Old Town Model Railroad Depot in Tijuana

My sister works here!!! It is the coolest train place ever! A must visit place if you are visiting Old Town.

Its modestly priced, or free with the trolley tour and well air conditioned (whew). I like the inclusion of some popular characters TV shows or movies. We spent twice as long looking for the eight characters from Cars as doing anything else!

O scale Railroad layout that looks absolutely beautiful with an incredible amount of detail. By home standards this layout is immense. Smaller than the Train museum at Balboa Park but every bit as beautiful and well done per square foot. In fact the city scenes of this layout may be one of the best Ive seen. I happened to have a conversation with the creator when I was there - - Gary. Great work and congrats! Worth the small $8 admission fee! Highly recommend,, especially around Xmas since they decorate the layout with Xmas lights!

This is MORE than just about the trains! The details that were put into this masterpiece are AMAZING! But back to the trains, yes they are so realistic. The sounds and even the smoke coming out of it and theyll lead you into this world where almost everything exists! Pay attention because there are little Easter eggs that you can find in this little world. The scenery is beautiful. So much thought came into this. The people there are super friendly. My girls enjoyed watching the trains as they passed by. Great place to check out and very cheap considering how much hours they mustve put into this to put it together!

This railroad museums initial entrance was based on donations; it now has an $8 entrance fee and you can go around looking at the trains as many times as you want but if you go outside you are finished with your visit. If you want to reenter the museum you pay the fee again. This place sells all things railroad...books, con ductor hats, train whistles, etc.

Great place to go with the family! Some stools for the little ones just in case if they cant reach too. Loved this stop along our journey in Old Town San Diego

Nice train setup.. grandson had good time.

The place was okay. We came with kids, after we get outside we see a sign for the scavenger hunt, I guess they didnt want to tell us- everyone would have enjoyed it more. They wanted us to go across the street to another business to use the bathroom although we spent $48 at their railroad. What really upset us was we paid for the two day pass and specifically wanted to go see the model railroads which was included on the pass. The employee first said it was for another museum, umm...okay. We toured the museum, go outside and on the sandwich board for the museum says to use the pass. We go back inside to talk to the employee and he said we had to use it on day 1 of the pass. There were no such restrictions. I dont want to recommend this place, the whole thing left a bad taste in our mouth. Too bad, we love model trains.

The free admission is over; they now charge for $8.A small museum with a very realistic model of San Diego. Several toy trains running in the entire model city. All buildings come with great details.Only wish there could be more pictures and explanations on the wall.

This place is great. Its not just a museum, its also a store that sells a lot of new and used train stuff (souvenirs as well). They have a good selection and the prices are competitive. In fact, everytime I come here, I always end up buying stuff. In addition, the staff are friendly and helpful. They are really knowledgeable and they dont mind answering whatever questions you might have. I love this place so much that I got 1 year family membership and I plan on renewing every year until I leave San Diego.

The Old Town Model Railroad Depot is worth your time when visiting San Diego’s Old Town. The Old Town Trolley Tour begins and ends its tours (Stop Ain Old Town so there are multiple opportunities to stop by and visit, and admission is included if you are already on the trolley tour. The train display is of trains meandering through any town USA with nostalgic references throughout the display. The diorama is divided in two sections, where one room has trains travelling through the day and the second has the same trains travelling through the night. The buildings and landscaping are constructed with great detail providing you with wonderful visual experience. The staff is friendly, informative and welcoming. It appears that the entire operation is created and managed by model train enthusiasts who want to share what they have created. The self-guided tour can be as quick or slow as you wish with steps up providing views at many levels and perspectives. Photography is allowed and a small wall of train themed items are available for purchase. The visit to the Old Town Model Railroad Depot will not take much of your time but could be one of the fun memories of your visit to San Diego’s Old Town.

Excellent, really enjoyed it & surprised to find it where it is.

One of the best Ive seen! Their night seens are the best Ive ever seen. Its so realistic with unique lighted buildings and cars and trucks. Its amazing.

It was really a great experience to see such a beautiful place.

Dont miss this! The $10 mission is really worth it, and you should go slow enough to notice all of the incredible detail the builder put into every scene. Watch for hidden, funny features!

A must see for railroad enthusiasts. And model railroaded. Awsome in my opinion. They now charge a minimal fee. 3 years ago it was free with voluntary donations. But they should charge as it does cost for utilities and other expenses.

Really enjoyed every detail of the display.

The trains were running in the 2 room display. An excellent display of all types of town, farm and mountain conditions. The detail on the layout was outstanding. Even a night time portrayal of work and entertainment was exhibited. Well worth seeing, price was good.

Very friendly staff and an extremely detailed collection of trains and terrain etc. It was so much fun finding new things everywhere. Unbelievable!!

Drove one hour to come see one..yes ONE track and set up. Disappointing... My 2yr old was ok with it but me$30 later kinda wished I would have saved my money and time

Very enjoyable! Loved how they set this up! Model train lovers paradise!

Every kids, (and adultsdream is to have a model train set on this scale. Amazing installation with incredible attention to detail. Well worth a visit!

Great train layouts, and the rural and city scenes are amazing! The attention to detail is fantastic.

Incredible O gauge model train layout. Admission is FREE! A donation is appreciated and if given you receive a voucher for an appetizer at the Mexican restaurant next door. A cant miss place - great for kids old and young!

A great gem. We traveled 90 miles out to the state park and this was on the top of our visit list. We were not disappointed and my son fell in love. We loved spotting the vintage logos and franchises, my favorite was the Bethlehem Steel display. If my son could he would spend all day there. Admission is free but remember to donate.

Such a cool place. You can view this exhibition for free, but donations are welcomed. Two moving trains go thorough a town, mountains, lakes, etc. Owner of this place did an outstanding job putting it together. We were really impressed.

