by Mary Jo
Christmas decorations are being packed away now, and that includes train gardens, which might be a custom unique to Baltimore. I was once told that they're done in Pittsburgh, an industrial city rather like Baltimore and not far away, but when I googled "train 
," the only hits I got were for locations with them in the Baltimore area.
Basically, train gardens are train sets on steroids. I'm told they began at firehouses, where the firefights often had time on their hands so at Christmas they would build elaborate train environments for people in the community to come in and enjoy.
I don't know when this custom began–I'm not a native of these parts–but it is well established. Does it have anything to do with the fact that Baltimore is the home of American railroading? Haven't a clue!
The train garden I'm most familiar with is built annually at a small but lively local mall. It's enormously complex and I believe the assembly work is done by volunteers, and some of the mall merchants provide financial support. Here's a picture of this year's from the mall's website:
Really, this is all hearsay! But one true fact is that EVERYONE loves the train garden, all ages from infants to oldies! Parents hold little kids on their shoulders. Slightly larger kids 
leave nose prints on the barriers around the exhibit. When I was there before Christmas,
a half dozen young people in wheelchairs were tootling around the edges and enjoying the show. Often one must wait for people to move away in order to get up to the glass wall around the exhibit.
So enjoy the train garden pictures. Do they have any such custom where you live? I'd love to know more.
In the meantime–toot, toot to you all!
Mary Jo
Toot! Back at’cha, MJ. Potpourri of thoughts:
– My Chicago-raised husband, a precocious child, was on the old Whiz Kids radio show (produced in Chicago) in the 1940s. He was sailing along, doing very well, when he was felled by one question: What is the railroad capital of the world? Turned out, the answer was … Chicago (where all the tracks of America criss-crossed). He was still kicking himself for not getting that right years later. [But I can sympathize. I missed the Trivial Pursuit question: In what state is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado?, the week before I moved to Arizona.] So it looks like Baltimore had competition on the train front.
– Illustrating Chicago’s claim, when I was a little girl my mother and I would travel several times a year from our home near Detroit, Michigan (Lower Peninsula, for anyone who thinks the Midwest is just a fly-over zone), to her family home in the Upper Peninsula. The only way to get there without a car (this, too, was in the 1940s) was by train … train to Chicago, transfer to another station, and overnight train through Wisconsin. We’d leave Chicago in autumn and wake up in the UP in winter. I loved pulling back the upper-bunk window curtains to see the frost on the window and snow on the ground.
– My grandparents’ Victorian home was on a bluff overlooking Lake Superior. About halfway down the bluff was a “ledge” where the train ran twice a day, once in each direction. We couldn’t see the train, but about a minute before it went past, the house would start to shake and the china rattle. I’d go running to the gingerbread balcony and wait for the steam smoke —puff, puff, puff—to show the train’s passage. I never tired of that little game.
– A friend of mine has what one could call a train garden on steroids. His vast basement is filled with an accurate replica of his city, Tempe, AZ, in 1958. Including railroads, shops, vehicles, and even a grain elevator that no longer exists. He’s still adding to it. It’s so big now, there are lifting sections to allow real humans to move from one section to another. The trains are pretty much gone now from Tempe, but their legacy lives on in that basement.
– About a mile from my home, in the heart of Scottsdale, we have the McCormick Railroad Park, a life-size train garden, with numerous actual engines and cars and a good-sized track for them to run on. Right now, the park is decorated in a big way for Christmas, and there are nightly rides through the lit-up trees. One of them that can be seen from Scottsdale Rd. Is so fantastic I wish I could post a photo here.
Goodness, I didn’t realize I had all those thoughts on trains. I’ve always associated them, though, with travel and adventure. There are still trains in my life. In Arizona, I’ve taken a train to the Grand Canyon (you know, “of the Colorado,” lol). I’ve toured all kinds of old trains in Colorado (fun!), and last year I took a rail tour of northern India. Maybe I’ll get to see the Baltimore train gardens … putting that on my bucket list right now!
