Niles Canyon Railway (www.ncry.org) in Sunol offers train rides to the public year round from its 1880s depot. The history of trains in Niles Canyon dates back to before the building of the original transcontinental railroad. In September 1869, four months after the famous golden spike ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah, the Central Pacific Railroad completed the transcontinental rail link between Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay, finishing the track through picturesque Niles Canyon.

A Northern California favorite is the Western Railway Museum (www.wrm.org) at Rio Vista Junction in Solano County. The museum focuses on the history of trolley cars and electric railways in the San Francisco Bay Area and other regions. The Western Railway Museum also has a fabulous railway that takes guests out into pristine California countryside aboard vintage trolleys and electric "interurbans."

Located in Old Sacramento, the California State Railroad Museum(www.csrmf.org) is a complex of historic facilities and unique attractions. Widely regarded as one of North America's finest and most visited railroad museums, there is something here for everyone! Throughout the year, experience lavishly restored trains, engaging exhibits, and unique special events. Every weekend from April to September, visitors can ride behind a steam locomotive on the Museum's Sacramento Southern Railroad.

The Sierra foothills town of Jamestown is something of a California Countryside train treasure. For more than 100 years, the home-grown Sierra Railroad (www.sierrarailroad.com) has carried passengers and freight between the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills. The Sierra Railroad Dinner Train offers visitors an opportunity to travel on the historic Sierra Railroad while enjoying a delicious meal, beautiful countryside, and a range of entertainment. Also in Jamestown is Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, operated by the California State.

Railroad Museum and home to one of America's last authentic, operating railroad roundhouses. Known as "The Movie Railroad," Railtown's locomotives and cars have appeared in more than 200 film and TV productions. With its superb scenery, this railroad has been singled out by movie producers from around the world as a preferred location for filming. The first film was in May of 1919, The Red Glove. Then came diverse and varied films such as the first "talkie" filmed on the railroad, The Virginian (1927); Dodge City (1939); Oscar-winning High Noon (1951) with Grace Kelly and Gary Cooper; The Great Race (1966); Finian's Rainbow (1969); The World's Greatest Lover(1970); and Back to the Future III (1989). (More info on films shot on location in the California Countryside.)

Roaring Camp Railroad (http://www.roaringcamp.com/) in Felton offers a grand excursion through towering redwood groves and up a winding narrow-gauge grade to the summit of Bear Mountain as conductors narrate the history of Roaring Camp, the railroad and the forest! The line's history dates back to the 1880s when narrow-gauge steam locomotives were used to haul giant redwood logs out of the mountains. Roaring Camp's steam engines date from 1890 and are among the oldest and most authentically preserved narrow-gauge steam engines providing regularly scheduled passenger service in America. A special round-trip to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is offered in season.

With a mission shared by many California rail lines, the South Coast Pacific Railroad (www.spcrr.org) carried lumber from the Santa Cruz Mountains and produce from the Santa Clara Valley to build and feed the growing cities of Oakland and San Francisco. It carried commuters, travelers, and tourists from small farm towns and logging camps to big cities. Today the SPCRR is remembered in a railroad museum located in Ardenwood Historic Farm Regional Park in Fremont. The SPCRR collection contains 13 cars from the 1870s and 1880s. Restoration efforts are usually performed in front of the park visitors using hand tools and 19th Century techniques. Special events include costumed brakemen and drivers operate the branch railroad and spinning stories; smiths shaping iron and steel into box-car parts; carpenters repairing cars and laborers laying track.

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