A long-established Southern California railroad museum preserving locomotives, railcars, streetcars, and transportation artifacts in Griffith Park.
Overview
Travel Town Museum is located in Griffith Park and is operated by the City of Los Angeles. Established in 1952, it preserves transportation equipment from numerous railroads and transit systems, with particular importance to Southern California railroad history.
For Western Rail Archive, Travel Town connects Pacific Electric, Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, Hawaiian narrow-gauge railroading, Disneyland Railroad design history, streamlined passenger travel, and the preservation of unusual self-propelled and electric railway equipment.
Quick Facts
| Location | Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California |
| Opened | 1952 |
| Operator | City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks |
| Collection Scope | Locomotives; passenger and freight cars; streetcars; electric equipment; transportation artifacts |
| Signature Artifacts | Oahu Railway cars; PE/LAMTA 1543; Santa Fe M.177; Rose Bowl; Little Nugget |
History of Travel Town
Travel Town was created as an educational transportation museum where visitors could encounter historic vehicles directly. Its collection grew to encompass steam and diesel locomotives, passenger and freight cars, electric railway equipment, and artifacts from railroads across the West.
Oahu Railway Passenger Cars and Disneyland
Oahu Railway Coach No. 1
Oahu Railway & Land Company Coach No. 1 is a three-foot-gauge, first-class open-platform coach constructed around 1900 in the railroad’s own shops. Its design followed earlier Carter Brothers passenger cars, and its interior reflected first-class island service.
Oahu Railway Combination Car No. 36
Combination Car No. 36 was built around 1910 and combined passenger seating with baggage, mail, and Railway Express functions. This arrangement allowed multiple services to be handled in one narrow-gauge car.
Travel Town Operations
The two cars arrived in Los Angeles in 1953 and later operated behind Oahu Railway steam locomotive No. 85 on Travel Town’s Crystal Springs & Southwestern Railroad from 1955 until 1961. No. 85 eventually returned to Hawaii, while the fragile wooden passenger cars remained at Travel Town.
Disneyland Railroad Connection
The Oahu Railway cars served as prototypes and design inspiration for the original passenger equipment of Disneyland’s Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad. Combination Car No. 36 is especially important because Disneyland duplicated the general combine concept represented by the preserved car.
Preserved Disneyland-era combination equipment can be seen next door at Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum.
Pacific Electric / LAMTA Blimp Car No. 1543
A notable Southern California transit artifact at Travel Town is Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority No. 1543, a preserved electric interurban car commonly known as a Pacific Electric Blimp.
East Bay Origins
American Car & Foundry built the car in 1911 for Southern Pacific’s East Bay electric operations as trailer No. 436 and was rebuilt in 1938 as passenger car No. 379. Those services later included direct operation into San Francisco over the Bay Bridge.
World War II and Pacific Electric
After Southern Pacific ended East Bay electric service, the car was transferred to Southern California for wartime Calship Special service carrying shipyard workers to Terminal Island. Pacific Electric later acquired it, numbered it 435, modernized it, and used it prominently on the Long Beach Line.
The LAMTA Transition and Unique Paint History
During the final public-transit era, the car became LAMTA No. 1543. It is historically notable as the only Pacific Electric Blimp car known to have been repainted from Pacific Electric red into the green-and-cream livery of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Today the car is displayed in a distinctive split interpretation: one half is painted in Pacific Electric red and the other in LAMTA green. This presentation allows one artifact to interpret both the privately operated Red Car era and the transition to publicly operated metropolitan transit.
Why No. 1543 Matters
- Southern Pacific East Bay electric service
- Bay Bridge interurban operations
- World War II Calship transportation
- Pacific Electric Long Beach Line
- Transition from Pacific Electric to LAMTA
- Unique half-red and half-green preservation treatment
Pacific Electric Locomotive No. 1544, Electra
Travel Town also preserves Pacific Electric No. 1544, Electra, a unique electric locomotive built in 1902 for the North Shore Railroad. Its later history included San Francisco earthquake cleanup, Los Angeles subway construction, and Pacific Electric switching service. It should not be confused with Blimp passenger car No. 1543.
