Amtrak’s 40th anniversary Exhibit Train to visit L.A., San Diego

Amtrak’s Exhibit Train has left the station -- Union Station in Washington, D.C., that is, and that was back in May. The national rail company’s museum-on-wheels reached California last month and now heads to San Diego and Los Angeles.

Since May 7, the Exhibit Train has been making its way around the country decked out with memorabilia about the history of passenger rail, exhibiting items such as menus, dinnerware, uniforms -- organized in three large rail cars by decade: the ‘70s, the ‘80s and the ‘90s to the present.

Visitors can hop on board to see the free exhibit 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Amtrak station in San Diego (1050 Kettner Blvd.) and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 10-11 at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles (800 N. Alameda St.). For young kids, the exhibit includes a play area based on Chuggington Depot from the Disney Junior TV series.

So how many Angelenos travel by train? L.A. was the fifth-busiest train station in 2010 with more than 1.5-million passengers, according to Amtrak statistics. New York City was tops (more than 8 million riders), followed by Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Chicago.

The Exhibit Train rolled into Sacramento, Oakland and Bakersfield in November. After it leaves Los Angeles, the train will continue on to Fort Worth and San Antonio in Texas, Oklahoma City and New Orleans in the new year.