California Western 56 (Locomotive)
Main shed
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| Established | December 14, 1952 |
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| Location | 5200 Zoo Drive Los Angeles, California 90027 United States |
| Coordinates | 34°9′16″N 118°18′27″W / 34.15444°N 118.30750°WCoordinates: 34°9′16″N 118°18′27″W / 34.15444°N 118.30750°W |
| Founder | Charley Atkins |
| Owner | Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks |
| Website | www |
Travel Town Museum is a railway museum dedicated on December 14, 1952, and located in the northwest corner of Los Angeles, California's Griffith Park. The history of railroad transportation in the western United States from 1880 to the 1930s is the primary focus of the museum's collection, with an emphasis on railroading in Southern California and the Los Angeles area.
In the late 1940s, Charley Atkins, a Recreation and Parks employee, and some rail enthusiasts came up with the plan that a full-size steam locomotive would be an attractive addition to the miniature railroad ride at Griffith Park. The City of Los Angeles Harbor Department had two small locomotives destined for scrap that seemed to be suitable for this purpose. With the support of former Recreation and Parks Department General Manager George Hjelte and Superintendent of Recreation William Frederickson, Atkins initiated contacts with major railroads in California to ask what equipment could donate. At that time, the steam locomotive era was drawing to a close, and Atkins found a good response. Travel Town was inaugurated on 14 December 1952. In 1965, Travel Town’s exhibits were re-grouped, and the park re-dedicated. Today, Travel Town is in a state of new growth and development.
The railroad museum portion contains 43 full-scale railroad engines, cars and other rolling stock.
The Heisler locomotive was used for hauling timber from the forest to the mill in the Mother Lode country. It was built by the Heisler Locomotive Works in 1918 and was the 369th locomotive built by them, so it was assigned shop number 1369. Heisler built a total of over 600 locomotives in various sizes. This geared locomotive weights 75 tons and all 12 wheels on the three trucks are driving wheels. The large parts that protrude diagonally from the sides of the locomotive just in front of the cab are the pistons. The pistons operate a crank shaft which rotates two drive shafts that turn all 12 wheels. The locomotive was originally built for the Hetch Hetchy Railroad to haul material for building the dam that supplies drinking water to San Francisco. In the mid 1920s the locomotive was sold to the Standard Lumber Company of Sonora, California, which later became the Pickering Lumber Company. The locomotive stayed there until it was donated to Travel Town in 1952. It was donated by Pickering Lumber Co. in Standard, California, while F.F. Momyer was their President. Its initial restoration was done as an Eagle Scout Service Project of Will Cosso and was completed on 25 June 2016 with the help of Arcadia Boy Scout Troop 111, Travel Town Volunteers, friend and family. Further restoration will continue.
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