Orange Empire Railway Museum: The Little Museum That Could

With every passing year, I less and less subconsciously make my birthday "no big deal."  In the end, it works out far better for me; instead of one celebration, my birthday is spread out into a whole bunch of mini parties, getaways, dinners, and adventures.  The most recent birthday celebration came last weekend in the form of a trip to the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, CA as the guest of my sister, brother-in-law, and cutest nephew in the world!  ALL ABOARD!

Orange Empire Railway Museum (and boys' reformatory from the looks of the fencing)
I think I have gotten this kid two engineer caps but both were lost
 by the time he actually made it out to see the trains. 

Founded in 1956 by a group of ambitious, rail-loving high school students that were upset by the demise of rail transit (trains and streetcars) in Southern California, the Orange Empire Railway Museum has survived nearly 60 years and has grown to 100 acres!

The music may be a little lackluster, but this video 

has neat old footage of the streetcars' retirement.

Recognize the headlight?

The OERM features everything from giant, 1880's steam engines, to streetcars from the the 1920's, to modern diesel locomotives from the 1950's.  We rode on a 1921 green car, a 1930's yellow line car (originally used for inner city travel) and a red car (used for interurban travel) from 1913 called "Blimpie."  This particular red car was brought down from San Francisco to Los Angeles and carried steel workers from downtown Los Angeles to San Pedro during WWII.  During the war years there were so many dock workers, ship builders, etc. that several streetcars were connected to form light rail transport trains.  An interesting note is that San Pedro has revived a small portion of the red car line which we were able to ride that last year.

The museum acquires  pieces through auction, personal sales, and donations.
They have so many pieces in the collection that some are still waiting in
line for restoration.

The yellow car ready for duty at the Pinacate Station

The fare meter on the streetcar
Depending on the time of day an the distance the passenger rode, the
conductor (from any point in the cabin could turn the dial to indicate the
appropriate fare.

In direct disobedience to Ordinance No. 71, 031, we got chatty with our motorman and he explained that the museum's current focus is actually the acquisition of Pacific Electric cars but, truthfully, we were there for more than just streetcars.  Trains are in our blood; our great-grandfather was an engineer on the Santa Fe for his entire career and our great-aunt worked for the company as well.  Not only that, but we had an unyielding "Thomas the Tank Engine" fan in our midst.

In honor of our family history, we did our best
engineer impersonations.

I guess options are pretty limited when you're trying to rhyme with "Pacific."

Even the stretchiest of imaginations couldn't possibly allow for me to be classified as a train buff or even a train enthusiast, but the fact is that I do like trains.  I can't leave Disneyland without riding the train around the park at least once and I usually try and sneak  ride in on Casey, Jr. too.  The great part about OERM is that it is run by volunteers and there excitement for the trains is palpable.  It turns what is actually kind of a ho-hum experience into something that sparks a desire to be more creative, to be more mechanical, and to be more involved.  A person who was very involved in the museum was one of Walt Disney's "Nine Old Men," Ward Kimball.

Major pieces from Kimball's collection are some of the mueum's finest examples of early railroad history.  Grizzly Flats Railroad was Ward Kimball's backyard railroad and our tour guide said that Kimball was the real influence behind Walt Disney's own railroad mania.

Ward Kimball -a train buff through and through he had full scale,
 miniature, scale model and electric trains
(Source)

Chloe, a narrow-gauge steam locomotive

The Emma Nevada

The OERM volunteer explained that Ward Kimball did not just donate the trains, he also volunteered his time.  Until the time of his death in 2002, Kimball visited the trains and worked on their maintenance.  It is said that he painted the female figures on the Emma Nevada and even applied more modest apparel for them once they became part of the museum.

We tried to get more information but this guy
couldn't help us; he had a splitting headache.

No matter what, it all comes back to Disney, doesn't it?  As always, there is ever an appropriate Disney cartoon to suit the occasion.

"The Brave Engineer" (1950)

It was my grandparents who brought me to the Orange Empire Railway Museum more than twenty years ago.  Revisiting was a cool opportunity to not only relive some of those memories but also to create new ones with my favorite person on the planet.  Since my grandparents are interred very close by, it was nice to ride the emotional train full circle and visit them on our way out.  They, for me, were the originators and the arbiters of wacky tacky, and to them I will ever be indebted.

You've reached the end of the line! 

Orange Empire Railway Museum
2201 South A St
Perris, CA
(951)943-3020

www.oerm.org


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

p.s.  One last reminder to enter our GIVEAWAY; it ends tomorrow, November 30, 2012 at 12am PST.  GOOD LUCK!!!

