Southern California Railway Museum facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
Southern California Railway Museum

Former name	Orange Empire Railway Museum
Established	1956
Location	2201 S. "A" St. Perris, California
Type	Railroad museum
Collections	Electric trains & trolleys, steam & diesel locomotives, passenger & freight cars, light rail vehicles, maintenance of way equipment

The Southern California Railway Museum (SCRM) is a fun railroad museum in Perris, California, USA. It started in 1956 in Los Angeles. Later, in 1958, it moved to its current spot and was called the "Orange Empire Trolley Museum." In 1975, it became the "Orange Empire Railway Museum" after joining with another museum. In 2019, it got its current name. The museum also has a special heritage railway where you can ride old trains!

Discovering Southern California's Train History
- What Trains Can You Ride?
- Planning Your Visit
Explore the Interactive Signal Garden
Amazing Trains and Exhibits
Behind the Scenes: Shops and Maintenance
Images for kids
See Also

Discovering Southern California's Train History

This museum is all about the history of trains in Southern California. It has the world's largest collection of trains from the Pacific Electric Railway. Many of these trains were saved from being scrapped after they stopped running in 1961.

What Trains Can You Ride?

On weekends, you can ride two types of old streetcars. One is from the early Los Angeles streetcar system, and the other is from the Pacific Electric Railway. These streetcars run on a half-mile long track called the Loop Line.

You can also ride a longer, 1.5-mile main line. This line was once part of a big train route that went all the way to San Diego! On this line, you can ride in open cars pulled by a steam, diesel, or electric train. There are also cabooses you can ride in. Sometimes, a special Pacific Electric "Red Car" also runs on this main line.

The museum tries to run a steam locomotive on the third weekend of each month from September to May, plus on some special holidays.

Planning Your Visit

Parking and getting into the museum are free! However, you need to buy tickets to ride the trains. Your ticket lets you ride all the trains operating that day, including the streetcar loop.

You can explore the museum grounds, see the trains on display, and visit the workshops by yourself or with a guide. There's also a picnic area near the entrance and a cool "signal garden" where you can learn about railroad signals.

Explore the Interactive Signal Garden

The signal garden was built between 2000 and 2001. It's a special area where you can see and learn about different types of old railroad signals.

Magnetic Flagman Signals: These are old crossing signals that used a moving arm to warn people.
Safetran V20 Tri-Light Signal: This is a newer type of signal that shows different colored lights.
Union Switch and Signal Motorcar Indicators: These were small signals that warned maintenance workers about oncoming trains.
Old Grade Crossing Bell: This large bronze bell from around 1910 would ring loudly to warn drivers when a train was coming. It used to be in Anaheim.
Relay Cabinet: This cabinet from the 1940s held the electronic parts that made the signals work.

Since then, the garden has added even more signals, including modern crossing signals and a very old "banjo signal" from over 100 years ago. Only three of these banjo signals are known to exist!

Amazing Trains and Exhibits

The museum has many cool trains, from powerful locomotives to historic streetcars. Here are some of the most interesting ones:

Steam Locomotives

Ventura County Railway 2: This steam train was built in 1922. It's currently being worked on to make sure it's safe to run again. It's often used for special events when it's ready.
Union Pacific 2564: Built in 1921, this large steam locomotive is on display. The museum hopes to restore it so it can run again one day.
Mojave Northern Railroad 2: This steam train from 1917 is on static display. It hasn't run since 1976 and needs a lot of work.
The Emma Nevada: This special steam train from 1881 was owned by Ward Kimball, a famous Disney animator. He loved trains, and his passion partly inspired Walt Disney to create the Disneyland Railroad. The Emma Nevada is on display in the museum's Grizzly Flats car barn.
The Chloe: Another steam train from 1883, also owned by Ward Kimball, is on display. The museum plans to restore the Chloe so it can run again.

Diesel Locomotives

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 108: This powerful diesel train from 1967 was one of the last passenger trains bought by the Santa Fe Railway. It was used on famous trains like the Super Chief. It's been restored to look just like it did when it was new.
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 560: Built in 1957, this diesel train was recently restored and is now ready to run!
Union Pacific 942: This diesel train from 1953 is a highlight of the museum's Union Pacific collection. It has been fully restored and looks amazing in its traditional yellow paint. It sometimes pulls a matching passenger train called “The City of Perris.”
Southern Pacific 3100: This diesel train from 1963 is the last one of its kind still running in the US. It was once painted in a special red, white, and blue design for the United States Bicentennial.
Southern Pacific 1474: Built in 1951, this diesel train has been running at the museum for many years.
Southern Pacific 1006: This diesel train from 1939 was restored and started running in 2020.
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 5704: This diesel train from 1973 was painted in a special Bicentennial design. It was donated in 2021 and is being restored to run at the museum.
Coaster 2105: This commuter train from 1994 used to carry passengers in San Diego. It was donated in 2022 and the museum hopes to get it running as a special cab car.

Electric Trains and Streetcars

Pacific Electric Collection: The museum has over 30 pieces of equipment from the Pacific Electric Railway, which had the largest electric train network in the US. This includes famous "Red Cars" and "Hollywood" suburban cars, some of which were in the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit!
Los Angeles Railway Collection: This collection has over two dozen electric streetcars, showing almost every type of streetcar used in Los Angeles in the 1900s. It includes the "Descanso," the only surviving funeral streetcar, and car 3001, which was christened by Shirley Temple! You can ride these cars on the only narrow-gauge trolley line still running in the United States.
San Diego Trolley Cars: The museum has modern light rail cars (Siemens-Duewag U2 cars 1008 and 1003) from the San Diego Trolley system. They sometimes run as a two-car train.
Los Angeles Metro Rail Car 144: This is the newest light rail train at the museum, arriving in 2018. It's the first of its kind to be preserved in a museum in the US.

Behind the Scenes: Shops and Maintenance

The museum doesn't just display trains; it also has workshops where they fix and restore them! These shops have old tools and machines that are also part of history. For example, they have a special metal-cutting machine made during World War II because other machines were hard to get.

Other important shops at the museum include:

Machine Shop: Here, they can make custom metal parts needed to fix trains.
Wood Shop: This shop works with wood to repair wooden parts of trains and buildings.
Communications, Electronics & LRV Maintenance Shop: This team keeps the museum's radio systems working and takes care of the modern light rail vehicles, which use a lot of electronics.
Signal Shop: This shop maintains all the railway signals, track switches, and control systems that keep trains safe.
Diesel Maintenance Shop: This is where they work on the museum's diesel locomotives and their engines.
Electric Car Maintenance: Special workshops are set up to fix the narrow-gauge and standard-gauge electric cars.