San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum — Attraction in San Luis Obispo

The San Luis Obispo Train Museum is open with local artifacts of the area. The Train History That has been collected is in several displays of what and where and how the train affected the local history. The Pacific Coast Trains tell a story. Very Nice. The History of the Avila Beach Train and its history reveals many thing I sure had no idea about. The huge panorama shots of San Luis in 1930 and 2013 are particularly interesting for locals. The is a nice well stocked gift shop for train souvenirs and train books. Good place for Christmas shopping for sure. There is a club car outside, that is in process of being updated, and it does give a feel for the old rail cars. The bathroom is so tiny! Mow for model trains there is a ginormous model train set under construction so I encourage visits to see how it is going. The docents are very happy, chatty and full of information. This Museum is up and coming and will only get...

This is a great museum with static standard and narrow gauge car displays outside, some very cool history and artifacts inside and one of the coolest HO scale layouts I've ever seen, depicting the region as it appeared in its heyday. Located a quarter mile south of the Amtrak station and near Cal Poly, it's pretty easy to find and has plenty of parking. The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is the homeless in the immediate vicinity (I wasn't bothered by anyone) and it's only open on Saturdays, but that is a staffing issue. If you live in the area, volunteer! I was afforded a private tour on a Sunday and can't wait to return with the wife and see the model...

It is a small museum but is run by many passionate train lovers and we got to chat with some of them to learn about the history of the museum as well as their individual passions (e.g. the person who teaches kids about the train simulator is actually a train conductor). We thoroughly enjoyed our time there and would highly recommend families with kids who love trains to visit.

Just note they are not open everyday so check the schedule before you visit to avoid...