Orange Empire Railway Museum
Today my Dad and I went to the Orange Empire Railway Museum to check it out. OERM is a free to enter museum and is ran by volunteers, however it does cost $12 for an all day train ride pass or you can sign up for any of their membership options. We spent approximately a hour to a hour and half walking around the grounds and looking at the various trains, trolleys, and cars. We didn’t get to see everything, but we did get to about half of the grounds. We would have liked to continue, but it was extremely hot in the train yard and neither one of us had something to drink. I was hauling my gear with me, so I decided it was time to go.
The museum grounds are opened everyday from 9-5pm, but to get the full experience you must visit on the weekends. This is when the trains are operating and the hangers are open. To my surprise for being a free museum, it was not crowded at all. Most of the people there were families with small children and they were just riding the train and yellow-car back and forth and playing in the kids area. I am a very observant person, so while walking around I was trying to get a feel for some of the volunteers and how the react between each other, and there are some questionable ones.
Heading back to our vehicle at the train station two of the volunteers started to get into it. One was mouthing off and the other was yelling back I told you to take break, and it started to get heated. If there wasn’t children around, I am sure some words would have started to pop off since he was already trying so deeply hard not to. He eventually hopped into the Santa Fe train and went on the tour. I know that these people are volunteering their time, but at the same time children and families are around, so it should have waited until a more appropriate time or a place in private.
Would I visit the museum again?
Absolutely and despite the volunteers mishap, the museum is a great place for kids to view a bit of history, ride trains, and is a nice place to have a family picnic. The museum does have special events throughout the year and one of their most popular events is when Thomas the Train is running. Their next event is an Antique Truck show and that is happening on May 1st. Since this is an event, an admission price of $7 is required, or included with a purchase of an all day train and trolley pass for $12.
For more information about Orange Empire Railway Museum (OERM) please visit their site at: http://oerm.org
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