The California State Railroad Museum was opened in 1981 but began much earlier in 1937. At that time, it was decided that our history of the locomotive must be preserved. During the beginning, there were 30 locomotives and cars donated to the preservation.
The first portion of the Railroad Museum opened in 1976 and was the reproduction of the Central Pacific Railroad Station. In 1981 the museum you see now opened, followed by excursions on the steam powered Sacramento Southern Railroad in 1984. In 1992 the State of California and the Railroad Museum acquired Railtown 1987 State Historic Park located in Jamestown to add to the further preservation of historic locomotives.
Weather Forecast For Sacramento, CA:
Quick Information:
* Address: 111 I St.
Sacramento, California, 95814
* Phone: (916)445-7387
* Park Hours: 10AM to 5PM
* Established: 1981
* Size: 100,000+ Square Feet
* Elevation: Approx. 32 feet
Museum Fee:
$12 per adult
$6 (6-17)
Free: 5 and under
Coach Train Car:
$15 per adult
$8 (6-17)
Free: 5 and under
Open Air Train Car:
$15 per adult
$8 (6-17)
Free: 5 and under
First Class Train Car:
$25 per adult
$18 (6-17)
Free: 5 and under
Parking Fee:
Street: $3.85 (2hrs)
Garage: $13 (all day) or $3 per hour
Hours:
10am to 5pm
Dogs:
Certified Service Dogs
Toilets:
Yes, Flushing
The Useful, But Boring Info:
Before we get into the awesome museum pictures and what's actually inside, we should mention some of the basics like parking, bathrooms and all of the other important information that is part of the journey.
Parking:
There is metered parking available in Old Sacramento along the store fronts. You can either pay with cash or use the ParkMobile App. This method allows you to conveniently pay and sends a reminder when your time is about to expire.
You may also find 2 all day parking garages. They are located at both ends of Old Town Sacramento, one is directly across from the Train Museum.
Bathrooms:
Once inside the Railroad Museum you will find that bathrooms are easily located, accessible and clean. There are 2 available on the first level. 1 on level two where the theater is and 1 on level 3.
You can also find other public restrooms available throughout Sacramento State Historic Park like this one in the image that still had the historic era themed decorations throughout.
NOTE: There is one bathroom located in the Central Pacific Railroad Freight Depot, that I highly recommend not to use! When we went in, there were people using it to wash themselves and their laundry.
Dogs:
Dogs are not allowed inside the museum unless they are certified service dogs. If this is the case, then they may accompany you throughout the museum with the exception of going inside any railcars and exhibits.
Food & Water:
As per most museums, there is no food or drink allowed while inside the museum area. But outside the museum, there is a plethora of places to quench your thirst and to fill your belly with tasty food, within short walking distance too.
What's There To See?
Once you enter the museum, you will see the immense size of this place. You will see the "First" locomotive that was purchased by the Central Pacific Railroad. Golden Era passenger cars and a train depot complete with a cat on the roof. Further in, there will be cold storage trains and mail transporters.
Upstairs there is a theater that plays a movie on the history of the locomotive, and up on the 3rd floor is where you will find a plethora of "Toy" trains. I wouldn't consider them toys, but more of miniatures or small replicas.
There are elevators that you can use for each section if you don't want to or cannot take the stairs. We used them with our stroller instead of lugging it up.
Railroad Museum Map:
The Museum's Sections:
The museum is designed to take you through the history of the locomotive. From the locomotive beginnings of the Transcontinental Railroad, the first train, steam driven to diesel trains, passenger trains and trains that carry commodities. The museum walks you through the history of the railroad and trains and is a well-thought-out layout overall.
The Transcontinental Railroad:
Spanning a whopping 1,912 the Transcontinental Railroad took 6 years to complete. Uniting the West and the East via one train track. This part in our nations history is unparalleled, making commerce and travel not just easier but truly allowing our nation to flourish and grow. From it's beginnings many peoples lives were dedicated to making it a reality.
Elevation Profile of the RR in 1867
Chinese and Irish immigrants, Native Indians and Americans all worked to make this dream a reality. It wasn't all pretty, and many men sacrificed everything in the building of our nation. By completing the TCRR, it opened the door to moving agriculture from the west coast to the east coast and moving products from east to west.
It also moved people further out west because they could access more of America, much easier and within a fraction of the time it took to travel by horse.
Working & Living On A RR:
Not only did the locomotive engineers run the trains, but in many cases it was a family affair, with husbands and wives running the train outposts that dotted the transcontinental railroad's path.
It was a 24/7 shift, which meant that many of the train depots had housing built right into them so that families that worked there didn't have to commute to work.
Passenger Trains:
As soon as the "last spike" was set, people were traveling from coast to coast. By the 1940s, many trains had luxury areas where folks with money could ride. On a busy train, the chefs could serve up to 300 meals in a single day with just a tiny kitchen area that had less than capable appliances, compared to modern day appliances.
The Sacramento Railroad Museum features a few of these trains where you can view some of the amazing details that went into these trains during the Golden Era.
Historic Trains:
This Railroad Museum is stunning, not in just how they display these trains, but the trains themselves. Some dating back to the mid to late 1800s, these locomotives are an amazing display of craftsmanship. The sheer size of many of them will blow your mind, and to be able to stand next to them is exhilarating.
Train Models:
On the 3rd floor of this massive museum (over 100,000 square feet) you will find model trains. Ranging from very small to massive, and all in varying degrees of intricacy and difficulty.
The picture above shows one of these model towns that were on display, and if you didn't know better, you would think it was a picture of a real town.
Other Cool Stuff Outside The Museum:
The RR museum was incredible to visit and see all of the trains, memorabilia and other staging areas, but there is more to see outside that still maintains the look and feel of the historic train depots. Here are some of the highlights...
Catch an Excursion with the Southern Pacific Railroad
If you have about an hour of time on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday then I highly recommend that you catch the Southern Pacific Railroad excursion train. You can reserve your tickets online and pick them up at will call. It was a super fun experience and the entire family enjoyed our trip down the Sacramento River.
Historical Train Station
Located down the boardwalk to the left of Railroad Museum is where you will find historical buildings. This one houses the Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station and is where you will get your excursion tickets for riding the train.
Trains Not On Display
Located behind the Central Pacific passenger building, you will find the locomotives that are currently stored. I assume that these are stored here when not on display inside the museum, but I am not sure.
What's Nearby?
There is a ton of things nearby because the CA train museum is in old town Sacramento, which is right in downtown. There are tons of restaurants withing walking distance, "tourist shops" and everything in between
Helpful Resources:
There were many resources for the CA Railroad Museum and I listed some of the most helpful down below, just in case you wanted to check them out for yourself.
We went in march with a good size group. We took a tour which had a great guide however, some of the kiddos became a bit bord. Plenty of real trains to look at, walk around in and check out. We were pleasantly surprised to find a kiddo area to play in. With a Large Thomas the train for the kiddos to climb on and plenty of little wood trains also. My kiddos eyes lit up when we found this upstairs! We also went on a train ride which for our kiddos age 4 and 2 who have never experienced it was quite a thrill. We will definitely be going back so we purchased a membership as it will pay for itself in just 2 trips.
I’m so glad that you decided to join. We found that since we are members, we can go during the week anytime and not have any crowds. Plus, they are updating with so many new trains. The snow plow was AMAZING!!!