Santa Susana Depot Museum and Model Railroad

On Saturday, February 17, 2018, The Men’s Club visited the Santa Susan Depot Museum and Model Railroad display in Simi Valley.  Our docent, Curt, was very outgoing and added so much to the tour.  We were limited in time to two hours, but, I’m sure Curt could have gone all-day with the history and stories about the depot.  It was built in 1903 by the Southern Pacific railroad and operated until 1974.  The building was moved to its current site in 1975, adjacent to the Southern Pacific main line between Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Within the building are a multitude of pictures and memorabilia depicting  the days of operation of the Depot.  Additionally, Curt added so much history of the depot and surrounding area.  Mannequins were in strategic places helping to depict the operations.  The Mannequins had names of the actual people that worked the depot.  

In addition to the depot, a Model Train Club has built an extensive display with multiple tracks, towns, and mountains.  The trains and scenes transport you back to the simpler days of life and the beauty our country.  The lighting will take you from 

daylight to nightfall, through the night with moonlight, and then to the sunrise of the area.  Quite an experience.

Of course, no Jewish outing would be complete without food.  We had a marvelous lunch at the Old Susana Café, just down the street from the Depot.  I can assure you nobody left hungry.

Good food and plenty of it.   

Submitted by:  Chas Phillips