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Thursday, May 17, 2007
Rail garden brings joy of trains to public
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You may not know it, but Gwinnett has two new communities.
Ever heard of Vines and Dogwood?
They’re nestled between Grayson and Loganville, fantasy towns that make up Vines Garden Railroad. It’s located in Vines Park, a walk-sit-and- feed-the-ducks facility off Oak Grove Road near Loganville.
This outdoor railroad will blow your mind. It has more than 1,000 feet of G-scale track, eight steam or diesel engines, a 25-foot steel trestle, waterfall, farm, airport and a Wal-Mart.
Yes, a Wal-Mart.
Lawrence McFall and other members of the Vines Railroad Society say theirs is the only public model-train garden in the state. The men ought to know. They are members of the Georgia Garden Railroad Society.
“There are plenty of private ones around here, but you’ll never get in them,” quipped Bob Giselbach of Buford. “You’ll never get an invitation to see those.”
But at Vines, the public’s welcome, and it’s free.
I mentioned the attraction to a few people who have lived in Gwinnett for decades. They’d never heard of Vines Park, much less the Vines Garden Railroad.
On Wednesday, after an invite from volunteers who want to spread the word about the site, the Badie Tour checked it out.
How the rail garden came to be is a story in itself.
John Gibb used to lease the restaurant and catering business that’s still located in the 90-acre park. In the late 1990s, after becoming interested in garden railroads, he invested time and money in designing and building the Vines railroad. The upkeep, coupled with running the business, became a burden.
So he shut the railroad down.
Three years ago, McFall and other volunteers struck a deal with the county. Reopen the railroad as a public garden railroad, and the society would maintain it. The group cleared the site and restored the railroad equipment. It reopened in the summer of 2003.
The society, a nonprofit organization, has only six members. Other volunteers are Ron Nelsen of Loganville, Bill Robertson of Stone Mountain, Hub Evens of Lilburn and Norman Allum of Dacula.
All are retirees, 70-somethings. All are vets. All are loco for locomotives.
“Big boys, that’s what we are,” Nelsen told me. “But mostly, we love the kids coming by. They get a glow over them.”
This is not a cheap endeavor. Despite donations, McFall said members are always dipping into their pockets. He puts the current value of the layout at nearly $20,000.
The railroad is open to the public on Sundays from early May to fall. The society would like to open it on more days but needs help to operate it.
So if you’re a train hobbyist, give McFall a call.
Then you can brag to friends about how you help manage two little-known Gwinnett communities.
• Weather permitting, the Vines Garden Railroad, 3500 Oak Grove Road in Loganville, is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. To schedule a group trip, contact Lawrence Mcfall at 770-554-9697 or e-mail limfixtur@bellsouth.net. Online: www.vinesgardenrail road.com.
• Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com.
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