Empire Coffee Car open for Business

Refurbishment of the 1947 Pullman railcar is complete. Purchased with an economic development/tourism grant from the City of Chico, the railcar has slowly been transformed from a time-worn coach, which had been out of service for years, to a bright and beautiful place that will soon be the home of a coffee shop/gift shop featuring information about local rail history. The purpose of this project was to create an inviting destination and interesting cultural addition to the Depot area. People who use the ground transportation services (bus and rail) as well as visitors to the Chico Art Center would benefit from this unique refreshment center. The railcar will provide a great adjunct to the Chico Art Center's gallery and education programs. Thousands of hours of volunteer labor and significant community donations have supported the renovation effort.

The 1947 Pullman coach was purchased by the Chico Art Center in 2001. Dave Lawton, former CAC president, put many hours of hard work into raising the funds to purchase and move the Empire Builder train car to the tracks just outside the Chico Art Center.

Images taken as the train was being moved into place 2001.
Loading the wheel trucks for the train on to the tracks in front of the Center.	Moving the train to the Center.
Dave Lawton making sure the train gets to where it's going.	Moving the train into place and on to the tracks.