by Julie Diaz

Created on: April 28, 2009   Last Updated: July 29, 2009

Tucked away in the basement of the Casa de Balboa along El Prado in historic Balboa Park is a gem waiting for discovery. As you wander down the hall and descend the stairs, you wonder if you are lost. But when you walk through the doors of the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, you realize that you have suddenly been transported to another world.

The sights of a small city are all around. You hear the sound of the trains coming from the left and right. On the right you see the Cabrillo Southwestern exhibit with its double track main line. Electric trolleys run along to each station in this representation of city life.

On the left is the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Exhibit. This exhibit leaves the rail yards of San Diego and winds its way south into Mexico. As the train re-enters the United States it comes through the International Tunnel, then crosses Carriso Gorge over an amazing wooden trestle at Goat Canyon. Upon completion, this exhibit will also include harbor view of San Diego, circa 1940, and busy passenger and freight yards.

Next you come to the Southern Pacific Santa Fe Tehachapi Pass exhibit. This recreates the north south line that travels into California. It models with great accuracy the pass over the Tehachapi Range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. A steep, winding climb begins as the train leaves Bakersfield and travels through the Central Valley to the Caliente Creek narrows. This beautiful reproduction of the foothills of Caliente is spectacular. This exhibit is a work in progress. When complete, the train will head up the mountain and cross the Tehachapi Loop into the town of Tehachapi.

Around the corner, you come to the Pacific Desert Lines, representing a 19th century route through San Diego that never was built, even though it was surveyed. It highlights the Santa Fe downtown Depot trains heading east into the citrus groves of San Diego. It eventually crosses Goat Canyon trestle before it enters the Imperial Valley.

Finally, there is the Toy Train Gallery with realistic scenery and four separate lines. The engines have realistic engine sounds, horns, whistles, and even smoke. There is an interactive coal mine that children can operate by pushing buttons.

Each of these exhibits is run by volunteers from four different model railroad clubs. You can often see them hard at work, both running the trains and building new parts of the exhibits. The attention to detail and the love of model railroads is apparent in each of the meticulously constructed exhibits. You will find it difficult to leave this little world of trains to re-enter the world outside.

Learn more about this author, Julie Diaz.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.