April 5, 1904 – Driving the first spike of the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad at the steamer landing, which is now Steamer Landing Park at Copeland Street.

Histories of the Petaluma & Haystack Railway, Northwestern Pacific Railroad and Petaluma & Santa Rosa Railway

EXHIBITION DATES: June 10–July 24, 2022
GRAND OPENING EVENT: Friday, June 10, 5:00-7:00 PM – FREE
Museum Hours: Thursday-Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Cost: Free, donations welcome

The PMA is joining forces with local rail historians to exhibit the history of three of Petaluma’s early railroads.

Let your kids, old and young, ring the trolley bell and set the scale model P&SR trolley on its way from the Petaluma yards to points north. Finely detailed “O” Scale models of the original P&SR trolley cars built by Rich Dornhelm will be operating on the museum layout. Mr. Dornhelm’s car models have appeared in displays from the West County Museum in Sebastopol to Grand Central Terminal in New York City. It is worth noting that both the P&SR and the famed NY subway share the distinction of being among the earliest adopters of the then new electric railway technology. Let the models and your imagination help carry you back to another time in our rich history.

The Petaluma Trolley Railroad Museum will showcase their artifacts and photo’s that tell the story of the early years of the Petaluma & Santa Rosa Electric Railroad and the trestle, and will also share their efforts to restore the trestle, a valuable piece of Petaluma’s history.

The Northwestern Pacific Railroad Society will display rail and property maps, Petaluma rail and local area historical photos, as well as accounting journals from the P&SR. Artifacts from the NWP Archives such as tools from the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad will also be exhibited. The NWPRRHS will also provide a speaker for our Wednesday Dialogue Series in July, Wed. 7/13 at 7pm.

The Petaluma & Haystack Railroad began service on August 1, 1864 and was the third railroad in California. The PMA will tell their history with artifacts and ephemera from our own collection to round out this informational and educational exhibit.