Southern California Places to Ride Trains

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Southern California Train Rides. Kids will love to ride these trains. Listed here are miniature and full size train rides that are fun to ride for all ages. Amtrak, Metrolink, and Coaster run scheduled trains up and down the coast and also several inland routes. California is home to several train museums which also provide train rides to their visitors. A day trip riding the rails is a fun way to see Southern California and will let you see sights that are not viewable when driving your car. Riding the train is relaxing, fun, and a great way to enjoy the scenery. "All Aboard"

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner - The Surfliner runs along the coast from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. Take a break form driving on your next day trip. Fun and affrodable way to travel the Southern California coast.

Flilmore and Western Railway
Home of the Hollywood movie trains. Take a trip back in time and ride the rails through the historic Heritage Valley of California.

Santa Barbara Zoo Train - Very nice ride on a miniature train that circles the zoo. The Santa Barbara Zoo is excellent and well worth the trip up the coast to visit.

Goat Hill Junction Costa Mesa - Free rides every third weekend. 20,000 feet of track on a bluff overlooking the Ocean. There are usually several trains operating.

Santa Ana Zoo - One of the two trains at the zoo spent its first 43 years at Santa’s Village in Lake Arrowhead. Train circles the zoo traveling about a mile.

Travel Town Railroad - Ride the scale train which circles the perimeter of the museum. Lots of interesting trains on display at the museum.

Orange Empire Railway Museum
Ride on the classic trolleys, passenger trains of Southern California's past. Take a trip back in time.

Calico and Odessa Railroad - This narrow gauge train makes a trip around the mining area of Calico ghost town, The train and ghost town are near Barstow California. Nice little train ride.

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum
16-mile round-trip journey into the history of railroading in the Pacific Southwest. Located in Campo California. Lots of rolling stock on display plus a couple of engines.

Balboa Park Miniature Railroad - three minute, ½-mile trip through four acres of San Diego's Balboa Park. Operated by the San Diego Zoo this miniature has been a family favorite for generations.

Adventure City Express Train
Built in 1938 this miniature train circles the park. Travels around the museum park. Adventure City is in Anaheim CA

Tom's Farm Train - Take a ride on our authentic reproduction of an 1800's steam train. Tom's train takes you through a covered bridge and on a half mile journey before returing to the station.

Smith Ranch & Julian Railroad - One mile train ride on standard small mine gauge track. Cross over two trestle bridges and negotiate a 225 degree curve to disembark at an gold rush mine.

Griffith Park & Southern Railroad - Mile longride with a tunnel and several bridges. This fun miniature train has been in service at Griffith Park since 1948.

Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad - Oak Meadow Park and Vasona Park in Los Gatos, CA since 1970. Steam engine runs most weekends from May - October

LA Live Steamers - Bring the kids here for a fun day riding the trains around this wonderful layout. Train rides are free. Open 11-3 pm every Sunday.

San Diego Trolley - Great way to get around San Diego. Several lines service the San Diego area. Ride the trolley all the way to the Mexican border.

Riverside Live Steamers - Open the second and fourth Sunday of each month. 909) 779-9024 Free train rides aboard miniature trains.

Coaster - Modern trains that link Coastal North County to San Diego. Coaster runs from San Diego to Oceanside. Trains run Monday through Saturday.

Irvine Park Railroad - This miniature railroad takes you on a trip around the parks oak groves and through a tunnel. Irvine park is a great place to take kids.

South Coast Railroad Museum - The Goleta Short Line miniature train ride operates year-around. The miniature train travels 1/2-mile around the museum.

Sprinter - The Sprinter runs 22 miles along the Highway 78 corridor. Ride European-style light rail vehicles with 15 stations from Oceanside to Escondido.

Joshua Tree and Southern - Open second and third Saturday and Sundays of every month. Fun miniature train rides for the family.

Poway-Midland Railroad - Steam train and trolley rides at different times of the month. Also different train equipment on display. Closed 2nd Sunday each month.

Southern California Live Steamers - Public Run Day 1st Sunday or each month and 3rd Saturday of each month. Torrance. Free train rides for the entire family.

DisneyLand Railroad
Operations started in 1955. Loops around the Disneyland. Park admission required. Everyone's favorite ride at Disneyland.

Metrolink - Trains run from Ventura County to San Diego County along the coast. Inland routes to San Bernardino and Riverside County.

Descanso Gardens Train - Train runs on Tues-Friday 3 times a day and four times at the weekend. The gardens are located in La Cañada Flintridge, California.

The El Dorado Express - This is a real park train originally from Colton California. Now in Long Beach at El Dorado Park. The train trip is quite long. Open weekends only.

Pot of LA Red Car Line - The 1.5 mile line connects San Pedro’s cruise ship terminal with other attractions along the waterfront. The fare is one dollar for everyone, with children 6 and under free. Friday, Saturday, Sunday Noon - 9:00 pm.