If you love model trains, and, really, who doesnt? This is the place to go if you are in San Diego. One of the model train layouts I have ever seen. Pay close attention to all of the scenes.

Very cute model railroad. Guy working the desk said he built it and its free with a donation box.

My son loves this! Its a great place to take little ones. It doesnt cost anything, although there is a donation box at the end, and it doesnt take long to see. Impressively detailed set up, and there are a lot of funny scenes and plays on words on the model signs to spot.

Awesome place to visit. The train model was very detailed. Definitely one of the best I have ever seen. The owner was extremely courteous and super awesome!. An exhibit he could easily charge for but chooses not to. He even offered us coupons to Cafe Coyote. Such a awesome visit!

Such a cute museum! It is free, they just ask for donations. The owner is very friendly and knows his stuff. The trains run constantly and there are tons of little buildings and people and little scenes set up. Great place for kids and adults 👍👍

Outstanding setup. But when leaving My family was asked to leave a donation, and my father politely declined due to a lack of cash on hand. That’s when the man at the desk said “have a great day, and don’t come back.” Really discouraged me from ever visiting again considering I had donated on a previous visit by purchasing an overpriced hat at their gift shop. Would recommend the establishment charges rather then get angry at people for visiting without donating. It appears there’s a few reviews on here that replicate my experience.

This is an awesome spot. We stumbled upon the Old Town Model Railroad museum after eating lunch in Old Town. Free admission, they just ask for a donation which I would encourage you to make. $5-10 is well worth it. Our 3 year old son could have spent hours in the train museum. He loved it and it was impressive how much detail everything had. You definitely need to check this place out next time youre in Old Town. Check out more on YouTube / Alex & Erika

super fun and adorable especially if youre into trains

Amazing place to visit!Take ur kids, come as an adult you will be shocked at the detail and liveness of this two building model city. There is two trains that run one is a steam train and blows smoke.Free admission, they run on sales and dontations so please buy or donate to help them stay open!!!Thanks for the chance to visit we loved it and all the hidden thing you shared that were in the town lol!

This place is incredible the people running this place are dedicated to what they do, each time my wife and I visit, there is something new to see. There is great nostalgia brought to mind when seeing all the models set up for display.

Must stop if you enjoy dioramas. Well made. Its free ofcourse you donate if you can. Kids enjoyed this 30min walkaround.

Super sweet owners and very helpful. Definitely a place to go see. They even had a cool scavenger hunt. The boys had a blast.

My kids absolutely love this museum. They dont charge an entrance fee, but leave a donation because it is worth it. They have stools for the little ones to see easier, interactive buttons, scavenger hunts within the layout, and very knowledgeable staff!

Model train layout good scenery. No cost to view, donations accepted.

This place is pretty amazing and highly recommended for families to visit, with or without kids. Its free to enter (donation through donation box is optionaland enjoy the large miniature train setups with many cool landscapes, buildings, cool lighting, bridges, miniature cars and peoples etc. My family enjpyed it so much, we happily provide some donation at the end. Excellent job by the owner whose passion for miniature trains really showed through this oil exhibit. Thank You for letting enjoy this.

This is a must if your in Old Town. My son loves trains and when I saw this I knew it was something we had to do. It wasn’t crowded at all I think I only one other family was there when we walked in. It’s free to go in but they do ask for a donation.One really cool thing is, they have little stands built at areas around the track where kids can stand up and watch the train pass by. My son loved it. I did hold his hands because he was so excited I thought he might reach out and grab the train.They have put a lot of work into that model and even if you don’t have kids you should walk through and appreciate the hard work they have put in.I recommend this stop to anyone in the area and if you passing close by and have kids that love trains I would advise you to go out if your way to see it.

A fun place to visit if youre in the area. A lot of time went into making this town and railroad. So many small details to enjoy. We brought our two toddlers here and they LOVED it!! Its free to get in but they do have a place to donate money if you so choose.

This place is awesome. The guys that run it are EXTREMELY nice, very knowledgeable and its all kept going by donations. So, there is no fee to check it out, but throwing a couple bucks in their donation bin is WELL worth it. My son LOVES it. They also have train related items for sale if youre a fan or collector. A must visit while walking about Old Town.

Very well done! There is so much to see here from the county fair in the small town to a very detailed big city complete with fireworks at the baseball game! My son and i loved it.

This place.is.amazing. Lots of details and super friendly people. Its also a great place to get questions answered about model railroading.

Incredible place, you need to take it slow and ask questions or you will miss out

Great models of past events, such as Elvis at a theater for a showing of his picture, or a 5-alarm fire (well doneof the IRS building....All trains are done in "O" scale....GREAT for family and friends.

An Incredible sight to see! Extremely captivating.Very friendly and welcoming. It is absolutely Remarkable to see their train display. Photos truly do not do it justice. You will not regret taking the time to go down in person to walk through and enjoy it. My husband, son, daughter and myself fully enjoyed it! From every angle there is a story to imagine and see. We were inside admiring and viewing the wonderful country side, and city life they have set up inside for at least 30 minutes. A must see!

Wow! Unbelievable model railroad attraction with so much detail and so much to see! The owner was very friendly and gave a tour which was very interesting for both adults and kids. My wife enjoyed it so much she bought tickets for friends as gifts to come and see it. You can tell how much care and passion went into the building of this outstanding attraction. The trains were very high end and Ive never seen anything like it! Well worth the time. Great value and price of admission was reasonable. Dont miss this great San Deigo attraction and fun thing to do with family and kids. The kids really loved it and it gave them something fun to do in Old Town before we went to dinner. I highly recommend. My parents enjoyed it as much as the kids!