Must see things for the train enthusiast San Diego

By all means, ride the San Diego light rail system.  it's been over 20 years since I rode it and it was impressive then and I understand many additions, new cars, etc have happened since then.

Paul Fischer

The beautiful Santa Fe depot.

necrails posted:

I am traveling to San Diego this weekend, will be there for a week visiting my son who works as he says it, "to keep the Navy's ships from rusting"  He lives one block from the north end of Balboa Park so I will be walking into the park to see the train museum there.  Are there other must see train related locations to visit during my stay?

I will be at Balboa Park on Friday and Saturday, come by and say hi, 

You need to go to Old Town and see the Model Railroad Depot. Its only 4 miles from Balboa Park and definitely worth the visit. It was recently featured in the other magazine.

2500 square feet of 3 rail trains modeled in the 50's. FREE ADMISSION

Well the trip is over, got to Balboa Park, that was great.  The place where I stayed in Carlsbad had the Surfliner and Coaster running behind the location so train watching was easy.  I rented a bike and road from Carlsbad to Lajolla, which was a great combination of cycling and train watching since the Amtrak line runs parallel to the road most of the way.  Next time I will try to get to Old town.  The guys in Balboa Park were great, what a layout.  The 2 rail layout looked interesting as well although there wasn't a whole lot going on mid week.  The folks running one of the HO layouts were not as great.  "oh the toys are through there" delivered with a frown.  Really now, you have a great place to build explore your skills, what is there to frown about?  Thanks for the suggestions, Thanks to the guys at the 3 rail layout, if I lived there I surely would want to be part of your group.

necrails posted:

Well the trip is over, got to Balboa Park, that was great.  The place where I stayed in Carlsbad had the Surfliner and Coaster running behind the location so train watching was easy.  I rented a bike and road from Carlsbad to Lajolla, which was a great combination of cycling and train watching since the Amtrak line runs parallel to the road most of the way.  Next time I will try to get to Old town.  The guys in Balboa Park were great, what a layout.  The 2 rail layout looked interesting as well although there wasn't a whole lot going on mid week.  The folks running one of the HO layouts were not as great.  "oh the toys are through there" delivered with a frown.  Really now, you have a great place to build explore your skills, what is there to frown about?  Thanks for the suggestions, Thanks to the guys at the 3 rail layout, if I lived there I surely would want to be part of your group.

The HO guys are a bunch of explecatives, they have tried kicking us out of the museum, but if they do that the museum folds up because in the agreement with the city says a Toy Train group must occupy a spot in the museum. Hope you enjoyed your visit.

I found the San Diego Model Railroad Museum to be quite anticlimactic. Everything is behind glass which makes it feel like youre looking at a magazine.  I was there on a Saturday and there wasn't much going on in the main museum just one train running on each layout, but when I got to the toy train room it I spent a good amount of time there checking out all the wonders

It doesn't really matter which day you go to Balboa. The 2 rail guys are the typical 2 rail guys...if you can even find them. The rivet counting HO guys are even worse, even to their own club members. I think their trains collect dust as they run, and if anyone actually stopped long enough to watch, they might collect dust too. All the action and crowds go to the 3 Railers.

That's why I always suggest going to Old Town and visit The Model Railroad Depot. It's only a few miles away and much nicer and entertaining than most of the Museum. Plus Gary will talk trains with you all day long if you'd like.  Walk right out the door and grab a great margarita and Mexican food... how could it get any better.

The whole point of a museum is to exhibit for visitors. Funny how people make it all about themselves 

As long as my son continues to live in SD and the Navy still has ships I will visit at least once per year.  Lot's to see and do and I wanted to be respectful of his time as well as my wife so the other sites will have to wait.  I actually got one of the HO guys to talk to me when I asked about car weights and train routing, then he seemed interested.  The one person behind the glass at the 2 rail site waved and smiled, but the 3 rail guys were all smiles, engaging, encouraging and suggested I join.  The 2800+ mile commute would be a bit challenging.  I did learn that the two HO clubs aren't even on the best of terms.  It trains not politics, what is there to be upset over?  I learn something from whatever layout I visit.  Anyway, thanks for the suggestions, I look forward to the next visit.

next time you visit pack an engine and maybe someone will let you pull their consist.

I know we do on most Tuesdays.

Thanks for the offer, won't be there for at least another year.  Have to divide our time between the one son in SD working for the Navy and the other in Louisiana at Ft Polk.  Both are a long way from New Jersey.