The Railroad
Railroad fever was sweeping the country when the North Pacific Coast line was incorporated in 1871. The NPCRR linked San Francisco (by ferry to Sausalito) to Cazadero in the Russian River redwoods, by way of Tomales Bay, Bodega, Freestone, and Occidental.
Built primarily to haul redwood lumber and its products, the largely experimental narrow gauge railroad also seeded towns and villages, transported agriculture products, and launched a tourism industry. Just as importantly, it captured the imaginations and changed the lives of all who lived along its way.
The exhibit includes signage and many other artifacts of the influential little railroad, and includes a full-scale mock-up of a short section of the tracks using original rails, ties, and even gravel from the long-ago roadbed.