual "Candy Cane Train," the railroad museum's popular year-end family event, begins Friday, Nov. 23, 2007 continuing daily through Dec. 24 (except Nov. 26 & 27, and Dec. 3, 4, & 10 & 11, when the museum is closed). Event hours are 1 to 4 p.m. each day. Candy Cane Train tickets are $3.50 (adult or child), which includes a ride on the festively-decorated miniature train, an assortment of holiday treats and favors, and a coupon good for a future museum train ride. Extra rides on the Candy Cane Train will be available for $1 each. Museum members receive their customary 25¢ discount on all tickets purchased. Tickets will be sold at the museum during event hours. Those attending the Candy Cane Train event also will be able to enjoy the museum's holiday display, Toy Trains and Teddy Bears!, also opening on Nov. 23.
Free Miniature-Train Rides 
Each year the museum schedules several days during which unlimited free rides are offered to all of our visitors on the "Goleta Short Line" miniature-train. On these free days, trains normally run several times an hour, starting at 1:15 p.m., with the last train of the day dispatched at 3:45. Dates will be posted here as they are scheduled: Free Wednesdays - Train rides are free every Wednesday through Nov. 21, 2007. Sponsored by Fairview Car Wash and Bermant Development Co. First Fridays Free - Train rides are free on the first Friday of the month, January through November. Sponsored by the Olitzky Family. Super Saturday - Scheduled each year on the day before the Superbowl football game. Free Rides For Moms - Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007. Great Goleta Rail Race - Saturday, May 19. Features free miniature-train and handcar rides. Rotary Day - Saturday, June 16. Free miniature-train and handcar rides. Sponsored by the Goleta Noontime Rotary Club. Other future dates to be announced. Free
Handcar Rides Handcar rides are free on the third Saturday of every month. The museum offers frequent educational programs on railroad and local-history topics. These include lectures, slide shows, and other presentations.
Rich Thom, Presenter Join international railway traveler Rich Thom on Wed., April 11 as he presents Part II of his ‘Round The World By Narrow Gauge, a lecture and multimedia program sponsored by the South Coast Railroad Museum. The presentation is free and open to the public. It will be held at Goleta Library and will begin at 7 p.m.  Crew clears a rockslide on the Ferrocarriles Guatemala.The presentation will feature a sampling of these diminutive survivors drawn from three continents. The first stop will be Ferrocarriles Guatemala, originally part of the International Railways of Central America, an American enterprise built by the United Fruit Co. Next, we’ll travel to one of India’s lofty hill stations, Shimla, aboard the narrow-gauge line that was built to transport British bureaucrats and their families to cool mountain heights while urban Delhi roasted in the summer heat. The tour will conclude in China, with six narrow-gauge railways that carry just about everything: limestone, coal, clay (for bricks), crops and passengers. Rich Thom has ridden and photographed the railways of 37 countries during 45 international trips made over the past four decades. He has chronicled his journeys in a number of railway publications, including Trains and Aboard magazines, and International Railway Traveler, where he is a contributing editor. Before turning to digital still and video photography starting in the late 1990s, Thom had amassed an estimated 29,300 slides and negatives from his international railway travels. Most Continuing Lecture Series programs are held at the Goleta Public Library, 500 North Fairview Ave., Goleta, beginning at 7 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. Refreshments are usually served following the program. The 2008 edition of the Easter Bunny Express (16th Annual), one of the museum's most eagerly-awaited family events, will be held on Saturday, March 22, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those holding the event's egg-shaped tickets may participate in a variety of activities, including scheduled stops at Wabbit-Twacks Station (to board the museum's miniature train for a 1/3-mile ride around the grounds); Harvey's House (where a cookie and beverage await); Easter-Bunnyville (to meet the Easter Bunny and select an egg surprise); Jack-Rabbit Junction (to enter a drawing for some marvelous gifts); and What's Up Dock (to collect another event souvenir). Tickets ($4 for adults and children) will be available at the museum during the event until 3:30 p.m.; or they may be purchased in advance during museum hours (Wed.-Sun., 1-4 p.m.). Hop aboard the Easter Bunny Express on March 22, 2008. It promises to be another hare-raising eggs-perience for the whole family! If it rains on March 22, the event will be moved to the following Saturday (3/29/08).
The 25th annual Depot Day has been scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Depot Day is held each fall to commemorate and celebrate the preservation of Goleta Depot. Depot Day, which is made possible by members and friends, is also the museum's main annual community fundraiser. Depot Day is traditionally held on the last Sunday of September. MORE about Depot Day. The 20th Annual Steaming Summer will be held July 28-29, 2007. Hours will be 11 am to 4 pm each day. Every year, the museum invites owners of miniature live-steam locomotives to take part in a special weekend public event called "Steaming Summer." Usually it is the only chance our visitors have during the year to ride on the Goleta Short Line when the trains are steam-powered. The event will also feature a circus theme, with cars on hand from Ted Cheesman's circus train and a 3-ring circus on display in the model-railroad exhibit room. Stories on past events can be found in the "In The News" pages. Or, conduct a search for "Steaming Summer" (with quotes), using the search tool on the menu to the left.
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