Headed to Southern California this fall sometime and have a pretty wide open schedule for side trips. Any suggestions for favorite museums, train-watching spots, or hobby stores? Will be in Riverside for sure, but have much freedom in travel beyond that.

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The most scenic Metrolink route is the Antelope Valley line.

The ex Santa Fe depot in Fullerton CA is a good place to watch all kinds of freight & pax (Amtrak & Metrolink) trains 24/7. Also check out Cajon Pass off the I-15 between San Bernardine & Hesperia. Check out these places on Google maps.

We were there last October (and once before).
In no particular order:
Pomona Fairplex -- during the fair Prototype museum with Big Boy and DD40 and a few smaller things. Also large G gauge layout. May also be open other times.
Griffith Park -- Prototype museum (Travel town?) LA Live steamers. Best visit day is when Walt's (Disney) Barn is open -- one day a month (3rd Sunday).
Perris -- Orange Empire Trolley Museum.
San Diego -- model railroad museum. Same area as the Zoo. Old exhibition buildings as well.
LA Union Station. Ride the trolley cars. Or park outside town and ride them in. (Pasadena has a nice ride and some convenient parking).
Pasadena -- Original Whistle Stop (Hobby shop).

San Dimas -- small depot museum and a Train shop across the street.


I can also recommend a 7-day-a-week dentist for emergencies.

I'm hoping to get to both Travel Town (Griffith Park). They have a nice collection. 14 steam locomotives. The most notable ones are an 1864 4-4-0 and an SP 4-4-2. They also have some nice passenger cars...I'm partial to the Oahu Railway cars in their collection.

Orange Empire isn't just a trolley museum, while that is certainly a major part of it. They have Ward Kimball's collection, which consists of gorgeous 1881 mogul, an 1881 Barney & Smith coach, and a dozen more wooden narrow gauge cars. They have an operational SG 2-6-2 and nice selection of diesels, passenger cars, and freight cars. Plus a UP 2-8-2. Their shop has a very high reputation for quality.

The Los Angelos County Fair Grounds are very noteworthy: UP 9000 (4-12-2), a UP Big Boy, an SP 4-10-2, an AT&SF 4-6-4, a 3-truck Climax, a narrow gauge 2-8-0, and an archaic 0-6-0.

Knott's Berry Farm has a serious railroad. They run a pair of NG 2-8-0s from Colorado (RGS #41 and D&RGW ##340). They have a collection of ex-D&RGW and RGS cars (coaches, freight cars, and a caboose). The centerpiece of their collection is the Rio Grande Southern business car Edna which you can ride. The D&RGW K-27 at Huckleberry RR in Michigan was originally at Knott's. The shop guys love their steam locomotives...the spend all week working on their 2-8-0s only to spend many weekends many hours away working on SPng #18...a NG 4-6-0.

Several of Disneyland's locomotives are rebuilt industrial locomotives (1890s-1920s) as well.