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About Us

Family owned & operated since 1972

GP Rah Enterprises, LLC operates specialty family recreation facilities under various concession contracts in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California. It has operated the Griffith Park & Southern Railroad since 1972 and the Travel Town Railroad since 1978. It also operates a simulator ride at Griffith Park & Southern Railroad.

Some Statistics 

  • Our miniature railroads carry nearly 500,000 passengers each year. Weather permitting, we operate 364 days a year, closing on Christmas Day only.
  • Our Griffith Park & Southern track is about one mile long. The trains travel over several bridges, including a 60′-long wood and steel box girder bridge. We also go through an 80′ tunnel and past several attractions, including the Western Old Town.
  • Our track at Travel Town Museum is approximately 3/8ths of a mile and we make two loops around the outdoor exhibit of historically significant locomotives and passenger cars.
  • We have a total of five locomotives and 21 passenger coaches available for operation year round in the parks.
  • The Griffith Park & Southern Railroad first opened for business in 1948. It has operated continuously, except for a few years in the 1950s, ever since.
  • Our trains are 1/4th and 1/3rd scale models of actual locomotives and passenger cars.
  • In the interest of doing our small part to improve the quality of life in Los Angeles, all of our locomotives were voluntarily converted from gasoline power to propane in 1994.

Some Statistics

  • Our miniature railroads carry nearly 500,000 passengers each year. Weather permitting, we operate 364 days a year, closing on Christmas Day only.
  • Our Griffith Park & Southern track is about one mile long. The trains travel over several bridges, including a 60′-long wood and steel box girder bridge. We also go through an 80′ tunnel and past several attractions, including the Western Old Town.
  • Our track at Travel Town Museum is approximately 3/8ths of a mile and we make two loops around the outdoor exhibit of historically significant locomotives and passenger cars.
  • We have a total of five locomotives and 21 passenger coaches available for operation year round in the parks.
  • The Griffith Park & Southern Railroad first opened for business in 1948. It has operated continuously, except for a few years in the 1950s, ever since.
  • Our trains are 1/4th and 1/3rd scale models of actual locomotives and passenger cars.
  • In the interest of doing our small part to improve the quality of life in Los Angeles, all of our locomotives were voluntarily converted from gasoline power to propane in 1994.

Historical Timeline

  • 1948 Griffith Park & Southern Railroad was first opened by Samuel Borstein, who previously operated a train ride in Kansas City.
  • 1952  Travel Town Museum was developed by the Los Angeles City Recreation and Park Department. The museum has a collection of full-size locomotives and rolling stock from Southern California. At first, the City operated a narrow gauge railroad ride along the Los Angeles River and Zoo Drive. When the steam locomotive could no longer operate, they began operating a trolley car until it too wore out.

     

  • 1956  The Los Angeles Live Steamers were founded by a group of train enthusiasts, some of whom later went on to create Railroad Supply Company. The LALS continue to operate in Griffith Park to this day.

     

  • 1960s  Griffith Park & Southern Railroad was reconstructed to what we recognize it as today. This reopening included the original figure-8 track, the barn, station and bridge.

     

  • 1972  Railroad Supply Company (RSC), who built small scale tracks and live steam locomotives, began working at Griffith Park & Southern Railroad. During this time Miller’s Outpost donated ‘Old Town’ which passengers ride through along the mile-long track.

     

  • 1975  Railroad Supply Company (RSC) was hired to build the miniature train ride track on the perimeter of Travel Town. A team of employees led by E. V. Gustavson designed and built the 16” gauge track in about a year, which is about ⅛ the scale of a standard locomotive.
 
  • 1976 RSC began operating the train ride at Travel Town with a live steam train they purchased from Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch and operated it until the boiler rusted out on the locomotive. New, non-steam locomotives were custom built to replace the steamer and to this day they pull the original Melody Ranch coaches.
  • 1989  RSC split off the train ride operations to GP Recreations, while RSC continued to build and sell hobbyist miniature train parts.
  • 1999  GP Recreations was bought by the Gustavson family, who had worked as part of GP Recreations for many years. They established GP Rah Enterprises, LLC. in December 1999.
  • 2015  Re-established the evening Holiday Train Ride at Griffith Park & Southern Railroad, operating from late November – early January every year.
  • 2020  The train rides closed temporarily due to COVID-19 restrictions, and remained closed until April 2021.
  • 2022  GP Rah Enterprises expands, adding additional Gustavson family members as well as long time staff Luis Saludes to our new ownership structure. 
  • Present: GP Rah continues to be the current operator for both train rides, and prides itself on being a family owned and operated small business in Los Angeles, California.

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