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Travel Bargain destination in the California Desert
ORANGE EMPIRE RAIL MUSEUM
Living History for Railroad Buffs Cailfornia Desert
Los
Angeles, the land of freeways used to be home to an extensive rail transit
system which ran from downtown to Santa Monica and
Long Beach
affectionately called The Red Cars”. With the gentile assistance
of Standard Oil the system was fazed out and paved over. L.A.’s
transit system is making a slow, very expesive come-back, but where
did the Red Cars go. To the desert! The Orange Empire Railway Museum
near
Perris, California, off the 215 Freeway between Riverside and San Diego
is a living, breathing, operating rail town. The classic Pacific Electric
trolleys which used to trundle down Grand Ave. now travel the rails
through this former town caught in history. The arms of stop signals
ding as
the trolley 
comes
through. Diesel and a stream locomotive offer rides out of town on
the 1.5 mile standard
gauge mainline out along the freeway
access road. Ride in the conductor’s caboose seat watching over
the switches and passenger gondolas. Operated by and some of the equipment
donated by railroad enthusiasts, the museum is a work of passion for
those who run it and the village itself a mirror on a lost era.
The museum railway operates every weekend and on most major holidays
from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and also on weekdays for charters and other
special events. The Museum grounds are open every day from 9 a.m. to
5 p.m. with
the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission and parking
for the museum is free and you can walk through acres of warehouses
of old
beautiful relics of the California transportation past. To ride the
museum train takes a ticket. An all day pass costs 10 dollars for adults,
8
for older children and kids under 5 ride free. © Bargain
Travel West
Orange Empire Railway Museum
2201 S. "A" St., Perris CA 92570
(951) 657-2605 info
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and the sole property of Bargain Travel West and WLEV, LLC. and
may not be copied or reprinted without permission.
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