All aboard!!

As far as I can remember, my oldest son has always been fascinated by trains - but once he discovered the train with a friendly face, he was over the moon. And then when Lucas was born, his peace offering to his big bro was an audible and mobile Percy the train (the "peace" didn't last quite as long as we had hoped). Fast forward a couple of years later, the younger one is now able to play with his brother, and things have been a bit more peaceful here in our household. 

So imagine our excitement when we found out it was that time of year when Thomas and his buddies make their grand appearance at the the Orange Empire Railway Museum?? We scored tickets the day prior, and changed our initial plans for celebrating Sophie's first birthday (sorry, your brothers got to decide how you were going to spend your birthday this year). 

It took us an hour in a half to arrive from our area to Perris (How many one-year olds can say they went to Perris for their birthday?? ;)), and we found the perfect parking spot out front (parking is free!). We decided to arrive in the afternoon, so that the kids could nap in the car, and we could avoid the early morning crowd. It worked out quite well for us, since a lot of families were leaving at the time. Our first choice was to wait for the next ride inside Thomas the train, which had a schedule by the hour or so. Once inside this vintage train, our oldest was in such a trance that he threw a fit when we took him away from the sites for a photo -__-. 

The museum itself was full of toy model trains, retired antique trains, all up close and personal. 

A real, live Sir Topham Hatt!

We rode on the classic trolley, complete with a bell located on the floor of the trolley - the conductor asked for volunteers to ring the bell, which was quite the hit for children and adults alike.

My favorite was looking at all the old vintage ads inside the trolley

Various interactive displays of antique railway signals

Hungry? There was a row of desserts, snacks and hand-held meals reminiscent of the LA County Fair.

My kids have a thing for tattoos (temporary, of course).

The imagination center was full of toy train tables for the kids to play with

A little petting zoo with animals from a local farm

The kids blew off all their energy running in and out of the haystack maze

The themed gift shop was probably the most popular with all the kids, featuring a "build-your-own" box set of mini train cars, and exclusive Thomas the Train toys. 

Parting is such sweet sorrow...



A Day Out with Thomas

This is a yearly event, so climb onboard before the last train leaves!

Event held from November 4, 5, 10, 11, and 12 2017

2201 S. "A" Street Perris, CA 92570

info@oerm.org | 951.943.3020