Mountain View Railroad Open Day

In conjunction with the 2026 Central Coast Railroad Festival, the Mountain View Railroad will host an open day for enjoyment of the general public.

Nestled in the Santa Ynez Valley, with a sweeping vista of the Figueroa and Grass Mountains, lies a garden railroad where working G-gauge model trains navigate through sculpted miniature forests to delight the child within. Meandering through the walkways surrounded by 700 dwarf Alberta spruce and redwood trees, a visitor is transported into a Disneyesque environment with miniature trains making their way through forests, over bridges, by custom-built buildings and around a koi pond, with whistles signaling their passage. Don has a life-size caboose, which he built himself. It houses an authentic caboose seat, which holds a huge, serenading animatronic bear. In the garden stands a line shack that also was designed and built by Morgan with the help of his gardener. It is constructed out of uneven wood planks, and it is a favorite spot for the Morgans to sit and take in the expansive view, both of the mountains and of the garden railway. Trains are battery and track powered. Don has a railroad lamp and lantern collection plus an operating wigwag and Griswold crossing devices.