I am without any personal knowledge of the meals-by-model-train theme restaurant in the SFValley but have little doubt that more than one existed. In fact, there are several in the midwest, including "Choo Choo Johnnys", etc. (I vaguely recall someone asking a similar question about a theme restaurant that may have existed in or near Long Beach in the early '60s.)
https://s3.amazonaws.com/saveoneverything_assets/assets/images/uploads/sliders/90650b675dccf00b.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHMnC8dpKNA
While on the subject of restaurants, one source mentions "
La Rue" or "
La Rue's" as LA's first bona fide restaurant, circa
1852.
http://www.saveur.com/article/Travels/LA-Restaurant-Milestones Have we seen any illustrations/photos/ephemera concerning this place that is reputed to have provided food that was "'
poorly cooked but generally served.'"