Roundhouse Crosstalk

In this episode we speak with Dr. Rebecca Harrison a lecturer a the Open University in the UK. She primarily focuses on the impact of media and technology on class, gender, and race and is the author of From Steam to Screen: Cinema, the Railways, and Modernity. This episode covers the development of Cinema Trains in the UK, what these trains represented to travelers, and their ultimate legacy.&nbs...

In this episode we speak with Dr. Rebecca Harrison a lecturer a the Open University in the UK. She primarily focuses on the impact of media and technology on class, gender, and race and is the author of From Steam to Screen: Cinema, the Railways, and Modernity . Fittingly, this episode looks at the connection between cinema and the railroad during the very late 19th century and the early to mid tw...

Have you ever noticed the bright, colorful graffiti on freight cars? Who put it there and why? Join us on this week’s episode of Roundhouse Crosstalk. In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Jeff Ferrell, a  professor emeritus of Sociology at Texas Christian University. Listen in as we discuss the world of freight train graffiti and the fascinating overlaps between railroaders and graffiti writ...

This episode is the second part of a two part interview with Miriam Thaggert, a professor at the University at Buffalo about her new book Riding Jane Crow: African American Women in the American Railroad. In part one we discussed how railroad travel was both radicalized and gendered and how African American men and women used train travel as a marker of social progress, or lack thereof. In this ep...

Join us on this week’s episode of Roundhouse Crosstalk. In this week's episode we speak with Miriam Thaggert, a professor at the University at Buffalo about her new book Riding Jane Crow: African American Women in the American Railroad . We discuss how railroad travel was both radicalized and gendered and how African American men and women used train travel as a marker of social progress, or lack...

Join us on this week’s episode of Roundhouse Crosstalk. In this episode, we will continue last episode’s discussion with Dr. John Lennon, an associate professor at the University of South Florida and author of Boxcar Politics: The Hobo in Literature and Culture 1869-1956 . This week we will be exploring the hobo mythos and its relationship to race, labor, and politics. Please note that this episod...

Join us on this week’s episode of Roundhouse Crosstalk. In this episode, we will explore the popular American figure of the hobo with Dr. John Lennon, an associate professor at the University of South Florida and author of Boxcar Politics: The Hobo in Literature and Culture 1869-1956. This is the first episode of two. Keep an eye out for our next episode where we will learn more about hobo culture...

2021 is the 40th anniversary of the California State Railroad Museum. In this episode of Roundhouse Crosstalk Debbie Hollingsworth, a guide here at the California State Railroad Museum, leads you through the earliest history of the museum with added commentary from Denny Anspach, one of the people most responsible for its location in Sacramento. 

In this episode fo Roundhouse Crosstalk we interview Dr. Raymond Chong about his research into his family history. We discuss what his research experience was like, the importance of oral histories, and the story of his ancestor who helped build the Transcontinental Railroad.  The Zhang Clan Odyssey:  https://www.mychinaroots.com/samples/zhang-odyssey/ Story of my Ancestors Who Built The...

In this episode of Roundhouse Crosstalk we sit down with Paul Self, a long time docent at the California State Railroad Museum, to discuss the Military Railway Service. Join us to hear more about these important service members and how they impacted the United State Military from the Civil War to present day. 

In this bonus episode of Roundhouse Crosstalk, Jake Jennerjohn, Alex Clark, and Amanda DeFazio embark on an Old Sac Paranormal Investigation with Lisa Praxel and Susan Voskuil-Starcevich from the Sacramento History Museum.  Sacramento History Museum Website: sachistorymuseum.org As the investigation delves into the more frightening stories of Old Sacramento, this episode may not be suitable f...

Join us on this week's episode of Roundhouse Crosstalk. In this episode, we hear from California State Railroad Museum Guide Debbie Hollingsworth about the connections between Schenectady, New York and many of the famous railroaders who made the Transcontinental Railroad possible.

Join us on this week's episode of Roundhouse Crosstalk. In this episode, we hear from California State Railroad Museum docent Olga Rosander about her family's immigration story across the Atlantic and subsequent journey on the Transcontinental Railroad. 

Have you ever fed an elephant? Have you ever seen a person do tricks while riding a horse? When was the last time you saw a clown or acrobats flip high in the air? Have you ever heard a big band orchestra play? People used to do all of this and so much more in one day at the circus. The railroad transformed to circus, and the circus transformed American identity. Find out how in our newest podcast...

Join us to learn about John Muir, noted conservationist, and his family connections to the Railroad. In this episode Audrey Lokteff sits down with Interpretive Intern Colette Shaw from the John Muir National Historic Site. To learn more please visit https://www.nps.gov/jomu/index.htm.  

In this week's episode, listen to CSRM staff interview Leroy Wallace Jr. And his son, Leroy Wallace III about their shared story with the railroad. Kept from working as a higher-up because of his race, Leroy’s son has gone on to work on the Napa Valley Wine Train. Hear about their lives and how multiple generations are affected by the railroad in distinct ways.  Share your railroad...

In this podcast Park Interpretive Specialist Audrey Lokteff sits down with Grammy Award Winning Sound Archivist and Curator Jeff Place to discuss the connections between the railroad and music. This episode is dedicated to Art Cort, a docent at the California state railroad museum for 29 years.  Art passed away on August 17th, 2020.  He will be best remembered as a museum host, welcoming...

When you go to a Museum do you see your story reflected in the exhibits and collections? Museums are places that collect and share American Culture, History, and Identity. And like American Culture, History, and Identity, Museums are steeped in echoes of the past. Who is represented in museum collections? Whose stories do we tell? How are we going to move into a shared future? Join Museum Director...

This collaborative program between the California State Railroad Museum and Angel Island State Park travels through California history by examining how Chinese immigration for the Gold Rush and the building of the Transcontinental Railroad led to discriminatory policies in California, which are visible at the Angel Island Immigration Station. This AAPI heritage month, we reflect on California as a...

May 2021 marks 40 years of CSRM! Join us this week for a conversation with our Museum Director and Coordinator of Exhibit & Interpretive Programs as they talk about the Railroad Museum’s mission and philosophy. Here at the railroad museum, our lives are made of railroad stories. If you would like to share your own railroad story, we would love to hear it! Visit: https://www.californiarailroad....

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month #AAPImonth and we honor their legacy and contribution to American Culture and the railroad. This week on Roundhouse Crosstalk Podcast in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Park Interpreter II, Kim Whitfield, talks with Chinese Railroad Worker descendant, film producers, and friends of the Museum, Baldwin Chiu and La...

This podcast will focus on Rosina Tucker, a union organizer and a powerful voice in the Civil Rights Movement. She is best known for her work with the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters--the first African American trade union. Rosina fought to improve working conditions for Pullman Porters. Her work lives on here at the California State Railroad Museum in our Crossing Lines exhibit, which foc...

This episode of Roundhouse Crosstalk will take an intimate look at the lives of the Black Americans who worked on the railroad. You will hear oral history interviews from the Oregon State Universities African American Railroad Porters Oral History Collection, these interviews provide insight into railroad jobs such as, Red Caps, Porters, Waiters, and Cooks. All of these interviews were recorded in...

Today, Jason Rankins our Guide II Supervisor at the California State Railroad Museum, will be speaking with Natalia Fernandez the Interim Director of the Special Collections and Archives Research Center at Oregon State University. Natalia Fernandez is also the curator of the Oregon Multicultural Archives which documents the oral stories and experiences of porters on the railroad during the first h...

Thank you everyone for listening to this week's episode of Roundhouse Crosstalk! If you would like to share your story please visit https://www.californiarailroad.museum/my-story.