Southern California Places to Ride Trains

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Southern California Train Rides. Kids and adults love to ride trains. Listed here are miniature and full size train rides that are fun to ride for the whole family. Amtrak, Metrolink, and Coaster run scheduled trains up and down the coast and also several inland routes. Southern California is home to several train museums which also provide train rides to their visitors. Many of the small trains offer free rides and are perfect for family day trips. Riding the rails is a fun way to see Southern California and will let you see sights that are not viewable while driving your car. Daytrippen has an extensive list of train rides in Southern California and we have been on the all ! In the future it may be possible to ride high speed trains all the way to San Francisco form Southern California. Until that time arrives there are plenty of local trains to check out. Take Amtrak for a day trip or ride a miniature train with the kids. Riding the train is relaxing, fun, and a great way to enjoy the Southern California 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 - Ride the
Hollywood movie Train. Take a trip back in time and ride the rails through the historic Heritage Valley of California. Trip lasts about three hours with one stop along the way.

Santa Barbara Zoo Train - Excellent ride on a miniature train that circles the zoo. The Santa Barbara Zoo is a wonderful place to visit and well worth the trip up the coast. Zoo is near the Santa Babara Amtrak station.

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. Fun place to ride trains for kids and adults.

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 half mile on the narrow gauge track. See elephants along the way.

Travel Town Railroad - Ride the scale train which circles the perimeter of the museum. Lots of interesting trains on display at the museum. Next door is LA Live Steamers miniature railway.

Orange Empire Railway Museum - Ride on classic trolleys and passenger trains of California's past. One ticket is good for all trains rides all day long. Free admission and parking except for special events.

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. The train travels takes a loop around the amusement park. Adventure City is in Anaheim CA along Beach Blvd.

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 long ride 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, children 6 and under free.

California High Speed Rail - Scheduled to start construction in 2012. Trains will reach speeds up to 225 mph and travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in under four hours.

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