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Permanent garden railroads you can visit
Check the list for garden railroads in your area that are open to the public
By Rene Schweitzer
Published: Wednesday, April 05, 2006
 A Northern Pacific brings a short train across the bridge on the railway at Walter Anderson NurseryPhoto by Rene Gallet This display features 400 feet of track and a beautiful water feature.Photo by Rene Gallet The landscaping on this railway was designed by the horticultural department of the college.Photo by Rene Gallet
Alabama
Huntsville-Madison County Botanical Garden, 4747 Bob Wallace Ave., Huntsville AL 35805, 256-830-4447. Railroad operates from mid-March through December, www.hsvbg.org/gardenrr.htm.
Arizona
Double K Ranch (bed and breakfast with a garden railway), 3930 N. Smokey Topaz Lane, Tucson AZ 85749, 520-749-5345, www.doublekranch.com .
Gary Martin, 4625 E. Cerro De Aguila, Tucson AZ 85718. 520-299-7428.
Arkansas
Garvan Woodland Gardens, 550 Arkridge Rd., Hot Springs AR 71913. 800-366-4664. info@garvangardens.org, www.garvangardens.org
California
Fairplex Garden Railroad, Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, Pomona CA. Contact the Fairplex Exhibits Department for dates, PO Box 2250, Pomona CA 91769-2250. 909-865-4231, www.fgrr.org.
The Living Desert and Zoo and Gardens, 47-900 Portola Ave., Palm Desert CA 92260, 760-346-5694, FAX: 760-568-9685. information@livingdesert.org, www.livingdesert.org
Walter Anderson's Nursery, 12755 Danielson Ct., Poway, CA. Contact David Ross, Manager, Walter Andersen Nursery, 858-513-4900. www.walterandersen.com
Colorado
Colorado Railroad Museum, Golden CO. Contact Alan Olson, 303-274-6092. The railroad operates primarily on Saturdays and special-event weekends, www.crrm.org
Hudson Gardens, 6115 S. Santa Fe Dr., Littleton CO 80120, 303-797-8565, info-hud@ssprd.org.
Florida
Epcot, Walt Disney World, in the German pavillion, Lake Buena Vista FL. 800-445-4932, www.disneyworld.com.
H&R Trains, 6901 U.S. North, Pinellas Park FL 33781. 727-526-4682, FAX: 727-526-3439, www.hrtrains.com.
Georgia
Vines Garden Railroad, 3500 Oak Grove Road, Loganville GA 30052, 770-554-9697. Open Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. School field trips and daycare welcome with a reservation. vinesrr@bellsouth.net, www.vinesgardenrailroad.com
Iowa
Rock Island Depot, Madison County Historical Society, 815 S. Second Ave., Winterset IA 50273. Open May 1- Oct. 31, Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday 1-5 p.m. 515-462-2134. mchistory@i-rule.net.
Illinois
Chicago Botanical Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe IL 60022. 847-835-5440. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Sept. 3, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. after Sept. 3, www.chicagobotanic.org.
The Growing Place (nursery and large-scale display), 33W192 Montgomery, Aurora IL. 630-820-8088.
Saunoris Brothers Nursery (nursery with garden railroad), 19600 S. Harlem Ave., Frankfort IL 60423. 815-469-3171, FAX: 815-469-4769.
Wheaton Nurseries (nursery with garden railroad), 626 E. Roosevelt Rd., Wheaton IL 60187. 630-668-0947. FAX: 630-668-0966.
Kentucky
Louisville Zoo, 1100 Trevilian Way, Louisville KY 40213. 502-459-2181. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through Labor Day; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the remainder of the year.Trains run April 1 through November 1, weather permitting. www.louisvillezoo.org
Massachusetts
The Strawberry Patch, 2550 Main Street (Route 6A ), Brewster, Mass., one mile east of the Brewster General Store. 508-896-5050. Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday, May through December.
Michigan
Castle Farms, 5052 M-66 North, Charlevoix MI 497920, 231-237-0884, 231-237-0994 FAX. Open June through September. www.castlefarms.com
The Wolcott House Bed and Breakfast, c/o Sean Rosekrans, 610 W. Silver Lake Rd., Fenton MI 48430, 810-714-4316, thewolcotthouse.com
Missouri
Battlefield Station Family Hobbies display, 220 W. Battlefield Rd., Springfield MO 65807, 417-887-5592. Call for hours.
