By Peter De Keles

Author  Bio This year, from November 22nd to December 1st, the G-Scale holiday layout is ready to greet the masses in Ashland, Kentucky

Appearing for ten days a year, the Wonderland Railway amazes all during the Festival of Trees and Trains in Ashland, Kentucky. This year, from November 22nd to December 1st, the G-Scale holiday layout is ready to greet the masses.

The layout is constructed over the balcony seats and stairwells of the historic Paramount Arts Center. In 2005, the train was added to the festival to increase attendance; it has succeeded. Now, more than 12,000 people visit the festival to see the remarkable display.

The main focus of the display is G-Scale, with over 1,000 feet of track, winding through the community of "Wonderland." For nine years, volunteers have built buildings, trestles and bridges, continually adding features to please the crowds. All buildings are created from Garden Texture designs, based on the largest scale of G-Scale, 1:24. The large scale is appropriate for the historic theater's 70 foot ceiling, and expansive auditorium.

The trestle and bridge system was created to soar over the stairwell by a volunteer (customer of Garden Texture) from Washington D.C, who himself had hundreds of trestle bents in his own yard, making him an "expert" trestle builder.

Throughout the years, other features were added to delight the audience. Four additional G-Scale features including a canyon with a lake, coal train and power plant, a valley with a logging train and an operating chairlift, a suspended doodlebug track and a coal tipple with a mine train were added.

In addition to G-Scale, a N-Scale "garden railway" winds around Santa's home at the North Pole, an HO sleigh ride travels from the Inn to the Depot and a Z-Scale (hand carved) train circles a tree near the toy store.

The layout is the masterpiece of many volunteers who give countless hours to the success and beauty of the project. The entire platform is first a construction project. To build the platform over the seats, it takes a crew of 10 people a full day (and sometimes night) to construct. Once the layout is square and ready, the track laying crew spends another day doing their part.

For yet another day, all track and switches are wired individually. For this task, volunteers must climb over and around the theater seats and under the layout. The remaining three days of set-up are filled with volunteers adding features like the skating ponds, chairlift, lights, and of course, the trains. When all systems are "go," the arts and decoration crew come in, place trees and throw snow to place the finishing touch on the breathtaking layout.

Even though volunteers work on the project throughout the year, the layout is only displayed during the festival during a short time-frame in November. People travel from hundreds of miles to see the display and to marvel over the construction of an intricate layout built over challenging terrain.

For more information about the layout and the festival, please visit the Paramount Arts Center

Comment

AH, wish I could see it in person, it looks fantastic... Congrats to that group for doing such a huge endeavor... Maybe Tom is close enough to visit it in person and can give us his report?

Elaine Haggenbottom - 11/15/2013 - 15:30

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P.S. Even the snow looks so realistic, do you think they take it from outside?

Elaine Haggenbottom - 11/15/2013 - 15:31

train display

I KNOW how much work it takes to do one of these -- I put up a display at our church and it takes ME a month -- thats no where as big as this... I have only 2 weeks this year because Thanksgiving is so late ... oh well- what I get done, I get done .. But congrats to all involved with this ensdeavor . Carl kokes

carl kokes - 11/15/2013 - 16:06

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