Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum facts for kids
The Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum (LALSRM) is a special place where people who love trains can share their passion. It's a non-profit group that started in 1956. Their main goal is to teach everyone about railroad history. They also want to show off cool model trains and how they work.
You can find the museum in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California. It's open every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., as long as the weather is good. When the museum first opened, all the model trains used real steam, which is why they were called "Live Steamers." Today, you can also see models that run on gasoline or batteries.
The museum has a miniature railway with a 7 1⁄2 in (190.5 mm) track. This means the tracks are 7.5 inches apart. These tiny trains are strong enough to pull people! Visitors can even ride them.
Besides the main railway, the museum has smaller tracks for members. These include 4.75-inch, 3.5-inch, and even elevated 1-gauge tracks. On the third Sunday of each month, you can see an old 19th-century steam plant working. It shows how steam power was used a long time ago.
The museum also hosts two big events each year for train fans. These are the Spring Meet in May and the Fall Meet in October. They also hold fun events for holidays like Halloween and raise money for charities.
A special part of the museum is about Walt Disney and his love for trains. You can see a full-size barn that used to be in his backyard. This barn was part of his own miniature railway, the Carolwood Pacific Railroad. The Carolwood Society helps run these Disney exhibits. They even call Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn "the only free Disney attraction in the world."
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A Look Back: How the Museum Started
By 1956, many people in Los Angeles loved building and running live steam models. They decided to form a new club. For a while, they looked for a good spot for their trains.
In mid-1956, Charley Atkins became interested in their idea. He was in charge of the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. He was looking for something cool to go with the nearby Travel Town Museum. By October 1956, they found a perfect spot. It was an old floodplain, and they leveled it out to build the tracks.
Starting in 1957, the group began to build. They put in special turntable areas for the trains. Then, they laid two big oval tracks. In the early days, there was no fence around the museum. People could walk around and ask engineers for rides.
By 1960, the museum was very popular. They had to build a station for people to wait in line. They also added a fence around the area. The first loading area was called Old Sherwood Station. It was named after Gordon Sherwood, an early member. Later, Sutchville Station was built in 1965 for public rides on the biggest tracks. It was named after Buss Sutch, another important early member.
Around 1965, the railway grew even more. It added many side tracks and longer loops. There were also some short bridges. This was also when Walt Disney, a famous early member, gave his old Carolwood Pacific Railroad tracks to the museum. These tracks became the Disney Loop.
In 1968, a big mudslide covered part of the Disney Loop. After it was cleaned up, this area became the Mountain Division. The railroad expanded a lot in the 1980s. They built a 200-foot bridge and three tunnels. A huge bridge called the O'Brien-Moore Bridge was put in place in 1983.
In the 1990s, the tracks started to wear out from all the public rides. So, the club changed from aluminum tracks to stronger steel ones. Public rides moved to a new spot called New Sherwood Station. This helped manage the crowds better. A new G-scale layout was also added nearby for members.
In the early 2000s, the museum made safety better. They started using safer bench cars for riders instead of open cars. In 2002, members built the Smith Valley line. This was a new route that went lower than the High Line.
From 2006 to 2007, the Webb Yard and Sutchville Station areas were updated. They added more side tracks to help trains move better. In 2010-2012, a new station building was built at New Sherwood Station. It had a ticket booth and restrooms that were easy for everyone to use.
In 2014, part of the railroad was closed for tunnel work. This was for a big water pipeline project. In 2016, the museum celebrated its 60th birthday! They had a special event and showed off a new 1-gauge elevated live steam layout.
How Trains Stay Safe: Signaling
Since the 1980s, the museum's tracks have a special signal system. This system is like traffic lights for trains. It's called Automatic Block Signaling. It helps keep trains a safe distance apart. It also tells engineers which way to go.
The railway has over 80 electronic signal blocks. It also has 50 motorized switches that change the tracks. The system was used for trains going both ways from 1995 to 2005. The museum also has an old Wigwag (railroad) crossing signal. This type of signal used to swing back and forth to warn people of trains.
What You Can See: Facilities
The museum has more than 1.5 miles of 7.5-inch gauge track. That's a lot of track! It covers many different routes. Since 2007, public rides mostly happen on the High Line and the Mountain Division.
New Sherwood Station is where the public gets on the trains. Sutchville Station and Old Sherwood Station are used by members and for private events. The museum has many yards, side tracks, and turntables for the trains. They also have places to load, fix, and store member trains.
Over the years, the museum has brought in some real, full-size train cars. These old cars have been fixed up. They are now used as museum offices and meeting rooms. You can see three cabooses that used to belong to different railroads. There are also two fancy passenger cars from the City of Los Angeles (train).
The smaller 4.75-inch and 3.5-inch tracks are on the ground. They share the same area. This layout has two loops, three yards, a turntable, and a roundhouse.
The Engines: Locomotives
Many members have their own trains. But the museum also has some locomotives for public rides. These are driven by qualified members.
Right now, the club has four working diesel engines. These run on gasoline or batteries. They also have a steam engine built in 2008. It's a 3.75-inch scale 2-4-4T Forney that uses oil to make steam.
Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn is a very special place. It was his personal workshop where he worked on his miniature Carolwood Pacific Railroad. In 1999, the Walt Disney Family Foundation loaned the barn to the City of Los Angeles. You can find it right inside the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum.
You can visit these exhibits for free on the third Sunday of each month. They are open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is the same time the old stationary steam plant is running. The Carolwood Society calls the barn "the only free Disney attraction in the world."
Inside the barn, you'll find a huge collection of items related to Disney and steam trains. When the barn is open, volunteers from the Carolwood Society are there. They can answer your questions and tell you all about Walt Disney's love for trains.
Next to the barn, you can see even more cool things. There's a combine car from the original Retlaw 1 passenger train of the Disneyland Railroad. You can also see a miniature train station that belonged to Disney animator Ollie Johnston. Soon, a train engine and two cars from the old Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland ride at Disneyland will also be displayed here after they are fixed up.
Famous Visitors: Special Guests
The Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum has had many famous people visit. Most of them are Disney Legends. These are people who worked closely with Walt Disney. They come to meet fans and share their stories.
Some of these notable guests have included Bobby Burgess and Margaret Kerry. Margaret Kerry was the real-life model for Tinker Bell! Other guests include Floyd Norman and Disney Imagineers. Imagineers are the people who design and build Disney theme parks. Some famous Imagineers who visited are Tony Baxter, Rolly Crump, and Alice Davis.
See also
- Pacific Coast Railroad
- Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
