One of the joys of living on the Central Coast of California is learning about the role played by the Pacific Coast Railway (PCR) and its contribution to the development of the Central Coast. The folowing pictures were painted by Wayne Scarpaci and are from the Ken Kelley collection. Here are a few scenes of the PCR.

The Pacific Coast Railway "The End of the Line"	Depicted here is PCR Number 106 pulling one of the last trains into Mattie's Tavern at Los Olivos (circa 1930). This was the end of the line for the PCR. and during the period November 1887 until 1904, nearly all travelers from San Francisco to Santa Barbara and South would get as far as Los Olivos where they would spend the night at Mattie's for the Stage Coach ride to Santa Barbara the next day. Number 106, a Baldwin 2-8-0, met a fiery end near Los Alamos when it was hit by a gasoline truck in 1938 and was sold for scrap. Service to Los Olivos had been suspended in 1933 and the tracks removed in 1936. The only remaining artifact in this picture is Mattie's Tavern which to this day serves fine food and continues in Mattie's tradition.
The early trains of the PCR were wood burners until 1884 at which time they were converted over to coal. Shortly after oil was discovered at the turn of the century, all future conversions were made so the engines would burn oil. The line to Los Alamos was completed in 1883, so this is a very early picture of the PCR pausing in front of the still standing station in Los Alamos. Engine Number 6 blew up in San Luis Obispo in 1904 and was scrapped. "Link and Pin" couplers and no air brakes were the norm up into 1907. There is one story that the PCR was fined $100 per car for not meeting the new RR standards with respect to couplers and brakes in 1907. By the way, they were fined an additional $500 for hauling dynamite on a passenger train.	The Pacific Coast Railway "A Wood Burning Baldwin 4-4-0"
The Pacific Coast Railway "Black Gold is Discovered"	Oil was first struck in March of 1900 in the Husna Valley. Later again in Arroyo Grande at 500 feet, but these strikes were insufficient to be profitable until 1901 when the Western Oil Company brought in a well on the Careaga Ranch at 200 barrels a day. So great was the activity around Graciosa Station that a new town was laid out one mile to the North. The town was named "Orcutt" in honor of W. W. Orcutt the Chief Geologist for the Union Oil Company. This picture depicts the new task of the PCR carrying Oil as the new revenue maker for the Railway. Engine Number 111 was acquired from the Nevada-California-Oregon R.R. in 1928, sold to Oahu Railway in Hawaii in January of 1942, and eventually scrapped at Honolulu in 1946.
San Luis Obispo was a town totally trapped by mountains. The only way building materials could arrive, and farming goods could leave the area was aboard steamships anchored in San Luis Obispo Bay (Avila Beach). This was the start of what would become the PCR. The first steam engine was "The Avila" which started service in late 1876. This picture depicts Engine Number 105 (the first of the consolidations ordered for the oil traffic) waiting for a consist of freight or tanker cars for the inbound journey to San Luis Obispo. The Hardford wharf still stands today, minus several hunderd feet lost to a storm, along with its warehouse.	The Pacific Coast Railway "Solitude"
The Pacific Coast Railway "Tea Kettle on a Table"	The roundhouse at San Luis Obispo saw several changes during its reign. The first picture available of the roundhouse (circa 1882) showed a four stall building and the infamous "Armstrong" turntable. At some point two additional stalls and a paint shed were added. The PCR suffered many losses of buildings and rolling stock due to fires during its life. However, the roundhouse seems to have been spared. In fact, as late as 1942, with all the surounding track removed, this roundhouse was still standing with weeds and a couple of cars still under the roof. No buyer wanted anything to do with the decaying building.