The Golden State Model Railroad Museum

On our trip to San Francisco I thought it would be fun to check out this model train museum. I found a deal on groupon and bought a family pass. We planned a weekend to go and decided to go on a Sunday. The only day it’s open (at least that’s what Unilocal says)
We drive 30 minutes from our hotel to arrive at a closed museum. Apparently they are closed December through April. Which was not on the groupon website or the Unilocal website. Needless to say my family is bummed and I don’t know if we can come back to use our groupon before it expires.
I know this isn’t Unilocal fault but rather the person in charge of this listing. I just hope this review will let interested people know to fully check there hours, and not rely on Unilocal.That was my mistake.

love this place but remember trains only run sundays but exhibit is open saturday too.

Excellent, marvelous, awesome. This is the biggest place of model trains. Service is good and friendly. Very cheap. The details of each model is really great. Must go — chu chu.

Fun for the tot set! Tracks are arrayed in a chute, with a ledge at the perfect height, so they can race around trying to catch a glimpse of the moving train.

Biggest model train place I’ve been. Though I haven’t been to many. Kinda hot in there on a hot day and it doesn’t take much time to see everything. Still fun and interesting though.

If your kid (or inner child) likes trains, this is the place to go. There are lots of elaborate tracks set up for different gauge trains. It seems a lot more built up than the last time I was here about 6 or 7 years ago and the building of new «mountainous layouts» is continuing. A glass (is it plexi-​glass) separates you from the trains. Lots of cool attention to detail.
It appears you can join and get to go behind the scenes. This place is typically closed January to March. I have only come on a Sunday, so I don’t know if there are regular hours on different days.

Very nice model railroad museum in Richmond. Boy are those volunteers and staff extremely passionate about their hobby. There’s a lot of tracks and miniature buildings/​structures to look at while you are in the building. Typically, the trains only run on most Sundays from 12 – 5 PM. It’s $ 4 for adults but you can save $ 2 through your local library system’s «Discover and Go» program.
My only complaint is that I really wish parents would learn to control their kids! Goodness, they kept getting in my way!

The Miller/​Knox regional area is across the street from the Richmond Ramblers Motorcycle Club. The park had been our original destination, but we couldn’t find parking, and most of the people we saw had tattoos on their faces. I’m not hating. I like a good face tattoo as much as the next person, but since we didn’t know what sort of area it was in this part of Richmond, we decided just to keep driving. So we drove across the street! Not to the MC club, to the museum next door!
Sweet baby Jesus! This place is just as cool as the model railroad museum at Larkey Park in Walnut Creek, but bigger! And with better labeling of the region they’re modeling. Not everyone is going to get really excited about checking out a model railroad museum. You can’t play with the trains or build your own track. It’s a hands-​free place meant for observing others having fun. But its still neat to check out!
Unfortunately, we went on Labor Day and everyone was BBQing out front, so no trains were running. But we did get free admission, which was awesome. There’s a gift shop too, but it wasn’t open.

Place is the best for anyone under 10 and over 70, and anyone else who needs a quiet moment…
Check the website, trains run on Sundays, and they don’t run trains from Jan though March, though they are busy working on the sets. Opening day is the first Sunday in April, see you there!
Get a family pass if you have kids that are 2 and up, you will be here once a month for the next few years for sure if you live anywhere in the East Bay. Plus, there are two great parks nearby, a spot of beach and a cool old train-​loading pier, perfect for an afternoon picnic.
If you want to go for a full-​bore Pt Richmond experience come early and go for a swim in the Natatorium before hand (
), then get some burger’s at the greasy spoon across the street from the pool; you will be all fueled up for some choo-​choo action!
Now if only they could do a section with trucks…

My wife and I we were nearby, so we decided to give it a shot. She went just to make me happy, but ended up really enjoying it and took a lot of pictures of the model town scenes. We were in and out in about 30 minutes, but for $ 4 it was worth a quick look. The model trains, scenery and towns are well done, and the electronics to run all the tracks are fun for a geek to check out.