Missouri Botanical Gardens, Kemper Center for Home Gardening, PO Box 299, St. Louis MO 63166. Contact Steve Cline, director, 314-577-9561. Trains run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, April-October.
Montana
Caras Nursery, 2727 S. 3rd West St., Missoula MT 59801. 406-728-1103. FAX: 406-543-2389.
New Hampshire
Hartmann Model Railroad and Toy Museum, Town Hall Road, PO Box 165 Intervale NH 03845. 603-356-9922, FAX: 603-356-9958. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., info@hartmannrr.com or www.hartmannrr.com.
New Jersey
Railroad Garden at the Camden Children's Garden, 3 Riverside Dr., Camden NJ 08103. 856-365-8733. 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily, www.camdenchildrensgarden.org
New Mexico
Rio Grande Botanic Garden, 2601 Central Ave. NW, Albuquerque NM 87104. Rio Grande Garden Railroad is run from January through May, Wed.- Sun. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m and October through November, Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June through September; Daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and in December; Wed. - Sun. 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and also during the annual "River of Lights" 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Contact Jon Stewart, Curator of Plants, at JStewart@cabq.gov
North Carolina
Bobby's World of Trains, 113 Lewis St., Gibsonville NC 27249, 336-449-7565.
Ohio
Entertrainment Junction, 7379 Squire St., West Chester OH 45069, 513-898-8000 or 800-898-4656, 513-898-8080 FAX. Open year round, Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sun., noon to 6 p.m. Closed on major holidays. www.entertrainmentjunction.com
Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E. Broad St., Columbus OH 43203, 614-645-8733, barnold@fpconservatory.org, www.fpconservatory.org. Open all year. Railroad open from May-October.
Oregon
Southwest Oregon Large Scale Trains display, City of Medford Railroad Park, Berrydale Ave., Medford OR. Open to the public 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month, April through October, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Contact Thomas Goossen, 541-665-1131, gardenloco@aol.com.
Pennsylvania
Morris Aboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, 100 East Northwestern Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19118. 215-247-5777. Trains typically run Memorial Day through Columbus Day, then again late November through early January for a holiday display. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, till 8 p.m. on Thursday, www.morrisarboretum.org
South Carolina
Spartanburg Community College garden railway, Business I-85 and New Cut Rd., Spartanburg, SC 29305. 864-592-4600. Railroad runs weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., during the weekends for special events. www.sccsc.edu
Tennessee
The Incredible Christmas Place (garden railroad near Bell Tower Square shops), 2470 Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN 37868. 865-453-0415 or 800-445-3396, www.christmasplace.com
Nashville Garden Railway Society display, Hickory Hollow Mall, second floor, Bell Rd. (off I-24), Southeast Nashville, TN. Sat 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sun. Noon to 5 p.m. Contact Gerald White, glwhite@bellsouth.net or www.nashvillegardenrailway.org.
Texas
Clark Gardens Botanical Park, 567 Maddux Road, Weatherford TX. Open September through May, Monday through Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Sundays, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 940-682-4856. clarkgardens@mesh.net, www.clarkgardens.com/12.garden.trains.htm
Houston Area G Gaugers layout, Town and Country Mall, third floor, Houston TX. Primarily runs Saturdays 1 to 6 p.m. Contact Chuck or Carol Blumentritt, 281-550-8679, www.aabp.com/hagg.htm.
San Antonio Garden Railway Society public layout, c/o Texas Transportation Museum, 11731 Wetmore Rd., San Antonio TX 78247. 210-490-3554. Trains run Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Evening hours during the holidays. www.txtransportationmuseum.org
Washington
Bellingham Railway Museum, 1320 Commercial St., Bellingham WA 98247. Contact Fred Dodd, 360-393-7540 or 360-223-5242, brm@clearwire.net. Open year round (closed major holidays), Mon., Thurs., Sat., noon to 5 p.m. www.bellinghamrailwaymuseum.org
Wisconsin
John Lamm of Jackson, Inc., (nursery with garden railway), 2708 Sherman Rd., Jackson WI 53037. 262-677-3010. Trains run Saturdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting, www.lammscape.com
Little Falls Railroad and Doll Museum, Catatact WI 54620, 608-272-3266. raildoll@centurytel.net, www.raildoll.org
Shady Lane Greenhouse, W172 N7388 Shady Lane, Menomonee Falls WI 53051, 262-251-1660, shadylanegreenhouse.com. Free. Call ahead to verify hours of operation.
