Teachers – Thank you for your interest in our program. We hope you will be able to participate in one of our field trip events. If you have any questions not covered by the topics below, feel free to contact Wolf Fengler at 310-920-1783 for more details.

• Please have students use the restrooms prior to leaving school
• Restroom facilities are available for “emergencies” only
• The tour takes every bit of the 1.5 hour period, so please plan any meals for before or after your tour time
• Although we do have docents that help with the tours, please bring chaperones as required by the guidelines of your district. We suggest 1 adult for every 7 children
• No food or drink is allowed on the train
• A secure location will be available to store backpacks, personal items & lunches. NOTE: Please make sure inhalers and other medicines are readily available for those who need them
• Be careful of road and rail traffic when entering the tour area. A docent will meet the classes
• Special Needs Students: please inform us if any of your students have special needs so that we can work together to facilitate their participation. However, due to the historic nature of the equipment which is accessed by climbing stairs and traversing narrow hallways, some wheelchair bound participants may have difficulty

Souvenir tickets:

• For security & tour efficiency, color-coded tickets are provided for distribution to students, teachers, and chaperones. They are required for entry into the tour area.
• Please distribute the tickets before arrival and organize your students by ticket colors into groups of seven plus one chaperone, if possible. A docent will accompany each small group. Do give consideration to which students are clustered together to minimize problem behavior.

Example – ticket distribution for class of 34

• White tickets: 7 students + 1 chaperone
• Blue tickets: 7 students + 1 chaperone
• Green tickets: 7 students + 1 chaperone
• Yellow tickets: 7 students + 1 chaperone
• Beige tickets: 6 students + 1 chaperone

Attire: Wear pants or shorts, closed toed shoes, and cotton clothing as appropriate for weather conditions. Some of the tour is outdoors

History of Railroads

• This module takes students through the boom of transportation spurred on by Manifest Destiny and the changes that the Transcontinental Railroad brought the United States
• State standards covered: affects of transportation modes, geography on westward expansion; role of railroads in the Civil War

Modern Railroads

• This section shows the inner workings of the rail system and its relationship with the mass transportation of goods
• State standards covered: working with very large and very small numbers, percentages, and using bar charts

Railroad Safety

• Teaches students how to be safe around railroads