Southern California Railway Museum — Attraction in Perris

Attended the Behind The Scenes event on Sunday. Got there about 30 min after opening with my wife and enthusiastic 3-year-old. Staff were very friendly and interactive. The number of trains and cars available to view and interact with was just staggering! My daughter was thrilled.

We rode the first train out for the day, and sitting in the old passenger cars from the 1900s era was cool for the adults. Our daughter was excited to ride, but did get a bit restless. In sum it was about a 30 min ride back and forth, and there wasn't really scenic views or anything like that, the point was the ride. Cool enough, but just a tad too long for a toddler.

The grounds themselves were open and neat and allowed for lots of room to run around. We had a packed lunch at the very ample picnic space which was a good plan, as food options were fairly limited. On the plus side, the prices for what they had available didn't seem like extortion. Bathrooms around the core central area were plentiful, clean and family friendly, a huge perk. There are a few very family friendly activities in this central area that are easy and generally sterile.

Taking the bus around to the outlying buildings is simply a must and ended up being our favorite part of our visit! We saw so many other cool cars and engines in varying states of repair. The USPS car and sleeper car were favorites of our little one. Porta-potties were situated around these out buildings. We didn't use any, but it was nice that some facilities existed at all.

There were so many engines and cars that we were able to climb up in and explore, which made all the difference to our toddler. She loved interacting with everything. In the back area especially, there was plenty of rust, broken wood, dirt and such, which I suppose some parents might find worrisome, but we are not those parents. Were you not closely supervising, it would be easy for your kiddo to get injured, so just stay close and let them get their hands dirty. The experience is totally worth it!

We spent over 4 hours here, an unheard of amount of time in one place for our child. Honestly, I think the experience for our train-obsessed daughter was better than even Disneyland. It's really that good. Well worth the drive and price of attendance, I'm just so grateful there are people dedicated to preserving this history and sharing it with the public. 5...

We purchased Day Out with Thomas tickets for 9:00AM. The railway museum opens at 9:00AM. Nothing on the tickets said to arrive before the museum opened. We actually got to the event early, over 10 minutes and we were directed by people at the front to go to the train. We walked all the way to the boarding area (over 10 minutes early). Once there, they would not let us on the train despite having 9:00AM tickets. The train had not left. It just sat there for 10 more minutes or so. A huge line of people formed behind us, all who missed the 9:00AM train through miscommunication. When I talked to the woman in charge she said they sent another confirmation email saying we had to arrive early. We would now just need to wait for room on a train that could take until much later. I had not planned on being there all day. I have little ones and a sick kid at home with his grandma. So we waited in line as a standby. Line was long with others who missed the same train. Poor customer service on their part. All blame was put on us. Again, it’s advertised that the place does not even open until 9:00. I was very grumpy as I was forced to wait with my little kids for an hour. They were not checking ticket times initially for people getting on the next train. I had to direct them to. So some people with improper times could have gotten on ahead of everyone waiting. One of the volunteers was nice and got the people in the standby line to the front of the next train. We went on Percy later and they didn’t even load passengers 10 minutes before departure. The majority of the time at the event was waiting for a train in a line, about two hours total. Worse than Disneyland. Most of the volunteers at the event are nice. However, this was a very unpleasant experience. It was worsened by poor customer service. It would have been nice to have assurances that one could get on trains without needing to wait excessively to board. This would have allowed us to explore the event and not have our kids breaking down. After waiting for Percy, my five year old was done. He...

Wonderful experience!

The docents are all very friendly and knowledgeable, and the collection is astounding.

Unlike most museums, the equipment runs all day on the weekends. For a pittance you can spend the entire day riding gorgeously restored, historically significant equipment.

The UP #942 is an E8A Streamliner locomotive built in 1953, and is simply magnificent. The love that went into the restoration, care and maintenance is obvious.

The SP #3100 is a U25-B diesel switcher, and is the last of its kind that is fully operational and certified to operate on any track in the nation. For the Bicentennial in 1976 this locomotive was one of the few to be painted in red, white and blue as a bicentennial ambassador.

The museum also has an extensive collection of trolley cars, including some very rare ones. Yellow Car #3001 is of particular interest. It is a P1 PCC car that entered service in 1937 with her sister #3000. A commissioning ceremony was organized by then mayor Shaw in front of the LA Courthouse, during which Shirley Temple broke a bottle of wine (or grape juice) across the car's valance. She then acted as its first ticket collector for the rest of the day.

The museum also houses an extensive collection of narrow guage equipment,including the famous Emma Nevada locomotive*, donated by the estate of former Disney animator Ward Kimball.

A Mikado steam locomotive is also awaiting restoration.

The museum also has special events on holidays and a Thomas the Tank Engine weekend.

It's a wonderful experience for railfans young and old.

Emma Nevada is currently undergoing restoration, but is on display through...