Trip Review: Taking the Train to the SoCal Railway Museum
Taking Metrolink to the Southern California Railway Museum is a fun day trip for everyone!
One of my favorite day trips on Metrolink is visiting the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris, CA. It’s easily accessible by train, and it’s an awesome taste of the past, and if you get lucky, you might even be able to catch a train ride around the museum!
What To Expect
I’ll be starting this trip from Los Angeles Union Station. Unfortunately, the Museum is not particularly close to the station we’ll be getting off the train. I highly recommend bringing a bike, so that you can reach the museum in about 10 minutes. Otherwise, it’s give-or-take a 30 minute walk from the station.
The train line we’ll be taking, unfortunately, does not run in the reverse direction on weekends. Your best bet for doing this trip is on a weekday. You can go any day from Tuesday to Friday, which is when the Museum is open. You’ll have two options for trains to take to and fro. I recommend taking trains 700 and 719, or if you prefer to leave later and get home later, 708 and 723. The train ride takes approximately two hours, and it’ll be a further 10 minutes by bike or 30 minute walking to get to the museum. This gives you about 3 hours at the museum, which is about what I recommend to view all the trains and exhibits on display.
Now that you know what to expect, let’s hop on the train!
The Train Ride
Starting off at Los Angeles Union Station, the first thing you’ll want to do is check the Departures board. Under ‘Route,’ look for the 91/Perris Valley Line. Take a note of the Track (‘TRK’). Once your train is about 10 minutes from departure, you’ll want to head to that track through the hallway.
Make sure you’re on the right side of the track, and make sure you’re at the correct position (look for A and B on the Departures board, as well as on the signs at the platform). Once you’re on board, get ready to relax. You can enjoy a small snack at the tables, plug in and charge your phone, or just relax with the comfortable seats. You’ll arrive at your station, Perris - Downtown, in about two hours.
The 91/Perris Line has some of my favorite views from the entire Metrolink system! I saw several dams, wide mountain ranges, agriculture farms, and our conductor even announced we were entering the ‘donkey zone!’ The first half of the trip is somewhat less interesting, as you cruise through the industrial area of L.A., but once you pass into Corona the sights become awesome. You’ll see little settlements tucked into the pockets of the mountains, just isolated enough from the urban world of Los Angeles.
You’ll want to get off the train one stop before the end, at Perris - Downtown. Once you’re off, you’ll want to head due west onto C street, cross C street and continue two blocks until you hit A street. From there, it’s a straight walk/bike ride all the way down to the SoCal Railway Museum (trust me, you’ll see it). You’ll know you’re close when you see the local middle school. You’ll want to make a left off of A street onto the parking lot for the museum (marked with large posters). From there, you can lock up your bike next to the gate and walk right in.
The Museum
Once you’re at the museum, start walking around! There are rotating sheds, each with different snippets of Los Angeles and Southern California history. You’ll see trains and interurbans from the Pacific Electric (red cars), LARy (yellow cars), and a variety of different locomotives, switches, cabooses and coach cars. You can spot an ex-Metro Nippon Sharyo P865, an old San Diego Trolley, old COASTER, Union Pacific and Southern Pacific locomotives, and more! I highly recommend donating $5 to the museum and taking the guided tour, which lets you explore some of the maintenance sheds that are usually off-limits without an escort.
Usually on weekdays, there are no trains scheduled for service. Luckily, when I went there was a large group, and I managed to get on board Pacific Electric car 717 as it did rounds around the museum! There’s plenty to do, from a gift shop, to a picnic area and several rotating exhibits. Here’s a few of my favorite pictures from the museum:
Heading Home
Once you’ve made your rounds around the museum, say your goodbyes and head back up to the station. You can catch the 1:20pm or 3:20pm departures, and you’ll be back in Los Angeles in no time. If you’re a train or transit enthusiast and want a peek into history, I highly recommend that you do this trip! It’s one of my favorite, especially if I can get a friend to tag along.
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