Golden Gate Live Steamers

We came here on their biannual open house. Free rides! Free rides! But make sure to get there just when it opens, otherwise long lines and parking. Friendly club members will talk at length about how it all works.

We went down the hill to the «little train» for the first time today. What a nice bunch of folks, donating their time to allow families to ride the narrow gauge railroad. Today they stayed late just because the line was so long. Super generous. It is all donation based so you know they are in it for a labor of love– all volunteer. They are kind of quirky but in a good way. I think they are open on Sundays from 12−3pm and well worth waiting in line to get on the train!

I used to be a member of this club, until I realized that I didn’t want to spend my time with grumpy old men who made my child cry, when he didn’t stop the train at the right time.

The Golden Gate LIve Steamers is a miniature train hobbying club. Open Sundays giving rides from 12:00~3:00 pm, they strive to expand the growth on the live steam hobby for generations to come. Running on a donation basis a quick 6 minut ride behind a 7.5″ gauge real working steam locomotive gives a great tour of the facilities and of the wonderful view of the greenery in Tilden park. Great opportunity to learn about steam trains and also a great way to spend your Sunday with your family. Charging past 77 years of opperation, The golden gate live steamers still shows that steam is still king.

I have seen the sign for the steam train for years — and have popped down the hill on the trail into the backside of this attraction a few times while hiking. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit with my brother and his family — his 13 year old stepson is wild about the trains — and my nephew Godzilla (wearing size 3T at 20 months) also had a lot of fun.
Don’t get me wrong — this is entirely for little kids — but you gotta ride each train at least once. There’s the steam train and also a small electric train run by a hobby club — both rides are short and both have little «buildings» and «towns» along side the tracks. It’s ridiculously cute.

Highly recommended! Nice folks, beautiful mini-​steam trains, and really cool, scenic ride. Super kid-​friendly!
Happy 75^th Birthday Golden Gate Live Steamers!

This is more fun than a barrel of monkeys! Every Sunday (weather permitting) you can ride these trains between 11 – 3.
The train folk are so enthusiastic and friendly; their enthusiasm is contagious! And it is hard to tell who is having more fun-​the adults or the kids.
Choo-​choo! All aboard!