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 Something is always new on the Big Sky Garden Railway at Ultimate Trains in Canada. Tony and Joan Scheiwiller rework details and scenes on the railway each year.Photo by Joan Scheiwiller
Big Sky Garden Railway, c/o Ultimate Trains, 18th Street, Nanton, Alberta, 45 minutes south of Calgary on Hwy. 2 (under the big flag). Open daily, October 1-May 1, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Tuesdays. Small admission charge. 403-646-1190. www.ultimatetrains.com
Greater Vancouver Garden Railway Club layout, Art Knapp Plantland, 4391 King George Hwy., Surrey BC, Canada. 604-596-9201. FAX: 604-596-9240, artknapp@artknapp.com or www.artknapp.com
DPR Railway, c/o, Benoit Painchaud, 703 Clauet, Thetford Mines Quebec G6G 1M6, 418-338-2627 phone and fax. Railroad is open from May-September. Free admission.
The Rio Grande at Dusk, Trains of the World Museum, 9160, Saint-Laurent Blvd., Suite 302, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2N 1M9. Open to the public the first Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $6 admission. Private visits can be scheduled anytime for groups of 10-50. Contact Normand Delisle at 514-975-9150 os visit www.museumtrainsoftheworld.com |
International garden railroads
Andi Engi's RhB Gartenbahn, Hotel Bellevue, CH-3823 Wengen, Switzerland, 41-079-682-05-28. Open all year. andi@engi.name, www.andiengi.com
Dundee Railways, N. Balgowlah, NSW 2093 Australia. Open most Sundays. Contact David McNeil, 19 Whiting St, Artarmon, NSW 2064, 04-19-22-22-32, david@daylight.com.au
France Miniature, 25 route du Mesnil, 78990 Elancourt St Quentin enYvelines, France, 08-26-30-40, www.franceminiature.com, info@franceminiature.com
Large Garden Bumblebee Valley Railroad, c/o Stefan M. Kühnlein, Postfach 100702, 95407 Bayreuth, Germany. 0170-4231127. Open from Easter through October. Call or email to arrange a time and date. bumblebee-valley-lgb@t-online.de, www.bumblebee-valley.de
Le Jardin Ferroviaire de Chatte (The Garden Railroad of Chatte), 38160 Chatte, St-Marcellin, France. 04-76-38-54-55.
Le Jaritrain, Chemin neuf, 84210 Saint-Didier, France. 04.90.40.45.18. Open April-October. Groups can be accomodated with reservation. info@lejaritrain.com, www.lejarditrain.com
Merrivale Model Village Railway and Gardens, Peter Williamson, Marine Parade, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR30 3JG, UK. 01493 842097. Open March through October, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until 9 p.m. from July-September. peterwilliamson1@btinternet.com, www.merrivalemodelvillage.co.uk
Mini Israel, Near Latrun, between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, off Highway 1. 972-8-9222444. Open March- November. info@minisrael.co.il, www.minisrael.co.il
Model Railway Village Southport, in Southport, Great Britian. Contact info@visit-southport.org.uk or visit www.visit-southport.org.uk. Phone 01704 533 333 (24 hours)
Pirenarium, Av. del Ejército, 27, 22600 Sabiñánigo, Huesca, Spain. 902 480 001. www.pirenarium.com/es/intro.php
Saxon Garden Railway Centre, (shop with railway), Volkersdorfer Strasse 23, Moritzburg D-01468, Germany, 49-35207-81353. Railway open April through October; shop open year round. Contact Andreas Zimmer, info@gartenbahnen.info; www.gartenbahnen.info
Swissminiatur, CH-6815 Melide, Switzerland. Open everyday March-October, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 011-41-91-6401069. FAX: 011-41-91-6401069, erik@rorsch.nl, Attn: Erik or visit www.swissminiatur.ch
Unnamed railroad, Guerlesquin Bernard, Kerilly, F-29620 Guimaec, France, 02 98 67 41 32. Please telephone before visiting. |
ABOUT THIS ARTICLEAppeared in: April, 2002 issue of Garden Railways MagazineView the Table of Contents of the April 2002 Issue
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