A Caboose Hotel in Northern California
Since 1968, we’ve been reliving the romantic days of railroading at Railroad Park Resort. Experience our Dinner House & Lounge built inside restored antique railroad cars. Live the life of a railroader by staying in one of our caboose lodging units, without sacrificing the comforts of today’s modern conveniences.
Camp along a clear mountain creek in the pines known as Little Castle Creek. Find a nostalgic treasure in our gift shop or explore relics like the Willamette gear-driven steam logging locomotive, the 1893 Wells Fargo Car, or the wooden snow plow and flanger. This unique caboose hotel is more than a railroad buff’s delight, it’s a part of our historical past.
Enjoying Hiking in Castle Crags State Park, to the Hedge Creek Falls or Fly Fishing the beautiful Sacramento River Trail. Bring your bike & ride to the historic railroad town of Dunsmuir via an easy 2-mile road parallel to the Sacramento River.
Brief History
In its golden era, Dunsmuir was once an important, thriving railroad community. Formerly named “Pusher”, this was the spot where additional locomotives were added onto the trains, to “push” them up the steep grade to Mt. Shasta.
In 1968, Bill and Delberta Murphy, local descendants of pioneering railroaders, decided to collect and preserve the old rail era, by transforming rail cars into beautifully renovated units. A collection of cabooses, flat cars, and boxcars were acquired and work was started. “Murphy’s Pond” a popular swimming pond was the first phase of the project.
In the years following, additional cabooses were transformed into lodging units at our hotel as well as the antique dining car restaurant, swimming pool, and spa which completed the project. In February of 2017, Delberta Murphy turned over the business to new owners, Mark and Mary Lilley and in 2020 Lonnie and Guy Martin partnered with the Lilley’s to became part owners of RR Park.
In January 2024, Mark and Mary Lilley set sail on a new adventure and Guy and Lonnie welcomed new owner and partner Don Shaffer. Don has a dynamic personality and a strong business sense. He fell in love with Railroad Park after purchasing the land located directly behind the resort. With the purchase of Railroad Park, the property size and dreams have grown exponentially! Lonnie and Guy together with Don and their team are excited to continue growing and developing Railroad Park to maintain their #1 north state vacation destination status!
Come See Our 1927 Willamette Steam Driven Locomotive
The Willamette locomotive was a geared locomotive of the Shay locomotive type, built by the Willamette Iron and Steel Works of Portland, Oregon. Key patents on the Shay locomotive had expired, and it was now possible for other manufacturers to produce Shay “clones”.
The Willamette locomotive was very similar to a Shay, but had many differences, as the company that made them intended on making an “improved Shay”, even though the “Pacific Coast Shay”, later made by Lima, took up many of the features on the Willamette.
Our Willamette was Medco’s #7 and was Willamette’s Build #21, one of only two built with an open cab which they called their “Sport Model”. There are only six Willamette Locomotives left in existence today. Our gift shop has an “O” Scale brass model of our Willamette Locomotive on display.
Eat on a Train and Sleep in a Caboose
Dine in the 1893 Wells Fargo car or Pullman “Club Car.” You can almost hear the whistle blow and the train sway as you enjoy a delicious meal prepared just for you in our galley kitchen. Can you imagine being aboard the old Southern Pacific Daylight?
Then spend the night in genuine caboose lodging fitted out with modern day comforts. Swim in the pool, soak in the hot tub. Dream under the star-filled Northern California sky and awake to the stunning beauty of Castle Crags. The delights of the railroad experience await you at Railroad Park Resort.
What People Are Saying
“This place is so great! Cozy - beautiful and really unique. The beds are so comfortable :) Definitely will stay here again.”
— March 2019, Beth wrote via Facebook
“Staying there….Charming and unique may bring you to the RPR, but the high-quality accommodations, amazing hospitality and all around fun place to stay will keep you coming back. Caboose #7 was roomy, very comfortable, well-equipped, clean and provided a fun experience for my daughter and I. Although it was winter, and covered in a blanket of snow, it was obvious the fun to be had when the weather is warmer (pool, hiking, relaxing outside, pond, etc.) would only add to the great experience we had. Dining…. By way of context, we are from the SF Bay Area and there are plenty of great restaurants around; not to mention my daughter has a high-end culinary background in the restaurant business. The food in the Dining Car Restaurant at the Railroad Park Resort rivals any of the nice restaurants I have been to. The quality, value and service were impeccable. Very good. Stay here. Eat here. You will love it.”
— February 2019, John from Redwood City, CA wrote via Yelp
COVID-19 Information
Railroad Park Resort, by nature, is the perfect getaway adventure while keeping “Social Distancing“ a priority. We are located on 50 acres and our Caboose Rooms are separated from each other. You can also bring your RV and camp. Additionally, we are taking the following steps to minimize the impacts to our guests. (as of March 12, 2020)
1) Our staff is making extra effort to sanitize areas that are touched by other guests on a daily basis.
2) All staff have been instructed to wash their hands often, where masks around guests and stay home if they have any symptoms.
3) Restaurant is now open for Dinner and Take out with restrictions. We offer both indoor and outdoor seating
4) If you wish to check in by phone rather than coming in we will bring your paperwork to your room.
5) We have Hand Sanitizer Stations located in several areas around the resort.