Sacramento Railroad Museum
Since Patrick had so much fun with the train at Barnes and Noble, I took him to the Sacramento Railroad Museum yesterday. It was a cloudy day, so I thought an indoor museum would be a good place to go.
What fun! They have trains. Lot of trains. Thus the name – Railroad Museum. It was $15 for a “Caboose” membership – so we can go all year long! And trust me, when the weather turns H-O-T this summer, we’ll be going again!
At first, Patrick was a bit intimidated by the massiveness of the train cars. I didn’t blame him. They are HUGE! So, he didn’t want to get out of the stroller, didn’t want to take his coat off, didn’t smile, he was just wide-eyed! But then I convinced him to walk around when we were at the “ticket counter”. He liked the bench!
They have a couple of train cars that you can walk through – that was very cool. Patrick has been on a few trains before – the Folsom Zoo train, and even the Polar Express train ride in December. But he was still a bit apprehensive getting on the train car at first. I carried him up the stairs, but put him down right away. The aisles are VERY narrow. So, he led me down the length of the car, clinging to my hand like he’s never before! We stopped and talked to the museum volunteer for a moment. Mostly retired folks – certainly they grew up riding trains “back in the day”. One car simulates a train moving. Lights flash by, you can feel the slight jostling of the car as it moves down the track. Another car is set up for dinner. I especially liked this car – you could see all the different types of china that were used on each individual train line.
After the first time through, Patrick ran toward the steps to visit the cars again. Giggling the whole way, he wound me through the narrow aisles to see the train kitchen, bedrooms and sitting room. Of course, he had to say, “Hi!” to the museum volunteers along the way. I guess he conquered his fear!
One of the museum volunteers told me that there was a special area for kids upstairs with “Thomas” toys and other activities for kids to play with. We spent so much time visiting the train cars on the bottom floor that we ran out of time. We will definitely be checking out the second floor next time.
For Patrick, this trip was a new experience, a place to visit and learn about trains, see a real “choo choo truck”, a trip out of the house on a cloudy day. For me, it was fun to imagine what life was like way back when, before cars and airplanes took over. I imagined a somewhat simpler time full of excitement at what was waiting at the “end of the line.”
Old Sacramento truly is a walk back in time. With the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we sometimes forget to slow down and “smell the roses”. The Railroad Museum is one of Sacramento’s roses. A piece of history right in our own backyard.
