All aboard!
Railroad museums come in all shapes and sizes, in sunny California
“All aboard! Hurry up, or we will miss the train. It leaves in ten minutes!"
Hey, wait a minute. What do we do with our RV? Oh, no problem, you can park it in the parking lot, for the train rides we are talking about can take place at a number of railroad museums in sunny California, and the train will wait until you travel south.
There are a number of railroad museums in the western part of the USA, but California actually has 19 museums, mostly in the southern part of the state. Interested? Well, you can choose from model railroads, miniature trains, narrow gauge and full-sized diesel and steam locomotives. Rolling stock is available for walking through and some of these facilities have interactive displays along with plenty of history on railroads that are long gone. Some even allow you to take a train ride on a real locomotive.
This article will lead you southward from the north and you can choose where to stop, depending on your final destination. We will also list the facilities by type of attraction at the end of the article.
Starting in the northern part of California, your first stop could take you slightly out of
the way to the east, but it is well worth the diversion.
The Chico Art Center in Chico, California
Phone: 530-895-8726
This centre is located in the historic rail depot in Chico and is currently in the process of refurbishing a 1947 Pullman car which was originally built for the Great Northern Railroad. This car was in service for over 25 years and travelled hundreds of thousands of miles. Holding 48 seats—including recliners with footrests—it covered the Minneapolis, Minnesota to Tacoma, Washington route.
Heading slightly east, you come to . . .
The Portola Railroad Museum in Portola, California
Phone: 530-832-4131.
This museum is very different in that it has a Rent-A-Locomotive program, which allows you to rent and operate a locomotive on the museum grounds—under supervision, of course. The Feather River Rail Society runs this facility and there are 39 locomotives and 98 freight and passenger cars on display to give you an insight into railroading during
the 1940s, '50s and '60s. A switching engine—Western Pacific No. 165, built in 1919 to serve copper mines in Arizona—is now being restored. In addition to the stock listed above, you can view cabooses, gondola cars, hopper cars, box cars, refrigerator cars, flat cars, tank cars and maintenance cars. There is a lot to see in this facility.
Traveling further south and slightly west, you come to . . .
Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad & Transportation Museum in Nevada City, California
Phone: 530-470-0902
Here you will find 25 pieces of equipment that have been restored, are in the process of being restored or need to be restored. The restoration work will give you a close-up view of how equipment used over 100 years ago really worked.
Travelling further south again, we come to the capital of California—Sacramento—and here you will find . . .
The California State Museum
Phone: 916-323-9280
This complex of historic facilities and unique attractions is located in Old Sacramento. It is regarded as one of the finest and most visited railroad museums in the country. The museum has restored trains, 21 in all, some dating back to 1862. Some of the more outstanding units are the CP Huntington Locomotive, the Southern Pacific Steam Locomotive No. 1 and the Sierra No. 3 Steam Locomotive There are also engaging exhibits and special events. There is a full-scale diorama of an 1860s construction site that was high up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, as well as a bridge elevated 24 feet above the museum floor. Every weekend in the late spring to late summer, you can ride behind a locomotive on the museums Sacramento Southern Railroad.
Next comes San Francisco, where you will find . . .
The Golden Gate Railway Museum
Phone: 415-822-8728
This is run by a non-profit organization which is dedicated to preserving steam and passenger railroad equipment in addition to preserving the history of local railroading. The gem of this popular museum is a working Southern Pacific steam engine. Visitors can climb onto this engine and examine its working parts. You can also see commuter,
streamliner and passenger trains. There is quite a collection.
South of San Francisco in San Jose, CA, you will find . . .
The California Trolley and Railroad Corporation
Phone: 408-293-2276.
The CTRC was formed by the merger of the Santa Clara County Railroad Museum and the San Jose Trolley Corporation. This organization has restored and placed back into service a number of historic trolley cars including a one-horse-drawn street car. They are presently in the process of restoring the former Southern Pacific 2479 Baldwin P-10 Heavy Pacific engine, with a 4-6-2 configuration. They are also creating the San Jose Railroad Museum, which will include a six-stall Lenzen roundhouse and turntable.
Now our journey takes us to the coast and southward to Los Angles and eventually to San Diego, literally the end of this (story) line.
Pacific Locomotive Association in Fremont, California
Phone: 925-685-9000.
This is a living museum that preserves and presents the history of Pacific Coast railroading. Passenger trains run through the Niles Canyon on the first and third Sunday of every month.
Santa Maria Valley Railway Historical Museum in Santa Maria, California
Phone: 805-714-4927.
This museum preserves the history of railroading on the Central Coast and the Santa Maria Valley. Docents are available to discuss various historical facts, while model railroaders work on the HO layout of the Santa Maria Valley.
