First opened to the public in 1976, the California State Railroad Museum complex is one of Sacramento's largest and most popular visitor destinations. Over 500,000 visit the Museum annually, with guests traveling from throughout the world to experience this world-renowned facility.

The California State Railroad Museum complex consists of six original, reconstructed, and new buildings completed at a cost of $30 million. The primary exhibit building, the Railroad History Museum, totals 100,000 square feet. Completed at a cost of $16.1 million, it opened in May 1981.With over 225,000 square feet of total exhibit space, the buildings within the California State Railroad Museum complex use stimulating exhibits, enthusiastic and knowledgeable docents, and beautifully restored railroad cars and locomotives to illustrate railroad history in California and the West.