Railroad Museum Proposal Gaining Steam in Lancaster : Tourism: The attraction would feature a vintage train, and locomotive excursions would be offered to draw visitors.

It lacks the beautiful coastline of Palos Verdes and the glamour of Palm Springs. There is no Disneyland nor row after row of million-dollar homes to attract out-of-towners.

What this city does have is a history rich in aerospace achievements and a few glorious weeks in spring when the desert comes alive with the fluorescent orange of poppies.

So, like the makers of a B-movie who get by with the limited resources available to them, Lancaster officials capitalize on what they can in their never-ending quest for tourists and the dollars they spend.

After establishing an Aerospace Walk of Honor five years ago and initiating an annual poppy festival three years ago, the city of Lancaster is now investigating the possibility of buying a steam locomotive and opening a railroad museum, in a nod to the mode of transportation responsible for its very existence.

“It’s a wonderful concept,” said Lancaster Mayor George Runner. “I think our role is to see if we can attach reality to it. There’s a great deal of parts and pieces that we don’t have--like a train, a building, permission to use the track--a lot of things we need to explore.”

The concept of a railroad museum and steam-engine excursion train was brought to the City Council last week by Larry Wines, a Lancaster resident who has been involved elsewhere with railway preservation and steam locomotive restoration projects.

Wines, a free-lance writer, said the idea grew from discussions in Councilman Henry Hearns’ advisory council, which is planning a veterans commemoration event and considered bringing people to Lancaster from Los Angeles by a steam-driven locomotive.

While Lancaster’s early development owes itself to the Southern Pacific--which made the town a stop in the 1870s--Wines said there is little in the community that pays tribute to the railroad.

Aside from the Lancaster city seal, which includes a steam locomotive, and a local model railroad club that operates from an old rail car, “there’s been no effort at train restoration here,” Wines said.

The city’s original wooden railroad depot, which was torn down after a fire nearly 20 years ago, is the model for a not-yet-constructed Metrolink station.

Councilwoman Deborah Shelton, noting that “Lancaster wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for rail,” said Wines’ idea is worth exploring.

Hearns called the proposal “sound, wholesome and good for the city” and the Antelope Valley.

Of course, what interests city officials most about the project is its potential to draw tourists.

“We do need to be a tourist destination and this might be the ticket for that,” Shelton said.

Because Lancaster, with the exception of wildflowers, lacks “natural wonders to create tourism dollars,” Runner said it must create attractions to draw tourists. That is “the reality of the area we live in.”

The steam-locomotive excursion proposal certainly fits the bill, Runner said, but many questions remain.

One of the more important questions is the cost of turning the idea into reality, he said. “The other issue that is very important to see is if this is truly something that has widespread community support.”

Runner wants to know not only if there are people willing to volunteer their time for the project but individuals and businesses that would contribute money to it.

According to Wines’ computations, it would cost about $1.3 million to develop the museum. His proposal calls for the city to build the museum on Sierra Highway just north of Lancaster Boulevard. The museum would be set up inside a former car dealership.

Steam-engine excursions would run on the publicly owned Metrolink tracks, which extend from Lancaster to Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles and are not currently used on weekends. Metrolink officials have not yet been asked whether they would allow the tracks to be used.

Wines said of all the track Metrolink owns, the route between Lancaster and Los Angeles is the only one that offers any scenic opportunities. The ride through Soledad Canyon certainly wouldn’t compare to the breathtaking Durango-Silverton steam-locomotive ride in Colorado, he conceded, but Wines said it would still be attractive to visitors.

Lancaster could get the steam locomotive, Wines suggested, from the city of Modesto, which has a 1944 engine and tender it no longer wants. But Patrick Foran, Modesto’s assistant director of parks and recreation, said the City Council has not made a decision about fate of Santa Fe steam locomotive No. 2921, which is deteriorating in a downtown park where it has sat since being donated to the city in the 1950s.

“It’s not the appropriate place for an engine like that,” Foran said. “It really needs to be placed in a museum with a program around it.”

A Modesto city subcommittee is studying the locomotive, its value, restoration costs and other issues, Foran said, estimating that regaining the locomotive’s original appearance and making it run--if it’s even possible--would cost millions.

“History indicates it’s a good candidate for restoration,” he said. “Just before it was decommissioned it received a complete overhaul.”

If the city does get rid of the 510,150-pound locomotive, Foran said it is unlikely it will give it away, as Wines suggested may be the case.

“We’re looking to get whatever value it has out of it,” he said, adding that it has generated a lot of interest.

Even if the steam locomotive excursion-museum idea does not fly, Shelton said she is pleased Wines pitched the idea.

“We need citizens with ideas,” she said. “We don’t have all the answers.”