I have always loved trains, as has Alan, and this museum has been on my mental list for years. But an article in Thursday’s Chronicle 96 Hours section announcing Wreck Day today pushed us out of our inertia and over to the museum. Trouble is, the museum folks had no idea what we were talking about. We weren’t the first to come looking for wrecks today and the man at the front desk patiently explained that they didn’t wreck them on purpose because it was too much work to put them all back on the tracks. There is one permanently staged wreck aftermath visible.
There are three different setups in three different sizes from smallest to largest, N, HO and O. The N trains were the most active at first, but I found them hardest to relate to because they’re so small. The displays were intricately detailed, much too much to take in in just one viewing. The HO seemed to be the least active, at least while we were there. One train went into a tunnel and never reappeared. The O line was most active, w/​3 freight trains and one Amtrak running at one point. In one of the corners of this setup was the site of the wreck. The museum was crowded w/​families. Lots of kids were running around, excited by the sights and it was fun listening to parents and grandparents explaining and engaging w/​them. I enjoyed the mountains and towns, the people in the stations and towns and the signs. There was even a Sherwin Williams ‘cover the world’ paint sign that moved. It was on top of a building, although my memory of it in the 60s was down by the Emeryville mudflats. (My friend Terry T, whose memory of that sign goes back to childhood while mine goes back to college tells me that the sign was on the east side of the freeway and she’s probably right.) There were beautifully built trestles and mountain bridges of many types. Alan pointed out sharks in what was probably Eureka harbor. There was a little bit of informational signage but mostly the displays were to be «read» as you walked through. Places were generally identified and there were several volunteers working amidst the models who could answer questions if asked.
Alan found the space dusty enough to kick up his asthma, so we didn’t stay longer than a half an hour or so. This is obviously a labor of love and at least half a star is for the enthusiasm of the members. We enjoyed it, but I wasn’t completely enthralled as I was by the train setup in the basement at the Museum of Science and Industry, which held me captive for hours.

Holy moley… there sure are some cool hobbies out there! The time and patience to put together these scenes left me blown away.
I am not the biggest train fanatic, but I could not resist watching all the action as kids and adults alike oooh-​ed and aaah-​ed with excitment.
Inexpensive but tons of fun, quite a bay area find!

We love trains of all types and had to make the trip to experience the model railroads at this location. We weren’t disappointed as the layout was wonderful with several different gauges. The hobbyists and members present were friendly and provided us with wonderful information. Nothing that the club members can change but I wish some parents would teach their children more respect for things that are not theirs and how to behave when in a museum as some parents allowed there children to run like dogs throughout the building often running directly into us, others, and the displays.

Yay for trains! I am a HUGE fan of all trains. As I have mentioned elsewhere I have a couple of train CD’s that I sometimes play at bedtime.
Those clicketty clack and chug chug sounds lull me to sleep (more so than those ultra ethereal New Age music).
The husb and I went here yesterday and we’re pleased to be surrounded by train fans of all ages.
They only run the trains on Sundays. The layouts cover different types of terrain and cities. Not sure of the time frame but I recognized the Sacramento station where my Birthday Girls Club arrived/​departed a few weeks ago.
I felt like squealing with delight and jumping up and down when the trains rolled past us. There were plenty of kids doing just that.
But the joy I got from seeing these trains made my eyes glisten for the rest of the day!

I understand that niche hobbies like this seem like an ideal passion to some and an expensive waste of time to others. I’m not passionate about model trains myself, but if you grew up around them (say, because your dad had a large collection and only refrained from spreading them out because he sacrificed his perfect railroad basement to become your childhood playroom *cough cough*), coming here would be a nice way to show love to the train connoisseur in your life.
The club members staffing this warehouse-​sized exhibit were welcoming, though preoccupied testing the trains when I visited. In fairness, I wandered in through an open door after they’d officially closed. The trains only run on Sundays, which is also the only day they charge admission. ($ 4 adults, $ 2 kids/​seniors) The scope and detail in the scenes is impressive; however, nothing is interactive. Still, it’s cool to see scale models of actual, historical California train routes.
The museum makes a great add-​on to a day at Miller-​Knox Regional Shoreline (park) across the street. (There’s much more parking at the park, but it’s all free.) I felt satisfied after about 20 minutes, but for train buffs, kids, or anyone who actively chats with the staff, I’m sure it could be fun much longer.

Amazing place. Cheap, fun, easy to get to.
My kids always want to stay longer.
My father-​in-​law wanted to stay longer.
I always want to stay longer.
etc.
Honestly, it is amazing to see what they have built — the details, the scope, the accuracy of CA train history, etc.
Great for rainy Sunday.
Or sunny Sunday when you bring lunch and enjoy the big park across the street or beach just down the way.
Some might argue that since they only run on Sundays (and they take Jan — April off) that 5 stars isn’t warrented. I shalln’t split hairs on that point since it is volunteer run.
Choo — Chooo!!!

Do you have a model train fetish? Not just a hobby but a sick and dirty all-​consuming model train obsession? Do you know the schedules of all the trains in the area to the exact second?
Welcome home train geek, come on in. A place where young train geeks can hang out with some grandpa-​type guys who also love trains and become best buddies. Gay sex optional.
My friend used to volunteer there. My friend who has never gone on a date in his life and who’s only sexual outlet is model trains. Don’t ask me how. He is young and always hangs out with elderly male train buffs and they go to this place together. It’s innocent I guess. Or maybe my friend has a fetish for old men, I don’t know and I don’t wanna know.
Model train dork heaven.

Everybody loves trains. It’s not just for kids, you can take someone on a first date here, then go to the Hotel Mac for a drink. It’s probably the best good clean fun you can have with your clothes on.