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Anspach (Dr. Denny Sykes) Collection
MS 882
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
Title: Dr. Denny Sykes Anspach, M.D. Collection
Creator:
Anspach, Denny S.
Identifier/Call Number: MS 882
Physical Description:
5 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1947-2003
Abstract: Dr. Denny Sykes Anspach M.D. was a passionate rail enthusiast and instrumental in the vision for and creation of the California
State Railroad Museum.
The collection includes copies of articles Anspach wrote and additional papers he collected. The photo albums, photo prints,
and slides document the "Gold Coast" dinner with Governor Ronald Reagan, his interests in the California State Railroad Museum,
and the Motorcar excursions he participated in. Additional files document the formation of the California State Railroad
Museum, the museum collections, and its early years of operation.
Physical Location: Statewide Museum Collections Center
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research by appointment
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Carolyn Anspach Smith, 2020
Gift of Jeff Aley, 2022
MS 882 is arranged into two series:
Series 1. Manuscripts and papers
Sub-series 1: Subject files
Sub-series 2: California State Railroad Museum Development and Creation
Series 2. Photography
Each series is further arranged in alphabetical order.
Dr. Denny Sykes Anspach M.D., a member of the California State Railroad Museum Foundation Board of Directors, passed away
September 20, 2020, at the age of 86. Anspach retired after 46 years as a diagnostic radiologist specializing in breast care.
He was also the Chief of Radiology at Sutter General Hospital. A passionate rail enthusiast, Dr. Anspach was instrumental
in the vision for and creation of the California State Railroad Museum (CSRM) that opened May 2, 1981.
Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1934, Anspach had a fascination with railroads from a young age and was committed to preserving
their legacy over the course of his entire lifetime. Dr. Anspach graduated from the Stanford School of Medicine in 1960 and
interned at the Mary Fletcher Hospital in Burlington, Vermont. The opportunity to head the Radiology Department at Kirk Army
Hospital in Aberdeen, Maryland led him back east for two years.
As a newly minted diagnostic radiologist, Anspach moved to Sacramento in 1966 and set up his medical practice. He moved to
the state capital – in part – because Sacramento afforded him proximity to influential rail enthusiasts who were just as invested
as he in the idea of keeping the mighty engines of California's post Gold Rush from plunging into oblivion. He formed friendships
with like-minded individuals in the Bay Area and later in Sacramento. These like-minded individuals had been working on train
preservation since the 1930s, to create a core collection of locomotives that went on to anchor the California State Railroad
Museum (CSRM). Anspach connected with Burnett Miller, later mayor of Sacramento, to join a broader community that included
Carolyn Slobe of the North Sacramento Land Company. Anspach's group enlisted the political help of state Sen. Albert Rodda,
a Sacramento native and fellow Stanford grad, for political help and William Penn Mott Jr, then the influential director of
the State Department of Parks and Recreation.
The Railroad Museum was initially planned for the Bay Area, but Anspach and his group helped guide it to Sacramento. The vintage
rail car named the "Gold Coast" would serve as the setting on July 13, 1970, for a secret, private dinner for then-California
Governor Ronald Reagan. This occasion was designed to win the governor's support for what would one day become the California
State Railroad Museum. Carolyn Slobe provided the table settings; Tiffany glassware and the napkins, silk screened on linen
was menu a copy of the Silver Palace dining cars menu of the 1870s. Anspach successfully persuaded Governor Reagan to release
funding for the initial development of CSRM. Reagan would later turn the first shovelful of dirt to signify the start of the
construction of the museum. Gov. Jerry Brown officiated the grand opening of the California Railroad Museum on May 2, 1981.
Accounts in The Bee said that more than 200,000 people toured the grounds and free outdoor display in the days after the grand
opening.
Anspach was the "de-facto director" working with the City of Sacramento, Old Sacramento, California State Parks, and the California
State Legislature. Dr. Anspach was also the founding president of the Sacramento Trust for Historic Preservation and was
the primary author of the nearly 200-page "California State Railroad Museum: Recommendations for Planning & Development" that
was published in 1972 and served as the master plan for the museum. He served as the unofficial but effective custodian of
many prized locomotives and was instrumental in the relocation of the Gov. Stanford, the Central Pacific railroad's first
locomotive that remains on display in the museum. Anspach served as master of ceremonies for the grand opening of the California
State Railroad Museum (that coincided with Railfair '81) at the Old Sacramento Waterfront.
Anspach joined the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's (R&LHS) Pacific Coast Chapter in 1957. In 2014, the national
Railway & Locomotive Historical Society presented Dr. Anspach with the prestigious Gerald M. Best Senior Achievement Award,
named for the famed railroad historian.
Dr. Anspach remained active on the Board of Directors of the California State Railroad Museum Foundation until his death on
September 20, 2020.
Mariners' Museum and Park: MS0532 Denny Anspach Collection
(https://catalogs.marinersmuseum.org/object/ARC529)
California State Railroad Museum: MS 718 Carolyn Johnston Slobe papers
(https://csrm.andornot.com/en/permalink/oac_c8qc07z8)
[Identification of item], Dr. Denny Sykes Anspach, MD, MS 882, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento,
California.
New file folders were labeled using folder titles supplied by original file folders.
The Dr. Denny Anspach Papers include documents and photography collected and generated by Dr. Anspach in the development and
creation of the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California. Included is railroad research that Anspach used
in his writings, photography documenting the movement of historic railroad equipment and images of the historic dinner with
the-Governor Ronald Reagan.
Files include a yearly breakdown for the development and creation of the museum as well as newspaper clippings, documents,
and correspondence about the development of the museum as well as the acquisition and care of the collections. Highlights
include correspondence with California Governor, Ronald Reagan; California State Senator, Albert Rodda; and railroad historian,
Gerald Best. Photos include black and white and color prints, negatives, and slides of historic equipment, the opening of
the California State Railroad Museum and other railroad related events.
Books from the Dr. Denny S. Anspach, MD., collection have been cataloged and added to the CSRM Library & Archives Book collection.
Postcards from the Dr. Denny S. Anspach, MD., collection have been interfiled into the CSRM Postcard collection.
Copyright has been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. Permission for publication must be submitted in writing
to the CSRM Library & Archives.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Railroad motorcars
Railroad speeders
Road-rail vehicles
Transportation--Museums--Railroad--California State Railroad Museum
Photograph collections
Central Pacific Railroad Company
Reagan, Ronald