Travel Town Transportation Museum is
located around the bend of the mountain behind the Los Angeles Zoo and Autry
Museum of Western Heritage in Griffith Park. The museum includes interesting
rail cars, trains, trolleys, memorabilia and antique vehicles housed in a
large building and sitting in a mock rail yard.
With emphasis on railroad
heritage of the western United States and Southern California, the museum
offers free admission and includes picnic areas, a small train ride around
the perimeter of the grounds (small fee charged), a gift store, group tours
by arrangement and party facilities for rent.
Originally conceived in the late 1940s
as a fun place for children to go and explore a few old trains that were
collected, Charley Atkins, a Los Angeles Recreation and Parks employee was
able to launch a simple idea. But the concept was so popular, interest in
the little park sparked a fire in others who began offering their train
items, including train cars to the facility located on parks land. Opened in
1952, the Travel Town (train) museum has been around for 50 years now.
For those who don't know a Baldwin
from a Pullman, you'll find the signage on the rail cars quite useful in
describing the construction and origination of each antique engine or car.
Some of them are open for children to climb on and two are available for
hosting birthday parties on board (by arrangement).
One of the oldest trains in the museum
is a well-preserved 1864 Norris-Lancaster painted with black, red and green.
A favorite for exploring and photographing, it was donated in 1953 by the
Stockton Terminal & Eastern Railroad. With a Wheel Arrangement: 4-4-0
(American); Cylinders: 16" x 22" Driver Diameter: 63"; Weight: 33 tons; this
is a real beauty!
Other collection cars include an 1899
Baldwin, 1922 by Lima donated by the Michigan-California Lumber Company,
1925 American Locomotive Company, Cooke Works donated by Consolidated Rock
Products, a 1914 American Locomotive Company-Rogers Works from the City of
Los Angeles, 1902 by the North Shore Railroad with 500 Horsepower donated by
Pacific Electric Company, a 1918 by Heisler donated by Pickering Lumber
Corporation, 1920 by American Locomotive Company, Schenectady Works donated
by the Santa Maria Valley Railroad weighing 97 tons and many more! Engines
and /or cars by ElectroMotive Corporation, Pullman, American Car and Foundry
and an extensive list of builders, are part of the vast collection in the
museum.
The Travel Town Museum is located at
5200 Zoo Drive, at the northwest corner of Los Angeles' Griffith Park. Exit
Forest Lawn Drive, Ventura Freeway (134). The Museum is open every day,
excluding Christmas Day. For more information, call (323) 662-9678.
www.laparks.org
