California State Railroad Museum

California State Railroad Museum Review

Near what was once the terminus of the transcontinental and Sacramento Valley railroads (the actual terminus was at Front and K streets), this 100,000-square-foot museum—the best of its kind in the region, if not the country—has 21 locomotives and railroad cars on display along with dozens of other exhibits. You can walk through a post-office car and peer into cubbyholes and canvas mailbags, enter a sleeping car that simulates the swaying on the roadbed and the flashing lights of a passing town at night, or glimpse the inside of the first-class dining car. One thousand vintage toy trains constitute a much-heralded permanent exhibit, and the "Last Spike" room is compelling. Kids have lots of fun here, especially in the big play area upstairs.