Site Title
Since 1880s · Poway–Midland Railroad

Iron Horse History

From valley settlers dreaming of rail lines to the volunteers keeping the steam alive — the full story of the Poway Midland Railroad.

🕰 Timeline — Click Each Era to Expand
1880s
A Valley Full of Promise
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Poway in the 1880s was a prosperous and well-populated valley. Families were settling on farms, planting orchards and vineyards, and growing grain. By 1887, approximately 800 people lived in the area — enough to support a church, school, hotel, and general store. Two railroad lines were expected to pass just west of present-day Midland Road, setting off a real estate boom. Developers Baird and Chapin laid out the Piermont Plan, envisioning a town near today's Old Poway Park.
1887
The Railroad That Never Came
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The San Diego Central and Southern Pacific proposed a line from Poway toward Ramona and Julian — but the plans failed. Railroad companies cited insufficient business and unfeasible terrain. The real estate boom collapsed. Instead, a railway was built from Escondido to Oceanside. Railroad interest was renewed in the late 1890s when Poway's peaches and grapes became prized crops shipped east, but another town meeting proposal was again rejected by railroad officials.
1907
The Baldwin Locomotive Is Born
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In April 1907, Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia completed a small 0-4-0T saddle-tank engine — serial number 30646. Ordered by the Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company for its narrow-gauge railroad in California, it spent 45 years hauling rock from quarry to crusher. One of 433 identical locomotives built by Baldwin between 1875 and 1925, it ran on 42-inch "bastard gauge" rails with 28-inch driver wheels and could develop 5,160 pounds of tractive force.
1952 – 1966
A Clouded History & A New Identity
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After 45 years of service, the engine was auctioned in 1952 and rescued from a scrap yard in 1960 by Charles B. Pollard of Vista. Pollard spent a year rebuilding it and deliberately falsified its history — removing the builder's plates, claiming it was an 1878 logging locomotive from the Pacific Northwest. He cast new plates reading "1878" with a bogus serial number. The locomotive ran as the "Robert E. Lee" on the P&H Short Line. After Pollard's death in 1966, John S. Porter of Poway purchased the entire railroad and brought it to Midland Road.
1960s – 1980
The Poway Village & Rattlesnake Creek Railroad
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John Porter expanded the tracks to include a trestle over Rattlesnake Creek, renaming the operation the Poway Village and Rattlesnake Creek Railroad. He collected a Southern Pacific caboose (built 1937, retired after a 1964 crash), gondola cars, speeder cars, and a small flat car. Porter proudly displayed his "1878" locomotive, unaware of Pollard's fabrications. His death in 1980 idled the railroad, and the locomotive sat silent in its storage shed until the City of Poway acquired the property in December 1987.
1988 – 1991
The Truth Is Revealed — Restoration Begins
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Historian Frank Lorey spent three months in 1988 researching the locomotive's true origins. Detailed examinations revealed subtle differences from sister engines — one fewer rivet in a cab row, a slightly different smokestack flange — confirming it as Baldwin #30646 from April 1907. New authentic builder's plates were restored. In February 1991, a group of volunteers met at the Hamburger Factory in Poway and formed the Poway-Midland Railroad Volunteers. By June 1991, the City Council ratified their contract to restore, operate, and maintain the railroad.
1996 – Today
Steam Returns to Poway
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Public rides began and quickly became a beloved weekend tradition at Old Poway Park. The all-volunteer crew maintains and operates historic trains every Saturday, with cable car and speeder rides on select Sundays. Track improvements over the years have expanded reliability and the event program. Today the Poway Midland Railroad connects families across generations — the same iron horse that hauled cement in 1907 now carries children and rail enthusiasts through the park.
🚂 The Baldwin Locomotive — #30646

Original Specifications

BuiltApril 1907, Philadelphia, PA
BuilderBaldwin Locomotive Works
Serial No.30646
Type0-4-0T Saddle Tank
Cylinders9 × 14 inches
Driver Wheels28 inches
Gauge42-inch (narrow)
Boiler Pressure150 psi
Weight24,400 lbs
Tractive Force5,160 lbs
FuelOil-fired

The Fake History That Almost Held

Charles Pollard was so convincing that his fabricated 1878 story appeared in the published book "A History of Vista." He removed all identifying markings, cast new builder's plates with a false date and serial number, and named the engine the "Robert E. Lee."

His one mistake: Baldwin's serial numbers for 1878 ran between 4,273 and 4,564. Pollard assigned number 0491 — an impossible figure that gave historians the first clue.

Today, the restored authentic plates read: Baldwin Locomotive Works · No. 30646 · April 1907 · Philadelphia, U.S.A.

📍 Interactive Hotspots
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Click a Marker

Select any numbered hotspot above to reveal facts about the Poway Midland Railroad.

"Interestingly enough, the proposed line was to terminate in the area of today's Poway-Midland Railroad, according to Gus Kear's Memoirs of Early Poway. On Irving Avenue had been a reservation of land for a depot and railroad yards for the proposed railroad in the Piermont Plan."
— Kay Prusinskas, Historian, November 1999
👤 Key Figures in PMRR History
1880s

Baird & Chapin

Developers who laid out the Piermont Plan, envisioning a town near today's Old Poway Park based on expected railroad access.

1960 – 1966

Charles B. Pollard

Vista machinist who rescued the Baldwin from scrap, rebuilt it, and invented an elaborate false history — calling it an 1878 logging locomotive.

1966 – 1980

John S. Porter

Poway resident who bought the entire P&H Short Line and expanded it into the Poway Village & Rattlesnake Creek Railroad.

1988

Frank Lorey

Railroad historian and Charter Member who spent three months uncovering the true identity of the Baldwin locomotive.

1991 – Present

PMRR Volunteers

Founded February 1991 at the Hamburger Factory. Volunteers restore, operate, and maintain the railroad for the people of Poway every weekend.

1907

Henry Cowell

Lime & Cement magnate who originally ordered Baldwin #30646 to haul rock on his narrow-gauge quarry railroad near San Francisco.