(Posted Aug. 28, 2023)
The Columbus Garden Railway Society’s fall garden tour is set for 1-5 p.m. Sept. 10. It features working model train displays that run through outdoor gardens. Sixteen model train enthusiasts are opening their yards for the tour. Admission is free. The event goes on rain or shine.
The home of Briane and Connie Spangler of Mount Sterling is among this year’s stops. Their “Kiousville, Palestine and Warrensville Railroad” is located at 8905 McKendree Rd. in Mount Sterling. Established in 2006, the display includes 1,000 feet of track with three main lines that encircle two ponds and a sunken patio and a third loop around a lighthouse that sits over an underground lake (a septic tank). The steam and diesel engines and rail-bus also run through a rock garden and four flower gardens.
The Spanglers’ miniature town setup also includes a trolley that runs down the middle of the street and an inside trains storage yard. The Spanglers use track power for the locomotives, all of which are radio controlled, and they have a live steam engine.
The Spanglers have participated in the fall garden tour for several years.
Other displays on the tour can be found in the Columbus, Dublin, Grove City, Johnstown, and Marysville areas. More information about the Columbus Garden Railway Society and the complete list of stops on the tour can be found by visiting the group’s website, https://thecgrs.org/2023-rr-tour/.
