I am here from Southern California Railway Museum, Perris,
California, a 501(c)(3) public benefit non profit educational
museum. The museum has been a part of the Moreno Valley for over 60
years, displaying and demonstrating the operation of historic
railway equipment, including diesel, steam and electric cars. Some
of our locomotives are historic diesel engines from the mid 20th
century that pulled famous passenger trains and helped build
Califonria. Each one usually operates only a few hours per month on
our short museum railway. Our mission is to preserve, display, and
DEMONSTRATE these restored locomotives, as well as provide a
training for mechanics and engineers. In addition, we partner with
local vendors who assist us in restoration. In a hearing about 18
months ago, during the height of the pandemic and decreased visitor
attendance, we were asked during the meeting for an estimate as to
how many gallons we used per year, to which we provided the number
of 10,000 gallons/year for the historic fleet of affected
locomotives, and that figure was graciously adopted by this Board
in the proposal. We have since conducted a more intensive
examination and realize that to continue our mission,
we request that 14,000 gallons annually be allowed for
the historic locomotive exemption. There are only
about 3 or 4 museums like ours in California, so the total usage is
extremely small, but will allow the Museum to go forward in the
future.
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