For Immediate Release

Horses, Trains and Death-defying Feats, Working on the Railroad 1890 s
Style

Fremont, CA-- The Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad
Resources (SPCRR), in association with the East Bay Regional Park
District's Ardenwood Historic Farm, invites the public to the third
annual Railfair, May 18, and 19. Featured attractions at this year s
fair will be a re-enactment of the famous "shotgun standoff at Patterson
Ranch" , an operating rail camp, 19th century dressed, 1st person,
characters living life and laying rail as they would have done in 1896.
The railroad horses, Robbie and Tucker, will be pulling restored
railroad cars loaded with passengers. Guest attractions include a late
1940 s diesel narrow gauge switch engine, a "visiting" restored Carter
Brothers car from Kelly Park in San Jose, a large display of "Garden
Gauge" railroad put on by the BAGGERS (Bay Area Garden Railroaders),
some 1 1/2" gauge live steam engines and the "Best" steam powered
tractor.

Throughout the farm there will be typical 1890 s activities ongoing both
days. See corn grinding, ice cream making, a blacksmith operating his
forge, tour the victorian house, or ride on a horse drawn wagon.

"If you come to the SPCRR Railfair on May 18 and 19, you will see people
RISK THEIR LIVES while performing the mundane task of braking a horse
drawn train, exactly as it was done in the 1890's, when being a brakeman
on the railroad was the most dangerous job in America," claims Silas
Witham, Surviving Brakeman and General Manager of the SPCRR (1896 1st
Person character of Bob Greene).

"Railfair is an opportunity to bring to life, through hands-on
experience with railroad paraphernalia and 1st person interpretation,
local railroad history. The horse-drawn railroad here at the farm is a
re-creation of the original horsedrawn railroad that ran between
Centerville (now part of Fremont) and Newark, California. This branch of
the South Pacific Coast Railroad operated up until about 1909," stated
Bob Greene, SPCRR General Manager.

The Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources (SPCRR) is
a not-for-profit volunteer organization, dedicated to the collection,
and restoration of equipment built by the Carter Brothers and
interpretation of narrow-gauge railroad history, between 1876 and 1906.
The SPCRR, operates inside Ardenwood Historic Farm, in Fremont,
California, where they have recreated the Centerville Branch of the
South Pacific Coast Railroad, which provided a rail link between the
South Pacific Coast Railroad mainline at Centerville and Newark for
about 30 years.

The SPCRR operates the only scheduled horse-drawn railroad in the world,
powered by two draft horses and serviced by the oldest in-service
flatcar in North America, Thursday through Sunday, April through
November. Last season the train carried over 30,000 passengers.

Ardenwood Historic Farm serves as a 200 acre working farm to demonstrate
domestic, industrial, and agricultural technology from approximately
1895, against a backdrop provided by the George Patterson house, an
original Victorian home. Ardenwood Farm is located at 34600 Ardenwood
Blvd., Fremont, CA 94555.

Admission for this special event is: Adults /$7; Ages 4-17/$4.50; Age
62+ & Disabled/$5. Free parking. For more information, contact Ardenwood
Historic Farm at 510/ 796-0663.

For more information, call:
Di Schwartz     408/321-4825
Bob Greene      408/289-7279


Photo Opportunity available during event.

--
Andrew J. L. Cary                     | I Reckon that the Opinions
Senior Curmudgeon                     | expressed here DO represent
Cary Consulting Services, Newark, CA  | those of the management of
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