Travel Town Museum of Los Angeles is a recreation center and museum of national railroad history located in Griffith Park. Dedicated for opening on December 14, 1952, the museum features extensive collections focusing on the history of locomotives gathered mostly from the ?Golden Age? of steam engines from 1880 to 1930. The recreation side of the museum welcomes visitors with extensive picnic facilities, areas for group and student visits, and a gift shop.

The history of the museum dates back to the early 1940s, when Charley Atkins ? an employee with the Recreation and Parks Division ? initiated the idea of bringing a steam locomotive to accentuate the Griffith Park miniature railroad ride. The idea developed and gathered more steam, and thanks to the initiative of General Manager George Hjelte and Superintendent of Recreation William Frederickson, several steam locomotives were donated to the collection. In time, it became clear that something more than a miniature railroad ride ? with one steam locomotive for kids to see ? was in the works.

By 1965, seven years after the Travel Town Museum opened, donations had been generous and benefactors successfully expanded the museum to form a combined transportation museum and recreation center.

Today, the museum features an extensive array of locomotives, freight cars and cabooses, passenger cars, and even interurbans and motorcars. Also to the permanent collection have been added passenger car furnishings and details, luggage and shipping crates, books and magazines, photographs, sound recordings, movie footage, lanterns, tools, scales, telephones, telegraphs, and much more. The museum is always expanding its collection with fresh finds.

The miniature train ride from the original park has been revamped, and new features have been added to accommodate family and even birthday gatherings.