Toot! Back at’cha, MJ. Potpourri of thoughts:
– My Chicago-raised husband, a precocious child, was on the old Whiz Kids radio show (produced in Chicago) in the 1940s. He was sailing along, doing very well, when he was felled by one question: What is the railroad capital of the world? Turned out, the answer was … Chicago (where all the tracks of America criss-crossed). He was still kicking himself for not getting that right years later. [But I can sympathize. I missed the Trivial Pursuit question: In what state is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado?, the week before I moved to Arizona.] So it looks like Baltimore had competition on the train front.
– Illustrating Chicago’s claim, when I was a little girl my mother and I would travel several times a year from our home near Detroit, Michigan (Lower Peninsula, for anyone who thinks the Midwest is just a fly-over zone), to her family home in the Upper Peninsula. The only way to get there without a car (this, too, was in the 1940s) was by train … train to Chicago, transfer to another station, and overnight train through Wisconsin. We’d leave Chicago in autumn and wake up in the UP in winter. I loved pulling back the upper-bunk window curtains to see the frost on the window and snow on the ground.
– My grandparents’ Victorian home was on a bluff overlooking Lake Superior. About halfway down the bluff was a “ledge” where the train ran twice a day, once in each direction. We couldn’t see the train, but about a minute before it went past, the house would start to shake and the china rattle. I’d go running to the gingerbread balcony and wait for the steam smoke —puff, puff, puff—to show the train’s passage. I never tired of that little game.
– A friend of mine has what one could call a train garden on steroids. His vast basement is filled with an accurate replica of his city, Tempe, AZ, in 1958. Including railroads, shops, vehicles, and even a grain elevator that no longer exists. He’s still adding to it. It’s so big now, there are lifting sections to allow real humans to move from one section to another. The trains are pretty much gone now from Tempe, but their legacy lives on in that basement.
– About a mile from my home, in the heart of Scottsdale, we have the McCormick Railroad Park, a life-size train garden, with numerous actual engines and cars and a good-sized track for them to run on. Right now, the park is decorated in a big way for Christmas, and there are nightly rides through the lit-up trees. One of them that can be seen from Scottsdale Rd. Is so fantastic I wish I could post a photo here.
Goodness, I didn’t realize I had all those thoughts on trains. I’ve always associated them, though, with travel and adventure. There are still trains in my life. In Arizona, I’ve taken a train to the Grand Canyon (you know, “of the Colorado,” lol). I’ve toured all kinds of old trains in Colorado (fun!), and last year I took a rail tour of northern India. Maybe I’ll get to see the Baltimore train gardens … putting that on my bucket list right now!
Toot! Back at’cha, MJ. Potpourri of thoughts:
– My Chicago-raised husband, a precocious child, was on the old Whiz Kids radio show (produced in Chicago) in the 1940s. He was sailing along, doing very well, when he was felled by one question: What is the railroad capital of the world? Turned out, the answer was … Chicago (where all the tracks of America criss-crossed). He was still kicking himself for not getting that right years later. [But I can sympathize. I missed the Trivial Pursuit question: In what state is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado?, the week before I moved to Arizona.] So it looks like Baltimore had competition on the train front.
– Illustrating Chicago’s claim, when I was a little girl my mother and I would travel several times a year from our home near Detroit, Michigan (Lower Peninsula, for anyone who thinks the Midwest is just a fly-over zone), to her family home in the Upper Peninsula. The only way to get there without a car (this, too, was in the 1940s) was by train … train to Chicago, transfer to another station, and overnight train through Wisconsin. We’d leave Chicago in autumn and wake up in the UP in winter. I loved pulling back the upper-bunk window curtains to see the frost on the window and snow on the ground.
– My grandparents’ Victorian home was on a bluff overlooking Lake Superior. About halfway down the bluff was a “ledge” where the train ran twice a day, once in each direction. We couldn’t see the train, but about a minute before it went past, the house would start to shake and the china rattle. I’d go running to the gingerbread balcony and wait for the steam smoke —puff, puff, puff—to show the train’s passage. I never tired of that little game.
