Tag: trains

Biggest model train museum in North America!

HO Scale model train travels through Tehachapi Pass exhibit.
HO Scale model train travels through Tehachapi Pass exhibit.

I could happily spend many hours at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum.  Not only is it the largest such museum in North America, but it features some of the coolest, most realistic model train layouts you’ll ever see!

Located in Balboa Park, the model train museum contains five huge sections.  The Cabrillo Southwestern exhibit is in O Scale, the same size as Lionel toy trains. The San Diego and Arizona Eastern, and the Southwestern Pacific-Santa Fe Tehachapi Pass exhibits are both in the popular HO Scale.  The Pacific Desert Lines exhibit is in tiny N Scale.  Finally, there’s a toy train gallery crammed with Lionel-type trains and many amazing moving accessories, including cars and people.  One train is mounted with a Choo-Choo Cam which provides an engineer’s moving view of the dazzling layout.

I took lots of pics yesterday afternoon.  Many of the shots taken through glass or in darkness didn’t come out so great.  But I did get some fairly good ones.  Enjoy!

Kids love the San Diego Model Railroad Museum.
Kids love the San Diego Model Railroad Museum.
Windows to the big Cabrillo Southwestern O Scale exhibit.
Windows to the big Cabrillo Southwestern O Scale exhibit.
Large O Scale model train exhibit includes many detailed buildings.
Large O Scale model train exhibit includes many detailed buildings.
Rail yard action at the Cabrillo Southwestern exhibit.
Rail yard action at the Cabrillo Southwestern exhibit.
Tiny human figures at work near some trolley tracks.
Tiny human figures at work near some trolley tracks.
The elaborate O Scale exhibit is full of train action!
The elaborate O Scale exhibit is full of train action!
Men work on unfinished San Diego and Arizona Eastern exhibit.
Men work on unfinished San Diego and Arizona Eastern exhibit.
HO Scale bridges and a detailed mountain scene.
HO Scale bridges and a detailed mountain scene.
Attention to detail makes these model train exhibits lifelike.
Attention to detail makes these model train exhibits lifelike.
Tracks under construction climb to Tehachapi Pass Mezzanine.
Tracks under construction climb to Tehachapi Pass Mezzanine.
Pacific Beach Club Room with trains, videos and Lego exhibits.
Pacific Beach Club Room with trains, videos and Lego exhibits.
The famous Tehachapi Pass HO scale exhibit is amazing.
The famous Tehachapi Pass HO Scale exhibit is amazing.
Train tracks meander through highly realistic hillside scenes.
Train tracks meander through highly realistic hillside scenes.
A stretch of desert highway in HO scale.
A stretch of desert highway in HO Scale.
Model of a desert town at San Diego Model Railroad Museum.
Model of a desert town at San Diego Model Railroad Museum.
These huge train exhibits are a child's fantasy come to life!
These huge train exhibits are a child’s fantasy come to life!
Member of Model Railroad Museum attends to derailed train.
Member of Model Railroad Museum attends to derailed train.

UPDATE!

Almost every day this blog post is receiving visitors from Pinterest.

Welcome!

I decided to visit the museum again in May 2017 to get more photos!

The layouts are so huge and detailed it would take some time to describe exactly what the photos depict and from what position they were taken. So I’m just going to insert a bunch of random photos for you all to enjoy.

Feel free to share any of these photos if you’d like. It’s all for fun! And if you ever have a chance, make sure to visit the San Diego Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park. The place is truly incredible!

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Are you a railroad or streetcar enthusiast? Do you love railway history?

You might like to check out my cool photos of the National City Depot museum and streetcars!

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Silver Line trolley at City College station.

silver line trolley at city college station

This pic is definitely cool!

I happened to be at the Smart Corner building, the location of the City College trolley station, when a historic car belonging to the Silver Line came through! It was servicing the downtown loop.

This shiny, beautifully restored Presidents Conference Committee (PCC) trolley car was built just after the end of World War II. A whole fleet of electric trolleys like this one traversed San Diego until 1949.

Here are more pics of the same trolley taken on different days:

Cool restored Silver Line trolley at Fifth Avenue station.
Cool restored Silver Line trolley at Fifth Avenue station.
Silver Line trolley near the Convention Center.
Silver Line trolley near the Convention Center.

San Diego Trolley and Santa Fe Depot.

red san diego trolley and santa fe depot

This red trolley belongs to the blue line. Makes sense, right? It’s waiting for passengers at the America Plaza station, across the street from the Santa Fe Depot. The blue line stretches from downtown San Diego all the way down to the Mexican border.

In this photo you can see both domes of the historic train station.

Old black-and-white photos of the Santa Fe Depot pretty much show nothing around it. It just sits there in the middle of nowhere, seemingly. Today the city rises and surges all about it, and it can almost seem lost among the many bright tall buildings.

San Diego Trolley pulls into Santa Fe Depot from the south.
San Diego Trolley pulls into Santa Fe Depot from the south.

Domes of San Diego’s Santa Fe Depot.

dome of san diego's santa fe depot

The Santa Fe Depot is downtown San Diego’s train station. Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner, the Coaster, and the San Diego Trolley’s orange and green lines all stop at the historic building.

The Santa Fe Depot, built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, was opened in 1915 to serve thousands of visitors to Balboa Park’s Panama-California Exposition.

This photo shows one of the Santa Fe Depot’s two colorful domes and some palm trees against a backdrop of high-rise condos. The architects a hundred years ago probably didn’t imagine that glassy skyscrapers would tower nearby!

Birds fly over one of the distinctive domes.
Birds fly over one of the distinctive tiled domes.
Looking up through palm trees toward the dome.
Looking up through palm trees toward one dome.

