1 / 3Western America Railroad Museum
đ Barstow, CA
Free railroad museum at Barstow's historic Harvey House depot. Outdoor locomotive and car displays are accessible any time. Indoor rooms with a train simulator open Friday-Monday. Call ahead - the museum has closed without notice on holidays.
đ Family Action Verdict
Best for families with train-obsessed kids making a road-trip stop on I-15. The free admission and always-accessible outdoor locomotives make a quick visit worthwhile when the indoor rooms are closed.
âšī¸ What to Know Before You Go
đŦ What Families Are Saying
View all reviews â228 Google reviews
G Reviews from Google
Jonathan Reed
7 months ago
âLovely free admission train and railroad museum. Lots of locomotives and cars to visit by the parking lot even if the indoor museum is closed. Current indoor hours are Friday-Monday. There are 2 larger rooms and 3 small rooms along the hall within the museum, with my favorites having to be the date nail room and the signal lights display. The absolute best experience was the train simulator. In the room next to the entrance, there is a chained off section around a drivers area and a large screen in front of the window. You can ask the docent if the train simulator is working and to my surprise it was and I got to 'operate' a train! Most the levers and controls worked and it was really amazing seeing all the dials and the movement of the train on the screen. I thought it was funny hearing the docent mention younger kids operating the train at full speed đ The horn works too!!â
Daniel Rossley
7 months ago
âThis was a fairly small railroad museum compared to many I have been to, but I had to stop and get a few pics to show my 7 year old son who is obsessed with trains!â
Dan C.
9 months ago
âThe museum was closed when we got there, so we wandered around the outdoor displays. Then watched a number of trains motor through.â
đŦ What parents mention
Overview
Western America Railroad Museum sits inside the landmark Barstow Harvey House building adjacent to the Amtrak station. Outdoor exhibits - full-size locomotives and rolling stock - are always accessible in the large eastern parking lot. The indoor museum spans two large rooms and three smaller hall exhibits, with a train simulator as the centrepiece. Docents are present when open and happy to walk families through the history.