– A friend of mine has what one could call a train garden on steroids. His vast basement is filled with an accurate replica of his city, Tempe, AZ, in 1958. Including railroads, shops, vehicles, and even a grain elevator that no longer exists. He’s still adding to it. It’s so big now, there are lifting sections to allow real humans to move from one section to another. The trains are pretty much gone now from Tempe, but their legacy lives on in that basement.
– About a mile from my home, in the heart of Scottsdale, we have the McCormick Railroad Park, a life-size train garden, with numerous actual engines and cars and a good-sized track for them to run on. Right now, the park is decorated in a big way for Christmas, and there are nightly rides through the lit-up trees. One of them that can be seen from Scottsdale Rd. Is so fantastic I wish I could post a photo here.
Goodness, I didn’t realize I had all those thoughts on trains. I’ve always associated them, though, with travel and adventure. There are still trains in my life. In Arizona, I’ve taken a train to the Grand Canyon (you know, “of the Colorado,” lol). I’ve toured all kinds of old trains in Colorado (fun!), and last year I took a rail tour of northern India. Maybe I’ll get to see the Baltimore train gardens … putting that on my bucket list right now!
Toot! Back at’cha, MJ. Potpourri of thoughts:
– My Chicago-raised husband, a precocious child, was on the old Whiz Kids radio show (produced in Chicago) in the 1940s. He was sailing along, doing very well, when he was felled by one question: What is the railroad capital of the world? Turned out, the answer was … Chicago (where all the tracks of America criss-crossed). He was still kicking himself for not getting that right years later. [But I can sympathize. I missed the Trivial Pursuit question: In what state is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado?, the week before I moved to Arizona.] So it looks like Baltimore had competition on the train front.
– Illustrating Chicago’s claim, when I was a little girl my mother and I would travel several times a year from our home near Detroit, Michigan (Lower Peninsula, for anyone who thinks the Midwest is just a fly-over zone), to her family home in the Upper Peninsula. The only way to get there without a car (this, too, was in the 1940s) was by train … train to Chicago, transfer to another station, and overnight train through Wisconsin. We’d leave Chicago in autumn and wake up in the UP in winter. I loved pulling back the upper-bunk window curtains to see the frost on the window and snow on the ground.
– My grandparents’ Victorian home was on a bluff overlooking Lake Superior. About halfway down the bluff was a “ledge” where the train ran twice a day, once in each direction. We couldn’t see the train, but about a minute before it went past, the house would start to shake and the china rattle. I’d go running to the gingerbread balcony and wait for the steam smoke —puff, puff, puff—to show the train’s passage. I never tired of that little game.
– A friend of mine has what one could call a train garden on steroids. His vast basement is filled with an accurate replica of his city, Tempe, AZ, in 1958. Including railroads, shops, vehicles, and even a grain elevator that no longer exists. He’s still adding to it. It’s so big now, there are lifting sections to allow real humans to move from one section to another. The trains are pretty much gone now from Tempe, but their legacy lives on in that basement.
– About a mile from my home, in the heart of Scottsdale, we have the McCormick Railroad Park, a life-size train garden, with numerous actual engines and cars and a good-sized track for them to run on. Right now, the park is decorated in a big way for Christmas, and there are nightly rides through the lit-up trees. One of them that can be seen from Scottsdale Rd. Is so fantastic I wish I could post a photo here.
Goodness, I didn’t realize I had all those thoughts on trains. I’ve always associated them, though, with travel and adventure. There are still trains in my life. In Arizona, I’ve taken a train to the Grand Canyon (you know, “of the Colorado,” lol). I’ve toured all kinds of old trains in Colorado (fun!), and last year I took a rail tour of northern India. Maybe I’ll get to see the Baltimore train gardens … putting that on my bucket list right now!
Toot! Back at’cha, MJ. Potpourri of thoughts:
– My Chicago-raised husband, a precocious child, was on the old Whiz Kids radio show (produced in Chicago) in the 1940s. He was sailing along, doing very well, when he was felled by one question: What is the railroad capital of the world? Turned out, the answer was … Chicago (where all the tracks of America criss-crossed). He was still kicking himself for not getting that right years later. [But I can sympathize. I missed the Trivial Pursuit question: In what state is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado?, the week before I moved to Arizona.] So it looks like Baltimore had competition on the train front.
