Al Stangenberger Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm pretty sure this was one of the early attempts
> by the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association to
> form a museum. It was located out on the end of
> the Stockton Terminal & Eastern near Bellotta,
> CA.
>
> It didn't work out, and some of the equipment was
> burned by an arsonist. After this incident the
> property at Rio Vista Junction was purchased.
>
> Ken Shattock probably knows more about it.

Gee Al, you are most kind with your comment about me.. Here's the scoop-- BAERA was planning on making a Museum out at BELLOTA on the ST&E as you mentioned. As the Club brought in rail equipment, the place garbnered the nickname "Traction Meadows".
BAERA owned Market Street Railway streetcar # 974 (I think it was)as well as former "Napa Valley" interurban car # 53. A Niles product. They were placed on a piece of track at BELLOTA in Traction Meadows. One particular day, an arsonist came along and torched both cars and burned them to the ground. Napa Valley 53 was a beautiful car and the Club was sick that they lost it in this manner.
The trucks were stored and eventually taken to Rio Vista Junction and the site of the Western Railway Museum. In the meantime, BAERA had a bitter fight with scrap dealer "Joe Levine" in their attempt to rescue the famous "white" MSR school streetcar "San Francisco".. After a long period of time, they finally got this car for their collection.
The Maritime Museum gifted the San Francisco's body to BAERA. It arrived at Rio Vista Junction c1980 and was placed in storage in carbarn number two. Today the "San Francisco" rests on the trucks of former ""Market Street Railway car No. 974"".
And now you know "the rest of the story" ...

Cheers.
Ken Shattock (KRK)