Best Rail Museum San Jose Near Me

4worldlovers: The South Bay Historical Railroad Society (SBHRS) was incorporated in 1985 to preserve the local area railroad heritage while running a working museum to benefit the community. Our members are volunteers and work on the renovation and preservation of the Santa Clara Railroad Depot, the Santa Clara Tower and the two maintenance-of-way buildings.


A large and varied collection of historic railroad artifacts are on display in the Edward Peterman Museum of Railroad History located in the Depot. This now includes the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation business car #184 which was loaned to us and placed on our siding on June 26, 2009.

4worldlovers:
Established in 1982, CTRC, the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to preserve and reflect the rich legacy of rail transportation in the Santa Clara Valley for the educational and recreational benefit of current and future generations.


Among the numerous projects underway is the restoration of Southern Pacific steam locomotive 2479. CTRC has restored for operation a number of historic trolley cars.


The CTRC Blog contains postings and items of interest, in chronological order. Our search page is available to help you find items of intererst.


A major undertaking is the creation of the San Jose Steam Railroad Museum with the focal point becoming the former six stall Lenzen Roundhouse and turntable.

4worldlovers: Ride through Niles Canyon behind diesel and steam power on select weekends through October of 2023. Read More about “2023 Train Rides”…


Ride through the canyon on a beautiful summer night! Approximately 1 hour and 20 minute diesel powered round trip departing from our Sunol Depot at 7:00PM on August 19, 2023.


Take a ride on a railroad speeder car from Niles to Brightside yard and return on April 29, 2023. Buy your tickets for this unique opportunity to see Niles Canyon from a different perspective. Limited extra tickets added 4/24/2023


Recently our President, Henry Baum, joined The Cast of Niles podcast to talk about railroad history, our railroad and our museum’s future plans. From their website, “In this second episode …


Continue reading “Niles Canyon Railway featured on The Cast of Niles podcast”

On Saturday, May 6, 2023, our Niles Canyon Railway Build East Track Construction Crew reached another major milestone as they completed the ballasting, leveling and tamping of all of the current installed track which now ends just on the east side of Happy Valley Bridge. This is a major milestone for the team who has been working for many months methodically working their way toward this goal; insuring the railroad was properly leveled and hardened to allow trains to now pass all the way to Happy Valley.

4worldlovers:
The museum and freight house are located at: 37592 Niles Blvd, Fremont, CA 94536-2980

For opening dates and times, please check our website Online Calendar.

See what just happened in the Depot! Click here for more info!

The next Niles Depot Model Train Event will be Sunday, June 25, 2023 from 10am to 2pm on the patio behind the Niles Depot. Click here for more info!

Donate Your Model Trains, Books and Magazines! Click here for more info!


The Niles passenger and freight depots located in the Niles District of Fremont, California, are home to a railroad museum and two new model railroad layouts. Using historical documentation, the planners and builders of both railroads are recreating the features of the nearby communities with Niles as the center. Included are the depots and the nearby Niles Tower with the crossing of the Southern Pacific and Western Pacific railroads as well as the many neighboring communities and industries.


The non-profit Niles Depot Historical Foundation runs the museum and operation of the passenger depot which contains many local artifacts and railroad displays. It is also seeking new members with an interest in local history to be docents in the museum.


Inside the Museum and Freight House, the Tri-City Society of Model Engineers built and operate two layouts are based in Niles and the surrounding communities of the Bay Area. Attention is given to accuracy and detail in both the track plans and surrounding scenery. The modeling era is the mid-1970s, but all industries and towns are being represented as they were in their prime.

The HO scale layout features the Southern Pacific mainline from Niles to San Jose with the many industries in Niles, Newark, Union City and other intermediate communities, as well as both Southern Pacific and Western Pacific lines through Niles Canyon to Pleasanton and Livermore. San Jose Cahill St. Station is featured as the model railroad’s large passenger terminal. A section will also feature the BART line through Fremont.

The N scale layout features the SP and WP mainlines from Niles to Oakland with intermediate communities such as Decoto, Alvarado and Hayward.

4worldlovers: Operated by the Society for the Preservation for Carter Railroad Resources, Inc. (SPCRR),