– Illustrating Chicago’s claim, when I was a little girl my mother and I would travel several times a year from our home near Detroit, Michigan (Lower Peninsula, for anyone who thinks the Midwest is just a fly-over zone), to her family home in the Upper Peninsula. The only way to get there without a car (this, too, was in the 1940s) was by train … train to Chicago, transfer to another station, and overnight train through Wisconsin. We’d leave Chicago in autumn and wake up in the UP in winter. I loved pulling back the upper-bunk window curtains to see the frost on the window and snow on the ground.
– My grandparents’ Victorian home was on a bluff overlooking Lake Superior. About halfway down the bluff was a “ledge” where the train ran twice a day, once in each direction. We couldn’t see the train, but about a minute before it went past, the house would start to shake and the china rattle. I’d go running to the gingerbread balcony and wait for the steam smoke —puff, puff, puff—to show the train’s passage. I never tired of that little game.
– A friend of mine has what one could call a train garden on steroids. His vast basement is filled with an accurate replica of his city, Tempe, AZ, in 1958. Including railroads, shops, vehicles, and even a grain elevator that no longer exists. He’s still adding to it. It’s so big now, there are lifting sections to allow real humans to move from one section to another. The trains are pretty much gone now from Tempe, but their legacy lives on in that basement.
– About a mile from my home, in the heart of Scottsdale, we have the McCormick Railroad Park, a life-size train garden, with numerous actual engines and cars and a good-sized track for them to run on. Right now, the park is decorated in a big way for Christmas, and there are nightly rides through the lit-up trees. One of them that can be seen from Scottsdale Rd. Is so fantastic I wish I could post a photo here.
Goodness, I didn’t realize I had all those thoughts on trains. I’ve always associated them, though, with travel and adventure. There are still trains in my life. In Arizona, I’ve taken a train to the Grand Canyon (you know, “of the Colorado,” lol). I’ve toured all kinds of old trains in Colorado (fun!), and last year I took a rail tour of northern India. Maybe I’ll get to see the Baltimore train gardens … putting that on my bucket list right now!
Mary M, I love these stories. My dad grew up in the UP and talked of taking trains into WI and to Chicago,but I never thought about how one got over to the Lower Peninsula before the bridge.
When I saw the title of this post,I was expecting it to be about Xmas train displays _at_ gardens. Olbrich Gardens here in Madison does one every year,and I was sad to miss seeing the one in New York this fall,but it opened one day after I was headed home.
Mary M, I love these stories. My dad grew up in the UP and talked of taking trains into WI and to Chicago,but I never thought about how one got over to the Lower Peninsula before the bridge.
When I saw the title of this post,I was expecting it to be about Xmas train displays _at_ gardens. Olbrich Gardens here in Madison does one every year,and I was sad to miss seeing the one in New York this fall,but it opened one day after I was headed home.
Mary M, I love these stories. My dad grew up in the UP and talked of taking trains into WI and to Chicago,but I never thought about how one got over to the Lower Peninsula before the bridge.
When I saw the title of this post,I was expecting it to be about Xmas train displays _at_ gardens. Olbrich Gardens here in Madison does one every year,and I was sad to miss seeing the one in New York this fall,but it opened one day after I was headed home.
Mary M, I love these stories. My dad grew up in the UP and talked of taking trains into WI and to Chicago,but I never thought about how one got over to the Lower Peninsula before the bridge.
When I saw the title of this post,I was expecting it to be about Xmas train displays _at_ gardens. Olbrich Gardens here in Madison does one every year,and I was sad to miss seeing the one in New York this fall,but it opened one day after I was headed home.
Mary M, I love these stories. My dad grew up in the UP and talked of taking trains into WI and to Chicago,but I never thought about how one got over to the Lower Peninsula before the bridge.
When I saw the title of this post,I was expecting it to be about Xmas train displays _at_ gardens. Olbrich Gardens here in Madison does one every year,and I was sad to miss seeing the one in New York this fall,but it opened one day after I was headed home.
