Laws Railroad Museum

Laws Railroad Museum, 4 miles northeast of Bishop on US Route 6, preserves the original Laws depot and a collection of rolling stock from the Carson and Colorado narrow-gauge railway. The museum occupies the entire original railroad settlement: the depot, the agent's house, a post office, and various outbuildings, all furnished as they were during the operating years of the line (1883–1960).

The collection of narrow-gauge locomotives, freight cars, and passenger cars is substantial and largely in good condition. The museum also has exhibits on the history of the Owens Valley, the mining era, and the indigenous Paiute people of the region. Admission is charged and the museum is run by volunteers; it is open most days. Combined with the Paiute Shoshone Cultural Center in Bishop, it gives a good overview of the valley's history.

things to do museum sight
A story
The Carson and Colorado Railroad, which reached Laws in 1883, was an unusual enterprise: a narrow-gauge line crossing 300 miles of Nevada and California desert to serve silver mines and borax deposits. The Southern Pacific bought it in 1900, and the legendary railroad builder William Hood reportedly told his boss that it was "either 300 miles too long or 300 years too soon." The last train ran in 1960, and the depot and rolling stock were preserved as a museum rather than demolished.