Every third weekend, OC Model Engineers Inc. provide free train rides for everybody at Fairview Park (you can make a donation if you want to). It is called Mackerel Flats & Goat Hill Junction Road. What an unusual name! I wonder if that name has any interesting story behind it. Maybe I’ll ask next time I’m there. There are lots of grandpa engineers and some “young adult” engineers who are operating the trains. If you want, you can also join them and learn about trains.
These trains are literally miniature trains. The ride is not like any of those commercial train rides that charge $3-$4 for a 3 minute ride. The train goes around the track twice, each round we take a different route and the ride lasts about 12 minutes. The view is scenic and gorgeous since it is right next to Costa Mesa Golf Course.
The ride start at 10 AM and the last train leaves at 3:30 PM. There are diesel engines and steam engines (yes, it uses real coal). There are various different engines.
My Tips
- Train seating is basically a long beam. If you have little ones, you need to hold them in place in front of you. If you have an “energetic” child, make sure that you have an adult sorely assigned to that child.
- It gets crowded so I would advise you to go early. Try to be there at 10AM when they start. However, if you go in the afternoon, there are more trains operating. So you get to see more variety of trains.
- Even though it’s at a park, there are no playgrounds so bring something to entertain your kids while waiting in line. (candies, yes I said candies, books, little toys etc)
- There are restrooms and a little store that sells train related toys (engineer cap, whistles, etc) and some candies.
- There is no place to buy food so make sure you pack some snack/lunch for your little ones if you will be there during lunch time. There are some picnic tables but they are not clean. You might want to bring disposable tablemats or napkins to cover the table.
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