The Golden Gate Railroad Museum has been notified that it will have to vacate its temporary site at the Niles Canyon Railway in 2016. The museum has been in flux since it was evicted from its leased space at San Francisco’s Hunters Point Naval Station in 2007. Unable to find a site of its own, GGRM got rid of several pieces of rolling stock and moved the west of it (37 pieces) to the Pacific Locomotive Association’s Niles Canyon site, about 60 rail miles from Hunter’s Point. The ongoing restoration of San Francisco State Belt
0-6-0 #4 was moved to the old SP Bayshore roundhouse site under the auspices of a new group known as San Francisco Trains.
By all accounts the two organizations made a good faith effort to coexist at Niles. GGRM paid for additional storage tracks in the Brightside yard, but shop space, already tight, became even tighter. Its Southern Pacific 4-6-2 #4472 hauled periodic excursions, and GGRM contributed rolling stock to the annual Train of Lights, the year’s biggest fund raising event. A number of members purchased dual memberships . GGRM volunteers were able to continue several restoration projects, notably Fairbanks-Morse H12-44 switcher #1847, SP office car Oakland and Union Pacific RPO car 5901.
In the end PLA decided not to extend the lease agreement. Although GGRM has been looking for sites since arriving at Niles, none has been secured to date.