Fairplex Garden Railroad Kids Day Trip

Fairplex Garden Railroad is open year-round on the second Sunday of each month and every day during the Los Angeles County Fair. Kids of all ages will love visiting this fantastic train layout.

This is the oldest and largest publicly operating garden railroad in the United States. It was started by Herman Howard in 1924, a Pomona High School shop teacher, during the third L.A. County Fair.

Over the years, the garden railway has grown into a massive G gauge tracks & buildings complex and is a permanent exhibit at Fairplex in Pomona, California.

Miles of wires operate 7,000 feet of track, buildings, lakes, and rivers. There is nothing quite like this railroad anywhere. During the LA County fair, up to forty trains can run simultaneously.

Fairplex Garden Railroad includes four interactive areas where children and adults can help control trains, including Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.

The main track area includes four main lines,  trolley lines that run through mountains, farmlands, rivers, and towns across deserts. The central theme of the train layout is California’s history and events from 1850 through the present.

A dedicated group of volunteers keeps the trains running year-round. They do it for fun and to see the smiles of thousands of kids and adults who view the model trains each year.

Fairplex Garden Railroad is open to the public on the first Sunday of each month and during the LA County Fair. The best time to visit is probably during the fair when every inch of the layout has something going on. Visit in the evening, and the railroad is lit up like a Christmas tree.

Fairplex Garden Railroad is located on Pomona, California’s Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.

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