Powered by Diesel explores the creation of diesel engines and their use in trains and explains the science behind the engine and why manufactures made the switch from steam power to diesel. This exhibit is included in museum admission and the Explorer Pass. The Cabrillo Southwest O Scale layout features a double track main line, a narrow gauge branch line and a mountain district!
The layout is feet long and covers 13 scale miles in mainline track. It represents California circa The layout is feet long and covers 15 scale miles in mainline track. You can follow the line from the Mexican border all the way down to El Centro, where club members expertly recreated a drive in Movie Theater. The Tehachapi Pass runs through the Tehachapi Range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and is famous for the Tehachapi Loop, where because of the steep mountain grade the railroad was designed in a spiral loop.
You can see this replicated on the mezzanine level of the Tehachapi layout. Including the types of trains run on the track, the times of operation and the speed.
Throughout the layout there are quirky hidden surprises. See if you can spot the pool shark! The exhibit was rated one of the top ten layouts by Classic Toy Trains magazine in With buildings representative of the Gilded Age in , this layout transports you to the time when the Transcontinental Railroad first arrived in San Diego.
These buildings were constructed and generously donated by Applied Imaginations. Prepare to be captivated by the playfulness of scale as G-gauge trains gracefully navigate the gardens, full of drought-resistant plants native to the Southern California region.
