Laws Railroad Museum & Historical Site in Bishop, California

Written By Kelsey Cecil

Bishop, California · Updated October 19, 2026 · 13 min read

Historic rail siteTrain ridesClosed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day

The Laws Railroad Museum & Historical Site saves the 1883 depot, agent's house and eleven-acre yard of the narrow gauge line that ran through the Owens Valley until 1960, surrounded by a village of pioneer buildings gathered from across the Eastern Sierra.

  • Original 1883 depot and agent's house
  • California Historical Landmark No. 953
  • 11 acres of exhibits
  • Home of the Slim Princess
  • Brill Car rides on select dates
  • Leashed dogs welcome

Laws Railroad Museum & Historical Site at a glance

Hours
Open year-round except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day; check the website for daily hours
Admission
$10 suggested donation; children under 12 free
Train rides
Brill Car No. 5 rides on select event dates, including Thanksgiving holiday rides
Seasonal events
Thanksgiving Holiday Rides on the 1927 Brill Motorcar
Plan for
About 2 to 3 hours
Best for
Road-tripping families, rail fans and Old West history lovers
Best ages
Ages 4 and up

Hours and prices as the museum posts them, checked October 19, 2026. Confirm before you go.

Look inside the book

Taking the kids to Laws Railroad Museum & Historical Site? Bring Rally along.

In Rally Takes the Train, a corgi's little legs can't manage the big train stairs, so Dad gives him a boost. It takes about five minutes to read, a good fit for the drive to Bishop.

Page 1 of 8

Rally Takes the Train book cover: a watercolor corgi peeking from a red train

Like it so far? See the full book

25 hand-painted pages, paperback, $13.99 with fast shipping from Amazon.

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Every page is real watercolor on paper, painted by hand by Leslie Dunn. Nothing in this book was made with AI.

From a place called Station to a museum called Laws

The first train steamed into the Bishop Creek depot on April 1, 1883. The railroad was the Carson & Colorado, built south from Mound House, just east of Carson City, with big plans to run from the Comstock country all the way to the Colorado River at Fort Mohave. It never got that far. The line stopped at Keeler, on the east side of Owens Lake, 72 miles south of Bishop, but it became the lifeline of the Owens Valley.

A small village grew up around the depot in the later 1880s, and for years people simply called it Station. In 1905 it was renamed Laws, after R.J. Laws, a longtime railroad superintendent. Southern Pacific bought the railroad in 1900 and kept the narrow gauge running through Laws for a total of seventy-seven years, until the last train rolled through in 1960. The post office, open since 1887, held on until 1963.

When the railroad shut down, Southern Pacific donated the depot, other buildings and the last train to Inyo County and the City of Bishop. The Bishop Museum & Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, now operates the site as the Laws Railroad Museum & Historical Site. The depot and the Station Agent's House are original. Every other building on the grounds was either built on site or moved here to be saved, so that together they recreate the feel of an Owens Valley railroad village. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is California Historical Landmark No. 953, and the museum has marked its 50th anniversary.

Volunteers keep the place moving, including a train crew that cares for the Brill Car. On Labor Day Weekend 2026, seven of them followed it up Highway 395 to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, where they shared Laws' story with more than 1,000 visitors at a motor car celebration.

Eleven acres of depot, yard and pioneer village

Start at the 1883 depot and the restored Agent's House, now open to the public, then wander out across the eleven-acre yard. The railroad side of the collection includes the Slim Princess, the narrow gauge steam locomotive the museum calls home, and the Death Valley Railroad's Brill Car No. 5, a 1927 motorcar that still carries passengers on select dates. Rail cars and equipment fill out the yard.

Beyond the tracks is a village of historic buildings, close to fifty by one travel writer's count, each holding artifacts from the late 1800s and early 1900s in the Owens Valley. Look for the Mule Museum, a tribute to the pack animals of the Eastern Sierra, a replica 20 Mule Team Borax wagon, a mine headframe with a skip car, and an ore processing mill that the museum has demonstrated in operation. The grounds sit near the base of Silver Canyon in the White Mountains, and an interactive map on the museum's website shows where every numbered exhibit sits.

Don’t miss

  1. The 1883 depotThe original Carson & Colorado station where the first train arrived on April 1, 1883, and the reason a town grew here at all.
  2. The Slim PrincessThe narrow gauge steam locomotive that the museum names as one of its two signature pieces.
  3. Death Valley Brill Car No. 5A 1927 Brill motorcar from the Death Valley Railroad that volunteers still operate for rides on select dates.
  4. The 1883 Agent's HouseOne of only two original buildings on the site, recently restored and now open to visitors.
  5. The Mule MuseumA building devoted to the mules and packers who hauled goods through the Eastern Sierra, a side of transportation history most rail museums skip.
  6. Headframe and ore millMining equipment that shows how ore came up the shaft in a skip car and was processed, tying the railroad to the mines it served.

