The Brief

The 1939 grand opening of Union Station was a three-day affair, with nearly half of Los Angeles in attendance to witness the unveiling of the last great American train station. It’s a testament to Union Station’s singular vitality to a growing Los Angeles that, more than 8 decades later, the building remains an unrivaled icon in this everchanging city.

The architecture was the product of father-and-son team John and Donald Parkinson, blending Spanish Colonial, Mission Revival and Art Deco styles into more than just a mindless pitstop for tens of thousands of commuters speeding their way through LA’s heart of public transportation.

This Saturday and Sunday, Trainfest 2023 at Union Station is highlighting all that history and more. For starter, visitors will have the chance to see and be photographed with not just any passenger train, but the 1927 Santa Fe 3751 locomotive that first pulled into Union Station at its 1939 celebration.

We caught up with Suzie Vance, Director of Marketing at Union Station, for some festival highlights.

Q: What are a few of the biggest must-see attractions people should check out?
Some of our larger attractions start with railroad equipment tours which are displayed on Tracks 13, 14, and 15. Attendees will be able to see various old trains, new trains, and that's why we called it past, present, and future.

The Santa Fe 3751 and Amtrak 203.

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Courtesy of Alex Gillman

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The oldest train we have is a 1927 Santa Fe 3751 steam locomotive. That’s the star of the show. People are in awe of this train and actually just take pictures with it. Some people call it the Polar Express train because it looks strikingly similar to that train.

The Santa Fe 3751 locomotive from 1927.

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Courtesy of San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society

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There’s also about ten or more other trains that they can look at – only some of which you can tour. For example, L.A. Rail is bringing us a restored vintage private car called the Tioga Pass. It's beautiful. It's navy blue on the outside and it is a 1959 Canadian National Car built for railroad executives.

Interior of the Tioga Pass, a vintage private train car

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Courtesy of Alex Gillman

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The National Forum, owned by the Pacific Railroad Society, is a 1956 Pullman sleeping car. All of our partners at Amtrak and Metrolink brought their equipment to the track so people could see it.

The National Forum, a 1956 Pullman sleeping car.

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Courtesy of Pacific Railroad Society

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Q: I read there’s also some smaller trains for people to check out?
Our model trains are the second largest component of this event. We're hosting approximately four to five different group enthusiasts of model trains, working in conjunction with the National Model Railroad Association. They’ll be displaying their models, some of which are 30 by 50 feet.

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Courtesy of Orange County Module Raildroaders, Inc.

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Every model train is a little bit different. You know, they put mountains and towns in their displays. There's a lot in California, of course, to put into a model train exhibit. We had more takers than we could accommodate. They really came in droves to display because they're very proud and passionate about it.

A model train set

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Courtesy of Orange County Module Raildroaders, Inc.

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Q: And there will be live presentations, as well. Who is going to be there?
Yeah, California High Speed Rail has one of the largest booths on our South Patio. They ask anybody going up to the booth [to tell them], “what would you like to see on the trains”? I thought that was pretty exciting because what they're doing is changing or reformatting the way we look at rail travel, and to have the people who might actually travel on it give input is pretty remarkable.

Train Festival 2023

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