Anspach (Dr. Denny Sykes, M.D.) Collection, 1947-2003

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Summary

Title:
Dr. Denny Sykes Anspach, M.D. collection
Dates:
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.
Extent:
5 Linear Feet
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Dr. Denny Sykes Anspach, MD, MS 882, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.

Background

Scope and content:

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.

Biographical / historical:

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.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Carolyn Anspach Smith, 2020

Gift of Jeff Aley, 2022

Processing information:

New file folders were labeled using folder titles supplied by original file folders.

Arrangement:

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.

Physical location:
Statewide Museum Collections Center: I2.212.V1-V2
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Library Archives staff.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-10-06 20:51:08 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research by appointment

Terms of access:

Copyright has been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. Permission for publication must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Dr. Denny Sykes Anspach, MD, MS 882, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.

Location of this collection:
111 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814, US
Contact:
(916) 323-8073
Library.CSRM@parks.ca.gov
Website