The next best thing to a train is a rail car! I wasn’t even aware that Folsom had handcar races until I noticed this sign at the Folsom Railroad Museum; sadly, I missed the event this past May — but I’ve already got my calendar marked for next year! This episode of California’s Gold features the beautiful scenery of Northern California as well as some railroad history and the fun team competition held in Old Sacramento.

In this episode of “California’s Gold,” Huell salutes the railroads by “riding the rails.” Catch is, he won’t be riding on an actual train! First, Huell attends the annual U.S. National Handcar Races at the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento and watches as teams race against the clock on a stretch of straight track… Next, he heads north to McCloud near Mount Shasta to attend a weekend outing sponsored by a group of people who restore the motorized “speeders” used by railroad workers for maintenance and track inspection.

(Click on the linked image below to see the video.)