Where there are trains, there are cars — and the Murphy Auto Museum takes that to the extreme.

The Gold Coast Modular Rail Club's elaborate model train set sits amid an array of vintage cars that represent decades from the 1900s to the '70s.

The museum houses about 70 cars from 38 collectors, almost all Southern California residents. Founder-curator Dan Murphy, 68, a retired neurosurgeon, owns 10 of the 70 cars and has a special affinity for Packards. "We have one of the best displays of Packards in Southern California," he said. "They were one of the finest U.S. luxury cars up until 1958."

The place, Murphy concedes, is not as big or flashy as, say, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. But this ride through the decades offers views of machines that carried regular folk. "We don't have a Duesenberg," Murphy noted as he strolled through the main showroom. "But we have cars that people might have owned back then."

He also matches the cars to other timepieces of the eras. The vintage clothes collection, stretching back to the 1890s and cloaked on mannequins strategically placed near cars, comes courtesy of Holley Gene Leffler of Ventura. A smattering of restored gas pumps — Phillips 66, Richfield and Sinclair "Dino Fuel" among them — comes from Jim Sharp of Oxnard.

An all-volunteer force keeps this place running. Murphy started the museum in 2002 at a Palma Drive building in Ventura and moved to the Oxnard locale, on Statham Boulevard just off Highway 1 (Oxnard Boulevard), in 2005.

Here are just a few gems:

n Murphy owns a gorgeous butterscotch-and-tan 1928 Packard that features a straight-eight engine, a 143-inch wheel base (a big Cadillac today might run 120 inches, he said), big running boards, a rumble seat in the back, a golf club storage compartment back right, and a to-die-for "Goddess of Speed" hood ornament with engine thermometer visible from the outside. Murphy recently drove it on some errands in Oxnard and drew envious stares.

n Nearby is a burgundy 1934 Packard V-12 Club Sedan with oh-so-nice-to-the-touch wool broadcloth upholstery and a stylish cormorant hood ornament that twists off because it's where you add water to the radiator. The car made a brief appearance in the 2003 film "Seabiscuit," the story of a Depression-era horse that captured the nation's fancy.

n Up at the main entrance is a burgundy, seven-passenger 1927 Packard 343 with quaint fold-out open-air kiddie seats with adjustable windshields, "so," Murphy explained, "they wouldn't get bugs in their teeth."

This one was in the 2004 Tournament of Roses Parade; Murphy takes it for a spin about once a year. It was the luxury car of the age, selling for about $4,000.

n Near it is a black, stark 1927 Ford Model T, the Everyman's car of its time, selling for about $400.

n Right inside the front door is the Cannon Family Buggy, used by said family from 1880 into the 1900s. Marion Cannon was a U.S. congressman and original stakeholder in the Limoneira Co.

n A 1903 Oldsmobile Curved Dash Runabout and 1917 Marmon Model Cloverleaf Roadster show how society made the transition from buggy to car.

n The sports car section is awash in Corvettes, Jags and Porsches, including a 1950s-era XK140 Jaguar from Coventry, England. Near it is a 1967 Corvette convertible that cost $6,724 new — Murphy produced the bill of sale that also outlined extras — and is now worth more than $200,000.

n A 1961 Cadillac Coupe brings a pastel look. The pink Cadillac of movie and song fame? Alas, it's Fontana rose metallic, Murphy corrected. The car sports huge fins — "'61, I think, was the best fin year for Cadillacs," he said as he stroked the edges on one side.

n 1948 and 1951 Ford Woodys add a little paneling feel to this milieu of metal and machines.