Museum of America’s Freedom Trains in Laguna Hills, California
The memory of the two Freedom Trains that toured the USA during the 20th Century is the theme of this museum. The museum maintains a collection of audio, visual and textual materials dealing with these unique trains.
Goleta Depot and South Coast Railroad Museum in Goleta, California
Phone: 805-964-3540
The Goleta Depot near Santa Barbara was built in 1901 and relocated in 1981 to the Lake Los Carneros County Park. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum features a restored station interior, landscaped grounds, a yard track with a bay window caboose (Southern Pacific No. 4023), a 1/3-mile Goleta Short Line miniature
train ride and a 300-square-foot HO scale model of the Santa Barbara County.
The Fullerton Railway Plaza Association in Fullerton, California
Phone: 714-278-0648.
This organization is developing a large interactive railroad attraction in the City of Fullerton, which will include many aspects of recreational railroading—preservation,restoration, archiving, education, rail fanning and modeling. The star attraction right now is a web cam of Amtrak, Metrolink and BNSF Railroad train activity.
The Los Angeles area has three museums, as follows:
The Lomita Railroad Museum in Lomita, California
Phone: 310-326-6255.
Steam era railroading comes alive, for here you will find on display a Southern Pacific Railroad steam locomotive that was in service from 1902 to 1960, along with its tender. You will also find a 1910 Union Pacific caboose and a modern all-steel Santa Fe caboose.
Travel Town Museum in Los Angeles, California
Phone: 323-662-5874.
This museum highlights the history of southern California and how the railroads played an important part in its development. You can catch a ride on a caboose or tour a passenger car. There is also something special going on every first and third Sunday of every month.
Los Angeles Railroad Heritage Foundation
Phone: 323-931-6757
This is a part of the Los Angeles Museum of Railroading, and preservation of the history of railroading is their core. Three areas are specialized: public outreach, activity preservation and multi-media publication.
Now we go due south to San Diego, where you will find the following:
The San Diego Model Railroad Museum
Phone: 619-696-0199.
Located in the heart of Balboa Park, this is the largest operating model railroad museum in the world. There are four large-scale model layouts built by different clubs, containing O, HO and N scales. For the kids, there is a toy train gallery with an interactive Lionel layout, a 3 Rail Hi Rail layout, along with numerous prototypes of semaphore and signal equipment.
The Pacific Railroad Museum in San Marino, California
Phone: 530-832-4131
This is one of the oldest and largest independent rail enthusiast organizations in the USA. They have acquired a large collection of rolling stock, including a 1941 General Electric locomotive and a 1942 caboose.
The San Diego Railroad Museum in Campo, California
Phone: 619-478-9937
This facility is operated by the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association and is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of railroads as they existed in the Pacific Southwest. The San Diego and Arizona Railway is of particular interest. There are over 80 pieces of equipment to see, including steam locomotives, passenger cars, freight cars and cabooses. If you actually want to take a ride, a one-hour, 12-mile round trip train ride from Campo to the International Border Tunnel at Division is available.
The last museum in this article is due east of Los Angeles or north of the Palm Springs area and is only open on weekends, but is worth the trip into the desert.
The Western America Railroad Museum in Barstow, California
Phone: 760-256-9276
This museum is located in the old Harvey House building, which is worth a visit in its own right. The museum collects, preserves and shares the history of railroading in the Pacific Southwest through educational forums and displays that focus on both railway history and railroad technology. Topics and displays cover the past, the present and the future. On the grounds of the facility are a dozen Santa Fe locomotives and rolling stock, ideal for a close-up look and great for photo-taking.
If the romantic, “Whoo whoo! Chug-a-chug, chug-a-chug, chug-a-chug!” is still alive in your memory bank, try one of these and revisit the wonders of railroading!
A listing of facilities by type of attraction:
Locomotives and rolling stock
- Chico Art Center
- Portola Railroad Museum
- Nevada County Railroad & Transportation Museum
- California State Museum
- CTRC
- Goleta Depot & South Coast Railroad Museum
- Lomita Railroad Museum
- San Diego Railroad Museum
- Western American Railroad Museum
Steam locomotives
- California State Museum
- Golden Gate Railway Museum
- Lomita Railroad Museum
Model railroads
- Santa Maria Valley Railway Museum
- Goleta Depot & South Coast Railroad Museum
- San Diego Model Railroad Museum
History
- Museum of America Freedom Trains
- Fullerton Railway Plaza Association
- Travel Town Museum
- L. A. Railroad Heritage Foundation
- Western America Railroad Museum
Train rides
- Portola Railroad Museum
- Western Railway Museum
- Pacific Locomotive Association
- Goleta Depot & South Coast Railroad Museum
- Travel Town Museum
- San Diego Railroad Museum