Room to roam, mules and a motorcar ride

Eleven acres of outdoor exhibits give kids plenty of space to walk from building to building, peek into old shops and homes, and see a full-size steam locomotive. A ride on the Brill Car on one of its event days is the biggest treat, and the mining equipment, borax wagon and Mule Museum give children who are less interested in trains something to point at too.

Children under 12 are admitted free, which makes it an easy stop on an Eastern Sierra road trip. Much of the site is outdoors, so bring sun protection and water in summer and warm layers in the colder months. Leashed, friendly dogs are welcome, so the family dog can come along.

Plan your visit: tips for Laws Railroad Museum & Historical Site

  • The museum is about 4.5 miles north of Bishop on Highway 6.
  • Dogs are welcome on a leash; please pick up after your pet.
  • Watch the museum's events list for Brill Car ride days, since rides do not run every day.
  • Most exhibits are outdoors, so dress for Eastern Sierra weather.
  • The gift shop sells railroad and Western books, DVDs and memorabilia.

Volunteers bring out the 1927 Brill motorcar for special ride days, and the museum lists Thanksgiving Holiday Rides on the Brill Car for November 27, 2026. Other events have included book signings with railroad historian Lawrence Meeker. Check the events list on the museum's website for current dates before you make the drive.

The Bishop Museum & Historical Society and its train crew

The Bishop Museum & Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, owns and operates Laws, and volunteers, including the train crew that runs and travels with the Brill Car, keep the site open. Admission is a donation, so visitors help directly by paying it, shopping in the gift store, or renting the grounds for a wedding or special event. The museum also accepts planned gifts through wills, trusts and retirement accounts.

Rail history within a day's drive of Bishop

Laws is remote, so plan for longer drives. The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad is about 71 miles away as the crow flies, and across the state line the Tonopah Historic Mining Park railroad exhibits are about 76 miles. Railroad fans following the Carson & Colorado story north can continue to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City. For more ideas, see California train museums.

Every train museum in California

Bring Rally along: a train book for the drive

Watercolor of Rally the corgi looking out an arched train window at the ocean and a white bird
From Rally Takes the Train, watercolor by Leslie Dunn.

The Laws depot sits under the White Mountains, and I like to imagine the passengers on the narrow gauge watching that valley roll past their window. In our book Rally presses his nose to an arched window and sees the ocean, then says hello to a white bird. Different view, same wonder. My mom would have loved a trip like that. Her story is on our story page.

Free for train families

Print the Rally coloring pages before you go

Watercolor coloring pages from the book, free to print. Tuck a few in a folder with crayons for the drive or the wait for the next train.

Get the free coloring pages
Rally Takes the Train book cover: a watercolor corgi peeking from a red train

A train story for the ride homeRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi's first train trip to see his grand-paw-rents. Hand-painted in real watercolor. $13.99 on Amazon, for ages 0 to 8.

Buy on Amazon (opens in a new tab)

More for train families

Work or volunteer at Laws Railroad Museum & Historical Site?

We want this page to be the best introduction to your museum on the web. Send new hours, event dates, corrections or photos to kelsey@rallytakesthetrain.com and we will update it. You are welcome to share this page with your members.

Sources

Everything on this page comes from the museum’s own website and social pages and, for history, Wikipedia, checked October 19, 2026.

Laws Railroad Museum: 20 questions for your visit

Where is the Laws Railroad Museum & Historical Site?

The museum is at 200 Silver Canyon Road, Bishop, California 93514, about 4.5 miles north of Bishop on Highway 6, or roughly 5.3 miles from downtown. It sits on the old 1883 depot grounds near the base of Silver Canyon in the White Mountains. Call (760) 873-5950 if you need directions.

How much are tickets to the Laws Railroad Museum?

As of October 2026, admission is a $10 donation, and children under 12 get in free. The museum says it welcomes donations of any amount. Brill Car rides and special events may be priced separately, so check the event listing on the museum's website before you go.

What are the Laws Railroad Museum hours?

The museum is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day, but its daily opening times are not clear in the information available here. Check lawsmuseum.org or call (760) 873-5950 before you drive out, especially in winter or if you are traveling a long way.

What is the Laws Railroad Museum & Historical Site?

It is an eleven-acre open-air museum on the original 1883 depot and yard of the narrow gauge railroad through the Owens Valley. The depot and agent's house are original, and other historic buildings were moved or built on site to recreate a railroad village. The Bishop Museum & Historical Society runs it.