Here are some more photos taken at a later time. Black material now covers up part of the two domes. I learned that the terracotta columns are cracking.

The Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego.
The east side of the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego.
Buildings rise behind the domes of the Santa Fe Depot.
Buildings rise behind the domes of the Santa Fe Depot.
The two domes of San Diego's Santa Fe Depot.
The two domes of San Diego’s Santa Fe Depot.
Amtrak train parked by historic Santa Fe Depot.
Amtrak train parked by historic Santa Fe Depot.

Public art shows Coronado’s Tent City.

public art shows history of coronado island

“Imagine Tent City” is a cool bit of public art I discovered while walking along Coronado’s Glorietta Bay. The artwork is composed of photographic images arranged like a mosaic, embedded in ceramic tiles. It depicts the historic Tent City, which was a popular tourist destination for many years just south of the Hotel Del Coronado.

Established in 1900 by entrepreneur John D. Spreckels, the beach tents could be reached by Coronado Belt Line trains operated by the Coronado Railroad Company, running from San Diego around the bay and up the narrow Silver Strand. (Coronado is technically a peninsula, not an island.) The tracks have since been replaced by a very popular bike and pedestrian pathway.

mosaic of old photos shows coronado history

Here’s a pic taken from the south side, walking toward the Hotel Del Coronado’s old Boathouse. The building you see is part of the Coronado Shores condo complex.

And here’s a bunch more cool pics I took at the beginning of 2015…

Imagine Tent City was created by artist Todd Stands.
Imagine Tent City was created by artist Todd Stands.
Water skiing in the past, and present-day boats in Glorietta Bay Marina.
Water skiing in the past, and present-day boats in Glorietta Bay Marina.
Two ladies row a pleasure boat.
Two ladies row a pleasure boat.
Kids prepare to jump into the water!
Kids prepare to jump into the water!
Sailor and sweetheart beside a beach tent.
Sailor and sweetheart beside a beach tent.
Old photographic portrait and postcard of Tent City.
Old photographic portrait and postcard of Tent City.
Coronado Tent City News was a popular newspaper.
Coronado Tent City News was a popular newspaper.
One image in this amazing mosaic of Tent City history.
One image in this amazing mosaic of Tent City history.
A postcard shows a crowd around Pavilion at Tent City.
A postcard shows a crowd around Pavilion at Tent City.
Small child and mom have fun in the sand.
Small child and mom have fun in the sand.
More nostalgic postcards from historic vacation spot.
More nostalgic postcards from historic vacation spot.
Illustration of people playing and relaxing on Coronado Beach.
Illustration of people playing and relaxing on Coronado Beach.
Just hanging out at Tent City and enjoying life.
Just hanging out at Tent City and enjoying life.
Postcard image shows layout of Coronado's Tent City.
Postcard image shows layout of Coronado’s Tent City.
Photo of Victorian-style Boathouse, which resembles nearby Hotel del Coronado.
Photo of Victorian-style Boathouse, which resembles nearby Hotel del Coronado.
Historic 1887 boathouse on bay side of island near Hotel del Coronado.
Historic 1887 boathouse on bay side of island near Hotel del Coronado.

(This is a photo of the Boathouse as it appears today, a bit to the north up a sunny walkway.)

Another part of cool Imagine Tent City public artwork.
Another small part of Imagine Tent City public artwork.
Lady hangs sign on tent: Our Tenth Season 1909
Lady hangs sign on tent: Our Tenth Season 1909
Swimmers enjoy the huge sandy-bottomed Plunge.
Swimmers enjoy the huge sandy-bottomed Plunge.
Lots of vacationers out in the ocean water.
Lots of vacationers out in calm water–possibly San Diego Bay.
Bicyclist pauses to admire wonderful public art in Coronado.
Bicyclist pauses to admire wonderful public art in Coronado.

Unrestored vintage Silver Line trolley car.

unrestored vintage silver line trolley

Here’s a photo of an unrestored vintage trolley car. It belongs to the San Diego trolley and one day will run on downtown’s Silver Line loop!

One vintage car has already been beautifully restored and is running during special hours. I’ll try to get a good pic of it one of these days.

Five cars are scheduled for restoration. They are relatively elegant post-war Presidents Conference Committee (PCC) cars, which ran in the city until 1949. Some would like to see these revitalized cars run up a new trolley line from downtown along Park Boulevard to the San Diego Zoo and beyond. It makes sense to me. Balboa Park and the zoo would be more easily reached by out-of-town visitors.

Streetcars have been a part of San Diego history since the 1890’s. The first were open-air coaches pulled by mules and horses. Eventually, electric streetcars ran from downtown to Hillcrest and east through many local communities, including North Park, Kensington and East San Diego. With the rise of the motorcar, they vanished. That is, until the modern red trolleys began service in 1981.

This photograph was taken at the 12th and Imperial trolley station, right next to the train and MTS trolley yard. You can see the tall bayside Hilton hotel in the background.

Cool, tangled photo of San Diego Trolley Yard.

cool chaotic photo of trolley yard

Here’s a unique photo that looks really cool!

I snapped this pic of the San Diego Trolley Yard at the 12th and Imperial Transit Center from the bridge above Harbor Drive. This new pedestrian bridge is a great spot for views of gleaming downtown skyscrapers, the Convention Center, Petco Park, the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, and the trolley and train yards.

This cool photograph was taken through a fence, giving the image a cluttered, layered, weirdly tangled appearance. The red trolleys seem to snake their way through a gray complex jumble of curving rails, vertical electrical poles and the grid of the blurred fence. It’s an image that fascinates the eye!

Here’s a less fascinating photo taken another day…

A less tangled photo from the bridge of the nearby train rail yard and tracks.
A less tangled photo from the bridge of the nearby train rail yard and tracks.