Garden railroad tour includes glimpse of Old West
By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News
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For anyone who would like to take a trip back in time to the frontier
days of Southwest Colorado, that journey is possible in June.
As part of the annual Garden Railroads on Tour, planned for June 12, Bruce
and Nancy Maxwell will host an open house at their large railroad setup
in northwest Fort Collins.
The Maxwell G-Scale railroad, dubbed White Mountain Pacific, features sandstone
mountains, a winding river and numerous scenes from Colorado's Wild West
days. Near the railroad tracks are three mining operations, a stagecoach
chased by marauding Indians, a hot springs with a gypsy camp and even a
house of ill repute. Tunnels, bridges and a gallow turntable complete the
picture.
The set has 250 feet of track and a winding mountain canyon that's 55 feet
long. As many as three trains can run on the tracks at the same time, all
pulled by steam engines.
This year's tour, sponsored by the Northern Colorado Garden Railroaders,
includes eight backyard railroad lines, each a reflection of its creator's
imagination and interests. They feature large-scale model trains in garden
settings of alpine plants, water features and miniature scenes.
For admission, guests may donate cash or nonperishable food items for the
Food Bank for Larimer County and the House of Neighborly Service. The tour
runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and a donation at any location permits access
to all the railroads on the tour.
The Maxwell garden railroad proves the maxim that some dreams never die.
When Bruce graduated from high school in 1952, he wanted to work for a
railroad as an engineer. However, the timing was not good. Railroads were
switching over to diesel engines and laying off their firemen, so the firemen
were snapping up all the engineer positions.
Instead, Bruce learned the trucking trade and stayed in that line of work
for 44 years. As soon as he retired, though, the love of railroads bubbled
to the surface in his backyard.
All those years on the road didn't go to waste, however. On his travels,
Maxwell gathered inspirations for his future railroad. Finally, he brought
all those ideas together in one place.
The Maxwell railroad was begun in 1998 and "finished" in 2004, although
the couple are continuously changing and adding details to the set. For
instance, quipped Nancy, the church in the miniature railroad town can
be the setting for a wedding, a funeral or a hanging. Nancy is the person
responsible for repainting the miniature buildings and people, and she
also does the landscaping.
Construction of the set was complicated because of the high "mountains"
and the water features involved. Bruce started by building wooden frames,
then covering them with screen and stucco. He discovered foam in 2002,
which he could sculpt into any desired shape and then cover with stucco.
"Things went twice as fast after that," he stated.
Once finished, the railroad drew national attention. It was featured a
few years ago on a Home & Garden show, "Offbeat America."
Bruce's dream was to have a setting that couldn't be seen in its entirety
all at once. Visitors who walk around the structure have new scenes to
discover at every turn.
The following are this year's featured garden railroads in Fort Collins:
Bruce and Nancy Maxwell, 1500 Wagon Tongue Drive; Mark Goldrich and Prue
Kaley, 1212 Clark St.; Bath Nursery, 2000 E. Prospect Road; Forest and
Rozella Erickson, 824 Winchester Drive; Del and Linda Tapparo, 4118 Clayton
Court; Glenn and Barbara Shull, 917 Scenic Drive.
The Loveland railroads are at the homes of Ed and Celia Frey, 2175 Evergreen
Place; and Gary and Brenda Wood, 755 W. 10th St.
Maps of the tour are available on the NCGR web site,
http://Clubs.MyLargeScale.com/NCGR.
The NCGR, founded in 1999, has grown from its original 11 members to a
current membership of 46. The club holds monthly meetings, publishes a
monthly newsletter and organizes road trips of interest to railroad buffs.
Visitors and new members are always welcome.
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