Goleta Valley Railroad Club Photograph Album, 1961-1992

Collection context

Summary

Title:
Goleta Valley Railroad Club photograph album
Dates:
1961-1992
Abstract:
A pictorial history of the Goleta Valley Railroad Club.
Extent:
.333 Linear Feet 1 half letter manuscript box
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Goleta Valley Railroad Club photograph album, MS 831, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This binder includes a short pictorial history of the Goleta Valley Railroad Club, located on the property of Seymour F. Johnson in Montecito, Santa Barbara County, California. This was an outdoor "live steam" railroad with 1-1/2" scale 7-1/2" gauge track and 3" scale 15" gauge track.

Biographical / historical:

Seymour F. Johnson was born on May 7, 1901 and died on April 4, 1992. He was a retired television and radio engineer who transformed his Montecito hilltop home into a space for railroad fans. For more information about Johnson and the Goleta Valley Railroad Club, please read the Fall 1984 Montecito Magazine article titled, "Seymour Johnson and the Montecito Choo-Choo by Elane Griscom (page 20).

Seymour Johnson and Edgar Lebeck formed the Club in December of 1955 to further an interest in outdoor model railroading, and to bring together persons sincerely interested in this hobby. The Goleta Valley Railroad was the first railroad built by Seymour F. Johnson. It was located on the property of his home in Santa Barbara, California.

The track was later moved west of Santa Barbara to become the Goleta Valley Western Railroad.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Roger Levenson, 1994
Physical location:
Big Four Building
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Live steam
Scrapbooks
Places:
Steam Locomotive

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Library Archives staff
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-09-30 16:25:04 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research by appointment. Contact Library Staff

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Library & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Goleta Valley Railroad Club photograph album, MS 831, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.

Location of this collection:
111 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814, US
Contact:
(916) 323-8073