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Orange County Register
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ID: 55233156
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Correction: | Fullerton celebrates travel by rail // Cities - An event
featuring trains of all types is the city's largest weekend festival,
drawing more than 30,000 people. Fullerton Railroad Days
May 4,
2002
Byline:ERIC CARPENTER
FULLERTON
The trains are rolling into Fullerton, some belching diesel fuel
and rattling the ground, others no larger than a thumb, zipping along tiny
tracks through miniature towns.
Big and small, they are all being celebrated this weekend during
Fullerton's fourth annual Railroad Days, an event that in its brief
history has become this city's largest weekend festival.
The free event is expected to draw more than 30,000 people to the
Fullerton train station.
Longstanding community events such as the ``Night in Fullerton''
art celebration and the annual New Year's Eve celebration routinely draw
about half as many people downtown.
James McPhee, 38, of La Habra came out early Friday to watch the
setup -- his son Jake, 3, by his side and camcorder in his hand.
``This is the one time a year I can come out and see the insides
and feel the power of these trains up close,'' McPhee said.
Event organizers, known as the Fullerton Railway Plaza Association,
hope to someday make it more than a once-a-year event.
The association started Railroad Days in 1999 with the goal of
creating excitement about trains and building a regional train museum next
to the Fullerton Transportation Center.
The 40,000-square-foot museum was expected to house historic train
memorabilia and feature working passenger- and freight-train engines and
cars.
The association had hoped to break ground by now. But the cost of
building it has swelled to almost $20 million, said George Barlow, vice
president of the railway association.
``We don't just want to put up a second-rate steel structure,''
Barlow said. ``We want a building that looks good in the community and
properly exhibits the trains.''
With Railroad Days attracting thousands of people each year, the
temptation has been to charge an admission fee. But organizers have
resisted.
``We feel it's very important to keep it free,'' Barlow said. ``A
lot of families look forward to Railroad Days as an inexpensive way to see
these trains and share a fun day with each other.''
The railway association is working with a development consultant
and studying how to raise funds through private donors and public grants.
The current goal is to break ground within five years.
This year's event will feature a Burlington Northern Santa Fe
diesel engine and a Metrolink rail car, which is set to begin service
Monday from Riverside to Los Angeles through Fullerton.
Train safety will be a featured topic this year, especially in
light of recent train wrecks, including an April 23 collision between a
Metrolink passenger car and a BNSF freight train.
The crash killed two passengers and injured at least 168 others.
``With rail traffic on the rise, safety has to be emphasized,''
Barlow said. ``And we allow people to get up close in a safe environment
to see how these trains operate.''
Contact Carpenter at (714) 704-3769 or ecarpenter@ocregister.com
Fullerton Railroad Days
When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday
Where: Fullerton train station, 124 E. Santa Fe St.
Cost: Parking and admission are free.
Information: (714) 278-0648
Find Fullerton Railroad Days at
www.trainweb.com/frpa/rrdays/
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