In October 2004, the Millbrae Historical Society opened a railroad museum at the former Millbrae Southern Pacific Train Depot.  The new Museum was described in a February 4, 2005 article in the San Francisco Chronicle. The depot building has been continuously in use since it was rebuilt in 1907. The Historical Society has a three-tiered plan for the site. The first step - the repair, clean up and repainting of the structure - was completed by a group of dedicated volunteer railroaders, led by Historical Society Treasurer and Train Museum Curator Vern Bruce.  Throughout the  process, careful attention has been paid to restoring the depot to as close to its original as-built state as is feasible. The waiting room and ticketmaster's office have been set up as a display area, housing a varied collection of photos, artifacts, documents, and books dedicated to the railroad history of Millbrae, the Peninsula, and the western United States.

In October 2011, we were honored to take possession of a fully restored 1929 Ford Model AA heavy-duty truck outfitted as a Railway Express Agency (REA) delivery vehicle.  The truck, pictured below, is now on permanent display as part of our Train Museum exhibition.  The vehicle was meticulously restored by MHS Lifetime Member David Hannigan and donated to the Train Museum for the enjoyment of all our visitors.  This newest historical gem is just one more reason you'll want to plan a visit real soon to the Millbrae Train Museum!

The second step in the Millbrae Train Museum master plan is to set up the area just south of the building as a display of historic rail cars and locomotives. That plan began to come to fruition in August 2006 with the unveiling of the 1941 Pullman sleeping car Civic Center from the premium Streamliner train known as the City of San Francisco. This rail car has never been modified and is in its original configuration and paint scheme, inside and out. All of the car's hardware, fixtures, etc. remain in place, and all systems are either working or are in the process of being restored.  The Civic Center, along with the rest of the Millbrae Train Museum, is open for public touring Saturdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

The third element of the Millbrae Train Museum master plan is to have our enthusiastic volunteers work cooperatively with the appropriate contractors to build a rail spur line south of the station for a distance of approximately one mile.  This would allow for operation of live rail excursions for visitors to enjoy.  If you would like to become a volunteer docent at the Millbrae Train Museum or would like to make a monetary contribution to help fulfill the dream of creating a Millbrae rail excursion line, please call the Museum staff at (650) 333-1136.