Catch the train at Rails in Garden Tour this weekend
by Larry Copenhaver on Feb. 27, 2007, under Education, Local
Jane Dorgan is surrounded by trains and model towns that she and her husband put together.
Sometimes, catching the train can be as easy as stepping into the garden.
But only if you’re really small.
These trains are part of Tucson Garden Railway Society’s Rails in the Garden Tour, where members’ imaginations in gardening meld with modular large-scale model railroading, said Jane Dorgan, a modeler since 1999.
Dorgan’s garden railway project, the Red Rock Railroad, includes more than 600 feet of track, 500 human figures and six operational model trains.
It will be on display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday as part of the group’s annual Rails in the Garden Tour, said tour chairman, Robert “Dirk” Dirksen, 70. The tour features eight garden railway projects that use “G” gauge equipment, he said (a “G” gauge train is any train of a larger scale usually designed to run in a garden). One of the largest is an extensive project created by several residents of a recreational vehicle park.
Another project uses considerable rock work and numerous bridges and trestles, Dirksen said. And there is one that features tracks winding through a landscape of mountains, deserts and lakes.
Visitors won’t want to miss the Gnome Valley Railroad, created by a member who uses a wheelchair and offers a special stop on the tour for people with disabilities.
Tickets are available, Dirksen said. Proceeds go to fund public model-train exhibits at nonprofit organizations and at the Pima County Fair, as well as promoting the organization.
Displays such as Dorgan’s are works of art, Dirksen said. Dorgan, working with her husband, Mike, built dozens of structures. They included homes, rail-yard equipment, bridges and a scale model of the Birdcage Theater in Tombstone.
“We went to Tombstone to make sure ours was an accurate depiction,” said Dorgan, 68, who created most of the objects from raw materials. Her project includes three towns, one with a cable car, stage station, beer hall and wagon works.
Each of Dorgan’s three track loops features cars playing music, from mariachi to circus selections. Up to eight trains run on her rails.
Dirksen said members’ love for trains and project-building is natural for retirees because trains were a big part of their lives when they were young.
“When I was a boy, I lived in northern Ohio. We had two railroads that went through our town,” he recalled. “I lay awake at night listening to those trains. I loved them. They were our access to the rest of the world.”
That’s why the main goal of the society is to have fun. But members also want to educate the public about railroads and railroad modeling, especially garden railways, Dirksen said.
Horses, humans, buildings and lampposts grace a miniature town in Jane and Mike Dorgan's yard. Jane created most of the objects from raw materials.
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IF YOU GO
What: Rails in the Garden Tour
When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Cost: $5 single; $10 family
Where: Directions come with ticket purchase
Contact: Call 409-3269
For more on the Rails in the Garden Tour, go to http://tucsongrs.org.
