Grand Scale trains

Many of us can fondly recall the small train sets that operated at fairs, zoos, parks and even the occasional drive in theater. Trains such as this reached their peak popularity during the “Baby Boomer” years. While some of these trains still operate around the country, most such attractions have faded away.

Several years ago, two such park train sets were donated to the Southeastern Railway Museum by Ben and Joy Black. These train sets (2 Locomotives, and 8 Passenger Cars) were originally purchased, and used at the Birmingham Zoo. They were manufactured by the Miniature Train Company in 1957, and used by the zoo until they were retired in 1976. The 900 and 902 train sets are pictured to the left in their original “as built” paint schemes (at the Birmingham Zoo).

As you might expect, this is an expensive undertaking for the museum. This being the case, the track installation will be divided up into two development phases.

Phase #1, will consist of the installation of ~1600 feet of track along with the restoration of one locomotive & two passenger cars.
The Phase #1 layout can be seen in the drawing to the right and is represented by a solid blue line. We expect this phase to be started in the spring of 2010.

Phase #2 will add another 2500 Feet of track. The expected start date for this phase is in the Fall of 2011. The Phase #2 layout is represented by a dashed blue line in the layout drawing.

To see the plan better and some of ths opportunities to support it, please click here.