In fact, it is a highly polished interactive look at America's romance with the rails that will delight young and old alike. The main museum features nearly two dozen meticulously restored locomotives and rail cars from the last 150 years of railroading.
Several displays invite visitors to climb aboard, walk through or duck underneath for a closer look.
Children will especially like sitting in the engineer's cab of a Santa Fe steam locomotive, or experiencing the simulated rocking motion of a sleeping car on a virtual rail trip. Next, there is the reconstructed Central Pacific passenger station that houses additional exhibits and serves as the boarding point for summer excursion trains that provide a 30-minute ride along the Sacramento River. Finally, there is the rail yard and its working turntable where historic engines can and often do make surprise appearances. You can normally view these areas without buying a museum ticket. Excursion and event weekends offer the best time to watch trains come in and out of the yard.