We all have them, or maybe are them ourselves. Today, being an owner of Little British Cars makes one something of an offbeat, if not downright eccentric individual. And in the event one is labeled eccentric, your best bet is to blame it on others.
The La Goleta & Shorline Rail Road, all 600 feet of it.
“You think I’m nutty, I had an uncle who collected steam engines!” Not only that, but he established the La Goleta & Shoreline Rail Road, all 600 feet of it, around what is today Moss Motors’ corporate headquarters in Goleta.
Being a self-described entrepreneur, my uncle played with all this as a commercial venture, and even went so far as to print La Goleta & Shorline letterhead and “passes” for travel on the line. Admittedly, one couldn’t travel far, and I doubt anyone ever was required to show a pass, but once or twice per year the line came to life.
Phil and Dina Goldman, on their private rail car.
The equipment roster included one 1927 Baldwin 0-4-2T tank engine, late of the Kiso Forrest Railway in Japan, and one 1906 single truck electric tram car, formerly in service, I believe, in Kobe, Japan. There’s some further interesting family history with Japan, however, that falls outside the scope of this article.
Dagny undergoing restoration in what is now the Moss shipping department.
The track laying crew. Looking from the top of Rutherford St.
Every once in a while I’ll run across someone here in Goleta who vaguely recalls having seen a train operating in town. What they’re thinking of is my uncle Phil, playing with his engine. Being non-mechanical, he relied on my father and others to bring the wood fired beast to life, then happily chugged backwards and forwards on his 600 feet of track.
Former Moss Motors owner, Howard Goldman, “trolley surfing.”
When done for the day, the engine was pushed back into what is now the Moss Motors shipping department. While not quite “living in the house,” Dagny, as the Baldwin was known, lived inside the family business. And you thought the Goldman’s were crazy for selling parts for all those unreliable old British cars…
1927 Baldwin 0-4-2T “Dagny”
Based on the comment from 1250GVR, here are a few shots of Ja 1250, Another of my Uncle’s pieces of railroad equipment. The “Diana,” as she is named, was one of the last steam engines built in New Zealand, and has served with distinction on the Glenbrook Vintage Railway for many years. Restored by the GVR crew, she is now a permanent part of their collection.
“Diana” at Glenbrook Station
From the cab of JA1250 on Glenbrook’s main line
Shoveling coal into a hungry boiler.
'Oh, Those Wacky Relatives' have 11 comments
March 6, 2013 @ 2:26 pm Dean
one person’s crazy is another person’s cool…what happened to the Rail Line? Sounds like it is no longer there.
April 2, 2013 @ 7:23 am Corbin
I do not think that this is crazy. If I had the money I would have one in my back yard .It would be a nice touch.
April 2, 2013 @ 1:51 pm FRANK BERRIDGE
crazy?! did somebody say crazy….oh please! just goes to show moss is as cool as I thought . from the service to the coolest staff and best put together catalog in the business no one out does moss.
ps.outta give out lil’ “dagny” ornaments at Christmas(hint hint)
April 2, 2013 @ 3:37 pm Bruce Blondin
Hey, love trains. I’ve been an HO Gage kinda guy since I was 45yrs. Glad you did this feature and I’ll
pass it along to a couple of train buff guys I know. Keep the fun coming on.
April 2, 2013 @ 7:01 pm John M
I’m hearing a lot of past tense in descriptions of the train. Please tell us it’s holed up is a forgotten storage area, or something, just waiting to cruise back out into the light!
April 3, 2013 @ 8:09 am rgoldman
The tram car, has a single truck, and does not like corners. My uncle found the car did not like making the corner from our parking lot to the front of the building, so it was retired early on. Some time in the early/mid 1970s it went down to the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, CA. Last time I was down there, they had the car running, properly electrified, on about 100 feet of track.
The steam engine, along with all of the rail went to San Luis Obispo, CA, to a new museum being formed up there. I’m not sure the project ever got going. Last I heard the engine was languishing out on a ranch somewhere. It’s a sad fate, but the cost of time and real estate today makes it questionable if I would ever have been in a position to continue operating the engine. Fun to contemplate though. Who wouldn’t want their own steam engine to play with?
May 6, 2013 @ 4:06 pm William K.
Too bad the Little Engine could not stick around. If I had the room, I would be tempted to have my own caboose kitted out where it could be used, slept in, etc. Sort of a different twist on having a man cave other than the garage, or a unique home office.
August 24, 2014 @ 10:14 pm 1250LNER
Phil Goldman actually also purchased a 4-8-2 Mountain type Ja class steam engine No.1250 in NZ, he named it Diana, after his wife, I have had the pleasure of working with Ja 1250 at the Glenbrook Vintage Railway (Where she is based now) and I have meet Diana several times in person.
Images of the engine -https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=Ja+1250&safe=off&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=-8X6U8L6L5OQuATJrIHoBw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=621
August 25, 2014 @ 8:18 am rgoldman
Phil had an interest in several pieces of railroad equipment over the years, but “Diana” is the star. I’ve added a couple shots of her at the bottom of the original post. The last time my aunt Dina (original spelling of her name) and I visited Glenbrook, we wound up in a television documentary on New Zealand steam. You deserve to be proud of the GVR, you folks do a terrific job. It sure is a small world out there, thanks for commenting.
February 19, 2023 @ 9:59 pm Jarod Chevin
Been a while haha, but do you know what happened to Phil’s collection of railway memorabilia from his and Diana’s estate in New Zealand? I know that this included two massive photographs, one of Ja 1250 and the other of the American Mallet that the GVR owns.
I’m now an employee of the GVR in the workshop/steam driver and have been doing research into the history of Ja 1250, and I’d very much appreciate if you had any stories of your uncle and his involvement with the locomotive?
August 25, 2014 @ 10:10 am Scott Fisher
Many years ago I led a British-car owners’ tour of the Bay Area, of which the highlight was a ride on an operating steam train in the hills on the east side. We LOVED it — in no small part because it was a rare chance to see technology even more antiquated than our lever shocks and SU carburettors!
The love of old, character-rich machinery is a big part of why we love these cars. It’s no surprise at all to me that your uncle loved steam trains. Thanks for these wonderful photos.