Local Guides World
Kid-friendly museum featuring many working scale models of California rail lines & landscapes.
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Reviews — 8
Straightforward, but delightful local museum dedicated to the model railroading hobby, with a dash of San Diego history mixed in. The dioramas were intricate and well-assembled.
The museum could benefit from a remodel, but some of the outdated features gave it a nice patina. We loved the smaller room filled with Lionel train sets!
The museum could benefit from a remodel, but some of the outdated features gave it a nice patina. We loved the smaller room filled with Lionel train sets!
No amount of words can capture how much effort and love was put into this museum. The amount of detail and attention put into these models is so rich. Please go here if you have time in San Diego, this is a cant-miss destination.
I really wanted to love the San Diego Model Railroad Museum but I ended up just being a bit bored and disappointed. While there is a lot to see, when we went it seemed that many of the displays were barely operating with just one train, or under refurbishment or the trains were going incredibly slow. I can imagine that some people might enjoy this more but as a casual model train enthusiast it just seemed somewhat anticlimactic. They do have lots of friendly (and some not so friendly) volunteers that will be happy to talk to you about what they are working on. There is a nice sized gift shop that is mostly kid oriented.
This place is absolutely phenomenal. One of the best gems of San Diego. It is an equal attraction for three family generations visiting the museum all together! Plenty of railroad history, faithfully recreated in HO scale!
So much fun regardless of age! Great stories unfolding all around you. You can spend hours marveling at every detail these wonderful craftsmen put together.
Pretty cool. They have modeled trains running in different terrains. The outdoor train is super cute. They even decorated a little town. Good for kids but kind of boring for adults. I went out in 20min.
This museum has been around for decades, and it's a beautiful sight! We went on a free Tuesday as San Diego residents. I actually appreciated the unfinished atmosphere as it is possible to see the process of how they are constructing a model of the California Tehachapi line, which was a vision of the founder. The volunteers are passionate and helpful and are clearly knowledgeable of their craft. We thoroughly enjoyed it!
