The 2014 NGRC Convention recently took place in Tampa, Florida and I had the honor of sharing my newly created garden railroad with many other railroaders this weekend. I began working on the railroad only a year and a half ago and one of my goals was to be a part of the 2014 layout tour. It took a lot of work to get the San Gabriel & Moonshine Creek Railroad ready for the tour but it was all worth it when I got to meet so many nice people from around the country and the world. We had visitors from as far away as Australia, Netherlands, Germany, and Austria, as well as a few neighbors who had no idea steam trains operated so close by!
The day started early as I needed to spread a few bags of mulch for a walking path because of recent heavy rains. Sure enough, I had my first visitors testing the new pathway as the last bag was being emptied! Shortly thereafter, I heard the hiss of air brakes coming from a charter bus pulling up out front. It was time to stop working and start hosting, which meant I could now play!
Visiting from Arkansas, my father Bruce Stockbridge was a tremendous help in the steam-up bay as the first visitors were welcomed to an engine being fired up for the initial run of the day. He helped keep engines and trains running the entire day. As the CEO of the Possum Grape & Oil Trough Railroad in Little Rock, he also has a huge passion for garden steam trains and I share every bit of it! My mother Carla, was also busy entertaining all the nice folks on the patio and offering cold water to thirsty guests – even though it was early in the morning it was starting to get pretty hot out! Thank goodness for the cool shade the Sunsetter awning offered. She was also a huge help in the days leading up to the tour – her taste in selecting and planting flowers is unmatched! I could not have done this without the help of my wonderful parents.
My very good friend Gerald Cain purchased his first 1:20.3 scale narrow gauge live steam engine only days before and proudly ran his train for all the folks to see. His “backwoods” shay pulling 4 loaded log cars and a hack was truly a sight to behold. Unbelievably powerful for its size, the little engine named “Tilda” easily hauled the 40 lb consist around the railroad at a top speed of 6 mph. Very cool!
It was incredibly gratifying to see so many nice people wandering around my layout all day, taking pictures and asking questions. I also learned a lot about other people’s railroads and I look forward to visiting their layouts someday as well. All-in-all, over 100 people showed up and signed the guest book, leaving wonderful and inspiring comments. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them all for visiting…