Can you ride a train at the Laws Railroad Museum?

On select dates, yes. Volunteers operate the Death Valley Railroad's Brill Car No. 5, a 1927 motorcar, for passenger rides at special events, including Thanksgiving Holiday Rides listed for November 27, 2026. Rides do not run every day, so watch the museum's upcoming events list.

What is the Slim Princess at Laws?

The Slim Princess is the narrow gauge steam locomotive the Laws Railroad Museum describes as one of its signature pieces, along with the Death Valley Brill Car. It is displayed on the museum grounds. The museum's online exhibits gallery has more detail on the locomotive and the other rolling stock in the yard.

What is the Death Valley Brill Car at the Laws Railroad Museum?

It is Brill Car No. 5, a 1927 motorcar from the Death Valley Railroad that the museum keeps in running order. In 2026 its volunteer crew took it to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City for a motor car celebration, where they talked with more than 1,000 visitors about Laws.

Which railroad ran through Laws?

The Carson & Colorado Railroad, a narrow gauge line built south from Mound House near Carson City. It was meant to reach the Colorado River but ended at Keeler, near Owens Lake. Southern Pacific bought it in 1900 and ran it until the last train passed through Laws in 1960.

Why is it called Laws?

The settlement around the depot was first known simply as Station. In 1905 it was renamed Laws after R.J. Laws, a longtime railroad superintendent. The village grew up around the depot in the later 1880s, and a post office operated there from 1887 until 1963.

Is the Laws Railroad Museum a historic landmark?

Yes. The site is California Historical Landmark No. 953 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The 1883 depot and the Station Agent's House are the original railroad buildings, and the Agent's House has been restored and opened to visitors.

Are dogs allowed at the Laws Railroad Museum?

Yes. The museum says dogs are welcome on a leash. Please curb your pet and pick up after it, and leave aggressive dogs at home. With eleven acres of mostly outdoor exhibits, it is one of the easier rail museums to visit with a family dog.

Is the Laws Railroad Museum good for kids?

Yes. Children under 12 are free, and the eleven acres give kids room to explore a steam locomotive, old buildings, a 20 Mule Team Borax wagon, mining equipment and the Mule Museum. Plan a visit around a Brill Car ride day if you can, because riding is the highlight for most children.

How long does it take to see the Laws Railroad Museum?

Plan on about two to three hours to walk the eleven acres, step inside the buildings and spend time with the locomotives and rail cars. Rail fans and history buffs can easily stay longer, and a Brill Car ride day or special event will add time to your visit.

Where can I see photos of the Laws Railroad Museum & Historical Site?

The museum's website has an exhibits gallery with a virtual tour and an interactive map of the grounds, and it links to several YouTube videos, including one marking the museum's 50th anniversary. The museum also posts on Instagram and has its own YouTube channel.

What are reviews of the Laws Railroad Museum like?

This page does not gather reviews, but travel writers and the Bishop visitor bureau regularly point visitors to Laws for its original depot, the Slim Princess, the Brill Car and its village of historic buildings. For current opinions from recent visitors, check major review sites before your trip.

Does the Laws Railroad Museum have a gift shop?

Yes. The gift store sells railroad and Western memorabilia, books and DVDs, including books by railroad historian Lawrence Meeker on the Carson & Colorado. Purchases help support the museum, which is run by a nonprofit and relies on donations and volunteers.

Can you rent the Laws Railroad Museum for a wedding?

Yes. The museum says the grounds are a popular venue that can be rented for weddings and other special events, and its website includes a map of the grounds and event center. Use the contact form on lawsmuseum.org or call (760) 873-5950 to ask about dates and pricing.

What events happen at the Laws Railroad Museum?

The museum posts upcoming events on its home page. Recent listings include Thanksgiving Holiday Rides on the 1927 Brill motorcar and a book signing with railroad author Lawrence Meeker. Equipment demonstrations, like the mine headframe and skip car, have also been held. Check lawsmuseum.org for the current calendar.

How can I support the Laws Railroad Museum?

Pay the admission donation, shop in the gift store or rent the site for an event. The Bishop Museum & Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and it also accepts planned gifts through wills, trusts, retirement accounts and life insurance. Contact the museum through its website to ask about volunteering.

What train museums are near the Laws Railroad Museum?

Laws is remote. The closest rail stops on this site are the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, about 71 miles away, and the Tonopah Historic Mining Park railroad exhibits in Nevada, about 76 miles. Railtown 1897 in Jamestown is about 119 miles, and Carson City's Nevada State Railroad Museum about 143.

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