Wonderful train stories, Mary M! Your husband needn’t have kicked himself because the question was ambiguous: Chicago may well have had the most railroads crossing, but Baltimore was where American trains began, and we have the fabulous B&O (Baltimore and Ohio) museum to prove it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_the_United_States
The British also might argue about that ‘railroad capital of the world” question: London, anyone? *G* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_the_United_States
The rail trip of Northern India sounds wonderful!
Wonderful train stories, Mary M! Your husband needn’t have kicked himself because the question was ambiguous: Chicago may well have had the most railroads crossing, but Baltimore was where American trains began, and we have the fabulous B&O (Baltimore and Ohio) museum to prove it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_the_United_States
The British also might argue about that ‘railroad capital of the world” question: London, anyone? *G* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_the_United_States
The rail trip of Northern India sounds wonderful!
Wonderful train stories, Mary M! Your husband needn’t have kicked himself because the question was ambiguous: Chicago may well have had the most railroads crossing, but Baltimore was where American trains began, and we have the fabulous B&O (Baltimore and Ohio) museum to prove it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_the_United_States
The British also might argue about that ‘railroad capital of the world” question: London, anyone? *G* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_the_United_States
The rail trip of Northern India sounds wonderful!
Wonderful train stories, Mary M! Your husband needn’t have kicked himself because the question was ambiguous: Chicago may well have had the most railroads crossing, but Baltimore was where American trains began, and we have the fabulous B&O (Baltimore and Ohio) museum to prove it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_the_United_States
The British also might argue about that ‘railroad capital of the world” question: London, anyone? *G* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_the_United_States
The rail trip of Northern India sounds wonderful!
Wonderful train stories, Mary M! Your husband needn’t have kicked himself because the question was ambiguous: Chicago may well have had the most railroads crossing, but Baltimore was where American trains began, and we have the fabulous B&O (Baltimore and Ohio) museum to prove it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_the_United_States
The British also might argue about that ‘railroad capital of the world” question: London, anyone? *G* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_the_United_States
The rail trip of Northern India sounds wonderful!
Amy J, railroads are fun, especially for little boys of all ages! The train gardens in firehouses might be a Baltimore thing, but certainly there are outside train set ups like what you’re describing. And they are all delightful to visit!
Amy J, railroads are fun, especially for little boys of all ages! The train gardens in firehouses might be a Baltimore thing, but certainly there are outside train set ups like what you’re describing. And they are all delightful to visit!
Amy J, railroads are fun, especially for little boys of all ages! The train gardens in firehouses might be a Baltimore thing, but certainly there are outside train set ups like what you’re describing. And they are all delightful to visit!
Amy J, railroads are fun, especially for little boys of all ages! The train gardens in firehouses might be a Baltimore thing, but certainly there are outside train set ups like what you’re describing. And they are all delightful to visit!
Amy J, railroads are fun, especially for little boys of all ages! The train gardens in firehouses might be a Baltimore thing, but certainly there are outside train set ups like what you’re describing. And they are all delightful to visit!
I am a train fan. Unfortunately, from a distance. But, I loved this post and the pictures. I was born near Chicago, and I can tell you that railroads abound around that area…or at least they did.
My Grandfather was an engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio. I guess loving trains are in my blood.
I am a train fan. Unfortunately, from a distance. But, I loved this post and the pictures. I was born near Chicago, and I can tell you that railroads abound around that area…or at least they did.
My Grandfather was an engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio. I guess loving trains are in my blood.
I am a train fan. Unfortunately, from a distance. But, I loved this post and the pictures. I was born near Chicago, and I can tell you that railroads abound around that area…or at least they did.
My Grandfather was an engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio. I guess loving trains are in my blood.
I am a train fan. Unfortunately, from a distance. But, I loved this post and the pictures. I was born near Chicago, and I can tell you that railroads abound around that area…or at least they did.
My Grandfather was an engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio. I guess loving trains are in my blood.