Santa Fe Motorcar M.177, The Little Ranger
Santa Fe M.177 is a gas-electric motorcar built in 1929 by Pullman and Electro-Motive. It combined propulsion, passenger seating, baggage and express space, and a Railway Post Office compartment in a single vehicle intended for lightly traveled routes.
Its final assignment was between Pampa, Texas, and Clinton, Oklahoma. Santa Fe donated the car to Travel Town in 1957. The museum describes M.177 as a unique survivor in that it retained its original Winton gasoline engine; the car is undergoing restoration to full operation.
A sister car from the same order, M.181, served the Los Angeles–San Bernardino run; M.177 itself did not operate in Southern California.
Pullman Sleeping Car Rose Bowl
Travel Town preserves the streamlined Pullman sleeping car Rose Bowl, built in 1937 as Telegraph Hill for the jointly operated Streamliner City of San Francisco. The train was associated with Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, and Chicago & North Western service between Chicago and Oakland.
The 1939 Palisade Derailment
On August 12, 1939, the City of San Francisco encountered a deliberately bent rail near Palisade, Nevada, and suffered a catastrophic derailment. The official investigation pointed toward sabotage, but the crime was never solved. Telegraph Hill was near the rear of the train and remained on the rails without serious damage.
From Telegraph Hill to Rose Bowl
After the derailment, replacement and reassignment decisions shifted Telegraph Hill to the City of Los Angeles. The car exchanged names with another sleeper and permanently became Rose Bowl. Railroads of Hawaii later donated the preserved car to Travel Town in 1992.
Because the car’s history spans jointly operated streamliners, it is best described as a Pullman sleeper associated with the City of San Francisco and City of Los Angeles.
Union Pacific Little Nugget LA-701
Little Nugget was built in 1937 as a dormitory-club lounge for Union Pacific’s City of Los Angeles. Its elaborate Old West-themed interior was designed by artist Walt Kuhn. Union Pacific donated it to Travel Town in 1956, and it was later designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.
Together, Little Nugget and Rose Bowl interpret the streamlined passenger era from different perspectives: private-room sleeping accommodations and themed lounge service.
Other Collection Themes
- Steam and diesel locomotives
- Southern Pacific equipment
- Union Pacific passenger service
- Freight cars and cabooses
- Electric railway equipment
- Early Los Angeles transportation
- Griffith Park railroad history
Why the Museum Matters
Travel Town preserves several notable stories in one collection. Its Hawaiian cars connect railroad preservation with Disneyland design history; No. 1543 visually documents the Pacific Electric-to-LAMTA transition; M.177 preserves rare gas-electric technology; Rose Bowl connects the collection with an unsolved streamliner derailment; and Little Nugget preserves Union Pacific’s themed passenger-train era.
Related Railroads
- Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
- Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority
- Oahu Railway & Land Company
- Pacific Electric Railway
- Southern Pacific Railroad
- Union Pacific Railroad
Related Locations
- Griffith Park
- Long Beach Line
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
Related Museums
- California State Railroad Museum
- Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum
- RailGiants Train Museum
- Southern California Railway Museum
Gallery
Photo gallery coming soon.
- Oahu Railway Coach No. 1
- Oahu Railway Combination Car No. 36
- Disneyland Railroad connection
- PE/LAMTA No. 1543 in split paint
- Pacific Electric Electra No. 1544
- Santa Fe M.177
- Rose Bowl
- Little Nugget LA-701
- Locomotives and rolling stock
- Historic museum photographs
- Preservation and restoration work
Western Rail Archive Notes
Travel Town is best understood through the specific histories of its signature artifacts. No. 1543’s half-red and half-green paint treatment visually explains a major transition in Southern California transit history. Display, restoration and operating status can change; check with the museum before visiting.
Archive Status
| Page Status | Category | Type | Gallery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundational Article | Museums | Railroad Museum | In Development |