The Golden Gate Railroad Museum (GGRM) traces its origins to 1972, when Mike Mangini first spotted ex-SP 2472, a steam locomotive that had been on static display in the San Mateo County Fairgrounds parking lot since 1959.

[2] On April 30, 1991, 2472 moved under its own power to Santa Clara and then either San Jose or Sacramento[3] for display at Railfair '91.

[4][5] The museum was initially located in Hunters Point until the Navy notified GGRM in August 2005 that all leases would be cancelled and the area would need to be vacated by February 2006, as it was turning the site over to the city.

The museum moved its collection of 12 locomotives and over 25 pieces of rolling stock to Sunol, home of the Niles Canyon Railway operated by the Pacific Locomotive Association (PLA); some of the collection was sold or donated to other historical rail sites, including the Western Pacific Railroad Museum (WPRM), operated by the Feather River Rail Society (FRRS).

In the 2003 season of the television show MythBusters, the episode "Peeing on the Third Rail" was filmed at the original location in Hunters Point.