I am a train fan. Unfortunately, from a distance. But, I loved this post and the pictures. I was born near Chicago, and I can tell you that railroads abound around that area…or at least they did.
My Grandfather was an engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio. I guess loving trains are in my blood.
Love this post and the idea of all the train gardens, Mary Jo. My cousin had an amazing train set. My uncle was an engineer and he built a base the size of the room that lowered from the ceiling, leaving a circular space in the middle where my cousin sat, lord of all he surveyed. And on the base were hills and valleys, tunnels, trees, houses and everywhere train tacks winding through. It was brilliant. And when my cousin was finished, a flick of the switch and the whole thing would rise to the ceiling.
Love this post and the idea of all the train gardens, Mary Jo. My cousin had an amazing train set. My uncle was an engineer and he built a base the size of the room that lowered from the ceiling, leaving a circular space in the middle where my cousin sat, lord of all he surveyed. And on the base were hills and valleys, tunnels, trees, houses and everywhere train tacks winding through. It was brilliant. And when my cousin was finished, a flick of the switch and the whole thing would rise to the ceiling.
Love this post and the idea of all the train gardens, Mary Jo. My cousin had an amazing train set. My uncle was an engineer and he built a base the size of the room that lowered from the ceiling, leaving a circular space in the middle where my cousin sat, lord of all he surveyed. And on the base were hills and valleys, tunnels, trees, houses and everywhere train tacks winding through. It was brilliant. And when my cousin was finished, a flick of the switch and the whole thing would rise to the ceiling.
Love this post and the idea of all the train gardens, Mary Jo. My cousin had an amazing train set. My uncle was an engineer and he built a base the size of the room that lowered from the ceiling, leaving a circular space in the middle where my cousin sat, lord of all he surveyed. And on the base were hills and valleys, tunnels, trees, houses and everywhere train tacks winding through. It was brilliant. And when my cousin was finished, a flick of the switch and the whole thing would rise to the ceiling.
Love this post and the idea of all the train gardens, Mary Jo. My cousin had an amazing train set. My uncle was an engineer and he built a base the size of the room that lowered from the ceiling, leaving a circular space in the middle where my cousin sat, lord of all he surveyed. And on the base were hills and valleys, tunnels, trees, houses and everywhere train tacks winding through. It was brilliant. And when my cousin was finished, a flick of the switch and the whole thing would rise to the ceiling.
You come by it honestly, then! There is something quite addictive about trains. *G*
You come by it honestly, then! There is something quite addictive about trains. *G*
You come by it honestly, then! There is something quite addictive about trains. *G*
You come by it honestly, then! There is something quite addictive about trains. *G*
You come by it honestly, then! There is something quite addictive about trains. *G*
Wow, I’d love to have seen your uncle’s train set! I’ve never heard of one like that that just magically descended, but the Mayhem Consultant has an old college friend (a lifetime journalist at the Baltimore Sun), whose whole basement is filled with a whole train world. He gave us a private viewing once. Such attention to detail!
Wow, I’d love to have seen your uncle’s train set! I’ve never heard of one like that that just magically descended, but the Mayhem Consultant has an old college friend (a lifetime journalist at the Baltimore Sun), whose whole basement is filled with a whole train world. He gave us a private viewing once. Such attention to detail!
Wow, I’d love to have seen your uncle’s train set! I’ve never heard of one like that that just magically descended, but the Mayhem Consultant has an old college friend (a lifetime journalist at the Baltimore Sun), whose whole basement is filled with a whole train world. He gave us a private viewing once. Such attention to detail!
Wow, I’d love to have seen your uncle’s train set! I’ve never heard of one like that that just magically descended, but the Mayhem Consultant has an old college friend (a lifetime journalist at the Baltimore Sun), whose whole basement is filled with a whole train world. He gave us a private viewing once. Such attention to detail!
Wow, I’d love to have seen your uncle’s train set! I’ve never heard of one like that that just magically descended, but the Mayhem Consultant has an old college friend (a lifetime journalist at the Baltimore Sun), whose whole basement is filled with a whole train world. He gave us a private viewing once. Such attention to detail!