Western Railroad Discussion > Swanton CA question

Was this a std gauge operation before the Swanton Pacific 19"?
Maps show cabooses still. Are they std gauge?
Thanks

The cabooses on property were brought in by Al Smith when he bought Swanton Ranch i believe. Portions of the Swanton Pacific were built along the original narrow gauge (3 foot) Ocean Shore Railroad.

Jeff

Thank you Jeff

re: Swanton Pacific:

The Swanton Pacific Railroad, a one-third-scale, 19-inch gauge railroad, was built by Smith in the 1980s using four steam locomotives from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition’s Overfair Railway. The railroad, operated by the Swanton Pacific Railroad Society, ran a 1.6-km scenic route along Scott Creek but was heavily damaged in the 2020 fire. In 2022, Cal Poly decided not to rebuild due to costs exceeding $10 million and a strategic shift, transferring the railroad to Santa Margarita Ranch for restoration, now under the Overfair Pacific Railroad Society with a 10-year restoration plan.

IIRC, the Ocean Shore was standard gauge.

The southern portion of the OS line ran from Swanton to Santa Cruz and mainly served as a lumber line for San Vicente Lumber and a tourist  operation for beachgoers.  When the OS was abandoned in 1920, SVL purchased the southern end, plus 2 locomotives and some cars, and operated it for another 3 years until their holdings were logged out.

Z

CDTX Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The cabooses on property were brought in by Al
> Smith when he bought Swanton Ranch i believe.
> Portions of the Swanton Pacific were built along
> the original narrow gauge (3 foot) Ocean Shore
> Railroad.
>
> Jeff