The last train groaned through Los Altos in 1964 before the tracks were ripped up to be replaced by Foothill Expressway and the age of the automobile.
However, the train, or at reasonable facsimile thereof, will be returning to Los Altos next month.
Beginning Sept. 3, a one-eighth scale working model of those early Southern Pacific steam locomotives will be on display in the Town Crier building at 138 Main St. for two months.
Created by John Grant of Palo Alto, the 4-6-4 (railroad talk) all-steel reproduction is 11 feet long and is presented by the Town Crier as part of its 50th anniversary celebration.
From 1907 to the early 1960s, the Southern Pacific provided passenger service through Los Altos, with trains pulled by steam locomotives for most of this period.
Watch for this exhibit in the front window of Marjolaine Bakery.
For more information, call the Town Crier at 948-9000.
