Some Landis Homes residents are sharing their passion for model railroading by operating a garden railroad in one of the courtyards on the retirement community’s campus near Lititz.

Luke Bomberger, a member of the Landis Homes courtyard railroad club, said he and other model railroad enthusiasts with G-scale equipment approached Landis Homes in fall 2005 about creating a garden railroad on the campus.

They found a home for the railroad in the courtyard of the assisted-living area. The layout, which first opened last year, is approximately 50 by 30 feet and features about 300 feet of track.

Members of the courtyard railroad club include Frank and Wanda Wilson, John Jake Oberholtzer, Vernon Schroeder, Ken Noll, Mel Burkholder, Roy Horst, Howard Witmer and Charles Longenecker.

A club member is on hand to operate the trains and troubleshoot whenever the courtyard railroad is open.

Last year, the railroad was open only in the mornings, but this year it is open to both residents and the public from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday through October, weather permitting, Bomberger said. Winter hours will depend on the weather.

It is also open during special events, like Saturday’s Spring Farm Day and the Fellowship Day and Auction on Saturday, Sept. 8.

“People would like to see the trains operate all the time, but the equipment would wear out faster and we don’t have the members to staff it,” Bomberger said.

The original layout of the courtyard railroad included two tracks &tstr; a shorter loop for a doodlebug (a one-car train) and a larger one for a passenger train with vintage cars that are pulled by a steam locomotive.

The tracks were laid out to create the design, the design was marked and the tracks taken up, Bomberger said.

Landis Homes maintenance staff then dug a 2- to 3-inch-deep trench where the tracks were marked. Electrical wires were laid in the trench, which was then filled with quarry dust containing one-eighth-inch stones. The quarry dust was compacted and the track placed on top of it.

“The compacted quarry dust makes a real solid foundation for the track, so we don’t have to worry about re-laying it year after year,” he said.

Last year, track was added for a freight train pulled by a diesel locomotive. That train has been wired to blow a diesel whistle at specific points along its track, Bomberger said.

The track layout also includes an arched-girder bridge, made by a Landis Homes resident, and a steel-girder bridge made by club member Ken Noll.

Landscaping for the courtyard railroad was designed and planted by the Landis Homes maintenance staff, which also maintains the plants. They include dwarf conifers, creeping jenny, hosta, sweet woodruff, candy tuft, creeping lemon thyme, Irish moss, Scotch moss and soapwort.

In addition to the trains and landscaping, the courtyard railroad also features a number of buildings. Bomberger made a barn and house, log cabin and shingled cabin, while Noll constructed a granary, which has its own siding.

There’s also a railway station, a church and three stores.

“I enjoy running the trains so people can enjoy them,” Bomberger said. “Getting them running and keeping them running can sometimes be a challenge, but it’s fun.”

Bomberger also has an N-scale model railroad layout in his residence at Landis Homes.

Funding for the project is provided through designated contributions by individuals who support the project, said Landis Homes community relations director Deb Laws-Landis.

For more information or to see if the train is operating, call Bomberger at 581-3878.

source : local.lancasteronline.com