Thirty-two of Ken Muramoto’s original American train arts will be displayed at the Hotel Paradox, Santa Cruz during this holiday season. This exhibit include a recently completed canvas piece entitled “From Sea to Shining Sea“. Ken was the featured artist for the 2015 and 2016 Orchard Supply Hardware® Train Calendars and the youngest artist for the train calendars’ 41 year history. He is a member of the American Society of Railway Artists. Currently Ken participates in the Claraty Arts Project in Santa Cruz, CA, who organized this exhibition.

Traveling across the United States, the 1947-1949 American Freedom Train runs past several of this country’s historic cities, landmarks, and breathtaking landscapes. It has been updated to feature emblems and insignias representing the important issues from the unprecedented year of 2020.

Ken Muramoto ©. Acrylic on Canvas. 24 x 48 inches. October 2020

High up in the mountains of West Virginia, there is a logging railroad that carried spruce and hemlock for the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Co. The Cass Scenic Railroad operates historic geared locomotives up the steep grades of the Back Allegheny Mountain to the summit of Bald Knob. Here, Shay No. 5 awaits clearance at a switchback. The No. 5 is the world’s oldest operating Shay and is West Virginia’s official state locomotive.

Ken Muramoto ©. Watercolor/Acrylic. 11 x 14 inches. November 2020

My brother and I rode our first Polar Express train together at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, California on December 13, and we loved it.

On May 10, 1869, the “Golden Spike” was driven into place at Promontory Summit, Utah as part of the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad. 150 years later, the Golden Spike National Historical Park celebrated the sesquicentennial anniversary of that historic event complete with two operating replicas of the Central Pacific Railroad’s “Jupiter” and the Union Pacific Railroad’s No. 119. The replicas were constructed by inventor and steam enthusiast Chadwell O’Connor in the 1970s, yet they don’t look a day over 100.

Ken Muramoto ©. Colored Pencils/Acrylic. 11 x 17 inches. September 2019

“Passing Gold Hill”

Under a bright blue Nevada sky, an excursion train of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad passes by the Gold Hill Depot on its return trip to Virginia City. Pulling the train is engine No. 29, a 1916 Baldwin-built Consolidation that formerly operated as Longview, Portland and Northern Railway No. 680. It was purchased by Robert C. Gray, who reopened the V&T in 1976 after the line’s abandonment in 1939.

Ken Muramoto ©. Colored Pencils/Acrylic. 9 x 12 inches. April 2019.

“The Ghost Train of Old Ely”

Nevada Northern Railway ten-wheeler No. 40 exits a tunnel with a pair of vintage passenger cars in tow. This 1910 steam locomotive was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works and was used to haul passengers on the Nevada Northern from 1910 to 1941. No. 40 is the official “State Locomotive of Nevada” and continues to haul excursion trains as well as the historic “Steptoe Valley Flyer”.

Ken Muramoto ©. Colored Pencils/Acrylic. 9 x 12 inches. April 2019.

Happy Holidays to you all from Ken.

I am saddened to learn about Orchard Supply Hardware going out of business after 87 years. I will miss their friendly customer service and yearly train calendars. It was an honor to have been a contributing artist to their train calendars in 2015 and 2016. Thank you for the wonderful memories! There will never be another store quite like you!!

Ken Muramoto

Happy Holidays to You All from Ken!

“Christmas at Crossroads” is an annual tradition at the historic Crossroads Village in Flint, Michigan, which is also the home of the Huckleberry Railroad. This locomotive is a former Denver & Rio Grande Western #464, one of the last two members of the K-27 class in existence. The engine was acquired by the railroad in 1981 and has been in active service since. Here, #464 with an excursion train in tow, passes through the crossing towards the depot during the holiday season.

Ken Muramoto ©. Watercolor/Acrylic. 10 x 14 inches. October 2017.

The John Bull, an English engine built in 1831 by Robert Stephenson and Company was shipped from England to the United States for operation on the Camden and Amboy Railroad in New Jersey. Originally built as an 0-4-0 wheel configuration, it was later converted to a 2-4-0 with the addition of a two-wheel pilot truck at the front. The John Bull, now under the ownership of the Smithsonian Institute, is seen here traveling under its own power on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s Georgetown branch line near the Potomac River on September 15, 1981 as part of its sesquicentennial celebration.

Ken Muramoto ©. Watercolor/Acrylic. 10 x 14 inches. April 2017.

Ken was featured in Railfan & Railroad Magazine’s March 2017 issue under the article, “On a Positive Note” by James D. Porterfield who introduced two train artists with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and their passion for art and trains. Mr. Porterfield is the Acting Executive Director of the American Society of Railway Artists. Ken joined the society in 2016.

On a cloudy yet sunny day, Strasburg Railroad No. 90 approaches Fairview crossing just nearing the Red Caboose Motel with her regular passenger train in tow. Built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1924, she once hauled long sugar beet trains for the Great Western Railroad in Colorado prior to being sold to the Strasburg Railroad, where she operates to this day.

Ken Muramoto ©. Colored pencils/Acrylic. 9 x 12 inches. January, 2017.

Happy Holidays to You All from Ken! 

On a cold winter afternoon, the southbound Williams Flyer led by Grand Canyon Railway steam locomotive No. 29 and a FPA-4 diesel helper speeds through the Espee Rd. crossing at Red Lake, Arizona on her way back to the station at Williams. No. 29 is a 2-8-0 Consolidation built by the American Locomotive Works in 1906, who worked on the Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad in Michigan prior to entering service on the Grand Canyon Railway in 1990. She remained in active service until 2008 when the railway’s famed steam program was cut. However, after being converted to burn Waste Vegetable Oil, she returned to the rails in August of 2016 to celebrate the National Parks Service’s centennial.

Ken Muramoto ©. Watercolor. 10 x 14 inches. September 2016.

The Oigawa Railway in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan began operations in 1927. It is now a popular tourist attraction for those visiting the local hot spring resorts along the line. Early in the morning at Shin-Kanaya Station, steam locomotive C11-227 and its train wait patiently at the platform for an electric commuter to depart first.

Ken Muramoto ©. Colored-pencils. 9″ x 12″. June, 2016.

Ken and his family were invited to Al Smith Day at the Swanton Pacific Railroad in Davenport, CA on April 24, 2016. This annual event was organized by the “Cal Poly” Swanton Pacific Historical Railroad Society to honor Albert B. Smith, the former president of Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) and the founder of the railroad. Five hundred people got together to enjoy train rides, BBQ, and more. Ken exhibited his original arts, sold his art cards and prints, and autographed more than 100 OSH train calendars! Special thanks to Ed and Mary Ann Carnegie and Mary and Lloyd Yoshida for their kind support. Ken is planning to have another exhibit at Swanton’s next event, “Cal Poly Day” on Sunday, October 9, 2016.