California tourist railroads you must visit trains.com

California is rich with railroad history from sleek streamliners to mountain-climbing logging trains. Here’s one of the California tourist railroads you should visit: the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. Behind a Shay-geared locomotive, you can ride into the scenic logging territory near Yosemite National Park. Jim Wrinn

California holds a rich railroad heritage. There’s the Central Pacific building over Donner Pass and the Southern Pacific’s cab-forward locomotives battling the same grade. Narrow-gauge logging lines and restored interurbans. Depots of all shapes and sizes just waiting for you to explore them.

I often get asked: “Bob, I’m going to (insert state here). What train places should I go to?”. When it comes to California, there’s no shortage of options. Below are 10 of my top recommendations, ranked in no particular order. But keep in mind there are plenty of other railroad sites you can visit in the Golden State. I’ve listed those below, as well.

Before taking any railroad trip, I do recommend is a visit to Kalmbachhobbystore.com to pick up a copy of the Tourist Trains Guidebook — 9th Edition. It includes details on railroad preservation and sites throughout North America, and is a great resource for your travels.