Railroad museum to open Old Sacramento turntable rides again — this time for a small price

Jacqueline Pinedo
·2 min read

The California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento is offering rides on the turntable train for a second time this summer.

If you missed the free rides on the No. 2 locomotive in June, during the California State Parks Week, you’re in luck.

The museum is offering rides to residents and train enthusiasts, for again on select dates during the months of August and September. But you’ll need to purchase a ticket for a small fee to ride the train.

“We tested out the turntable rides in June for State Parks Week, they were a huge hit,” said Megan Villapudua Chief Operations Officer at the California State Railroad Museum Foundation. “Our crew had a lot of fun with them and we just find it as a way to keep the local community, our members and anyone who’s in the district engaged with what’s going on in the railroad.”

Where can you purchase a ticket?

Tickets to ride the turntable will be sold on a first-come-fist-serve basis at the ticket office, on the day of the event, according to the California State Railroad Museum website.

Below is a list of the scheduled days the turntable will be operating, according to the museum:

August dates:

  • Friday, Aug. 4

  • Saturday, Aug. 5

  • Friday, Aug. 11

  • Friday, Aug. 18

  • Saturday, Aug. 19

  • Friday, Aug. 25

September dates:

  • Friday, Sept. 1

  • Friday, Sept. 8

  • Friday, Sept. 15

  • Friday, Sept. 22

  • Saturday, Sept. 23

  • Friday, Sept. 29

Ticket Prices

Prices to ride the turntable vary depending on your age, but Railroad Museum members can ride the turntable for free. Below are ticket prices, according to the museum website:

  • Adults: $5

  • Youth ages 6 to 17: $3

  • Children under 5 don’t need a ticket

About the turntable?

The turntable was built in 1911, according to the 2013 edition of the California State Railroad Museum Foundation’s newsletter. It was built by the American Bridge Company to be used by the Union Pacific in Yakima, Washington. Then, in 1980, the turntable was installed in Old Sacramento’s State Historic Park.

Locomotive on Turntable “Building the Central Pacific Railroad: A Photographic Journey,” a presentation at the California State Library on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. From 1864 to 1869, Alfred A. Hart, the railroad’s official photographer, recorded the progress of the railway’s construction from Sacramento, over the Sierra Nevada range, across Nevada to Promontory, Utah, using a 5-by-8 inch wet-plate stereo camera and processing his fragile glass plates in a portable dark tent. A special viewing takes place at 6 p.m. at the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building, 914 Capitol Mall in Sacramento. The event is free.

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