Los Angeles, CA
At a Glance
Verified daily- Type
- Heritage railroad & tourist attraction
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA
- Rating
- 4.8 ★ 201 Google reviews
Upcoming Events
No ticketed events are currently listed for Walt's Barn at Griffith Park. Many heritage operators publish schedules seasonally or run on regular open hours instead of dated events.
Check the operator’s website for current hours and special runs, or subscribe to event alerts and we’ll email you when something is scheduled.
Plan Your Visit
- Parking
- Free lot · street parking
- Accessibility
- Wheelchair-accessible entrance · accessible parking
- Hours
- Monday: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PMTuesday: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PMWednesday: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PMThursday: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PMFriday: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PMSaturday: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PMSunday: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Find the Depot
The Trains
Inside the barn, displays trace Walt Disney's lifelong connection to trains, including photographs and original artifacts such as an actual Carolwood Pacific Railroad car, plus exhibits honoring animators Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnston. Beyond the barn stand the Ollie Johnston Depot — a miniature railroad depot from the animator's backyard layout, moved here and restored in 2008 — and a pavilion housing the original Disneyland Railroad combine car from the Retlaw I passenger train, which ran behind Engine No. 2 E.P. Ripley from 1955 to 1966 and was meticulously restored after its 2010 acquisition. Since 2016 the Carolwood Foundation has partnered with the Walt Disney Archives to restore the last surviving locomotive and cars from Disneyland's Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland. Miniature train rides operate at the Los Angeles Live Steamers main entrance at the west end of the property.
History
See full history
Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn began life in the backyard of the Disney family's Holmby Hills home, purchased in June 1949 along with five acres for a miniature railroad — the Carolwood Pacific, named for the home's address at 355 North Carolwood Drive. Designed by studio architect John V. Cowles and modeled on a barn Disney remembered from his family's farm in Marceline, Missouri, the little red barn served as his machine shop and the railroad's control center while he ran his 1/8-scale steam train Lilly Belle over 2,615 feet of track from 1950 to 1953; the time Disney spent there helped inspire Disneyland, earning the barn the nickname 'the birthplace of Imagineering.' When the family sold the property in 1998, daughter Diane Disney Miller arranged with the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum to relocate the structure to Griffith Park, where it was rebuilt piece by piece — about 80% original — and dedicated as a museum on July 18, 1999. Volunteers of the nonprofit Carolwood Foundation operate it on behalf of The Walt Disney Family Foundation, free of charge, on the third Sunday of each month.
Around the Depot
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Getting There & Staying Nearby
Optional trip extras from our travel partners.
Rent a Car
Most heritage railroads sit well off the interstate. Picking up a rental at the nearest airport is usually the easiest way in.
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Tours & Activities near Los Angeles
Tours
Guided tours, day trips, and things to do around the area, bookable in advance through Viator.
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