Chow Time: Clifton's Brookdale Cafeteria

Usually, I am loathe to include anything too personal in this blog.  I much prefer adhering to the cardinal commandment of wacky tacky - "Thou shalt not take thine own self too seriously."  There is, however, no escaping the fact that I am currently laid up!  Suffering from the symptoms of an indeterminate ailment,  I should have had plenty of time to blog but my bleary-eyed, semi-conscious waking hours have been filled with prescriptions, appointments and streaming Netflix.  As I lay in what will surely become my death bed, I feel fortunate to have both the strength to type and a small backlog of material about which I can post.  The doctors say that over-dramatization is a probably the most prominent symptom of my illness - whatever that means. 

This is the forest primeval!  Walking through the front door of Clifton's Brookdale Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles, one is immediately transported into a Depression-era dreamer's vision of the great outdoors.  It might not be what Longfellow was scribbling about, but it is pretty great by wacky tacky standards!

Clifton's Brookdale

The history of Clifton's Brookdale Cafeteria goes back to 1935 and is best described by the Clifton's website:

"In 1935 Clifford Clinton purchased the lease of the former Boos Brothers Cafeteria and began to transform the dowdy interior into an imaginary wonderland rivaled only by his other cafeteria, the legendary Clifton's Pacific Seas.

As a youth, Clifford spent his summers in the Santa Cruz mountains among the coastal redwoods, not far from the famous Brookdale Lodge.  This mountain feeling was the theme Clifford wanted for his new location.  Working with rock sculptor Francois Scotti, Clifford created a 20 ft. waterfall cascading into a quiet stream that meanders through a dining room.  Redwood trees were used to conceal steel columns and a renowned L.A. muralist, Elinar Petersen, created a life size forest on canvas covering one wall.  A Little Chapel perched high amongst the crags fulfilled Clifford's desire to feed the soul as well as the body of depression weary Angelinos."

The Clinton family's recent sale of Clifton's had foodies, history nerds, downtown enthusiasts and regular customers alike a little more than worried about the fate of the grand institution.  After a recent visit I found that in fact there is very little about which to worry.

The deco-style, terrazzo entry is the same.

The signs are the same.

The food is largely the same.
(Source)

In something as simple as the trays, the noticeable changes might even be seen as improvements.

It may seem like niggling, but the one devastating change is the new computerized registers.  In days of yore the women at the check out knew every price and product by heart and rang each guest on vintage, push-button cash registers with lightning speed and the accuracy of Swiss watchmakers.  The new system may benefit Clifton's bookkeeping but it sure slows down the line and takes away some of the fun!

The old tray
(Source)

The new tray

Mary puts the new tray to good use

Normally - and to everyone's great surprise - I am not a buffet/cafeteria type of guy.  Call me self-conscious, but as one of larger proportion, I just don't feel quite comfortable shuffling along, testing the tensile strength of my heavy-laden tray.  I like to sit down, order and have a genial person set my food before me.  If there is one giant exception to this rule, it is Clifton's.  Cafeteria food has a rather-dicey reputation and in most cases this reputation is justified; Clifton's notices range from sublime to mediocre to scathing.  However, I must say that every time I have eaten there, I have found the food quite good and I left feeling fat and sassy.  Although, it must be said, I came in feeling pretty fat and sassy.

It's not what it looks like...okay, it's exactly what it looks like!
Mmmmmm, Clifton's meatloaf is good!

Because Clifton's is the type of landmark with which people feel such a personal connection, theories and rumors about the "changes" abound - especially about the Clifton's third floor which until recently looked like a mix between Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Saloon and a small-town museum.  The most persistent of these rumors is that the third floor is being remade into a Polynesian paradise reminiscent of the long-since-closed Clifton's Pacific Seas Cafeteria.  On our most recent visit, the third floor was still shrouded in both drop cloths and mystery.

The famed third floor
(Source)

Views of Clifton's Pacific Seas

Happily, the remainder of the cafeteria appears to have weathered the change in ownership unscathed.

The amazing, cow hide, hearthside chair still
beckons guest to take a load off and set for a spell.

Bears are still fishing

A postcard view of the chapel and the main dining room
(Source)

The Chapel is still chapel-ing
We should have taken video of the spiritual message delivered
at the push of a button inside the chapel but perhaps that is
just the incentive one needs to get to Clifton's Brookdale!

An additional dining nook still carries the theme

"By a waterfall, I'm calling you..."
The water is still falling.

The country cabin still welcomes visitors.

 And taxidermy, always taxidermy!

Again we must bastardize paraphrase the great poet Longfellow:

"...List to a Tale of Love in (Brookdale), home of the happy."

As luck would have it, there is a fitting Disney cartoon for every occasion.

"Morris the Midget Moose" (1950)

Clifton's Brookdale Cafeteria
648 South Broadway
Los Angeles, CA
(213)627-1673

Hours of Operation:

Tuesday - Sunday: 6:30am - 10:00pm
(Please verify hours before making your way downtown and paying to park.  Due to the renovation, the hours may vary.)

cliftonscafeteria.com


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny