Columbus Garden Railway Society
Coming Sept 13, 2026
The Columbus Garden Railway Society
2026 Fall Garden Tour
is going to happen, come:
Rain (bring an umbrella), Shine (bring a visor),
Scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 3, 2026
Hours: 1:00 – 5:00 PM
Scroll down to review the PRELIMINARY 2026 tour document
Buttons will remain “under construction” until about 10 days prior to the tour
1 The C,S,T & J Railroad – Owner: Craig & Audrey Bigrigg
(V 1.0 started 27 years ago, V 2.0 in 2005)
2 The Puckerville Railroad – Owner: Camille Petersen – New to the tour
The Puckerville Railroad, with two levels, depicts a small town setting from the 1960’s. The upper level has the town of Puckerville, with the extended area into the herb bed for the municipal buildings, park, ranch and zoo. The lower level is Coal Town with it’s own coal train and mine.
There are many hand made or repurposed buildings, and over 90 handmade people. The plants include shrubs, many herbs and ground covers.
3 The Sweet Hollow RR – Owner: Don & Deb Sweet
4 The Hacker Express RR – Owner: Jed & Michelle Hacker
Celebrating their 10th year on the tour! This European themed garden depicts scenery of Switzerland’s Rhätische Bahn (RhB) meter gauge railroad in the canton of Graubünden accompanied by tourists riding the scenic rack-railroad up the fictitious Der Korkenzieherberg. Alpine horn demonstrations will be given throughout the afternoon. If you experience mal du Suisse, this tour stop is for you. Many miniature trees, plants and succulents accent this well-manicured garden. Parking along the curb either side of Schrock Rd is permitted.
5 The Acorn & Oak Railroad – Owner: Stew and Marcia Flaherty
The Railroad travels varied areas – a small town, a logging camp, a fishing camp, and a manufacturing plant/freight plant. Steam engines from the past combine with diesels of the present. The railroad circles a huge oak tree – hence the railroads name.
6 The Logan Express – New to the tour
coming soon
7 The Forest Park Garden RR – Owner: Tim & Lisa Dove
Started in 2018, our garden railroad was named for the neighborhood where we have lived since 1984. Tim has been a model railroader in N, HO and O scales since a young boy. Lisa is a master gardener through the OSU Extension and responsible for the garden designs. We both enjoy our hobbies and decided to merge the two. The back yard now includes a dog bone loop of 200 plus feet, a crossover loop of 230 feet through the side yard and a fence line point to point of 90 feet. Come and see our work in the gardens, the waterfall / koi pond and train routes.
8 The Crawford Valley RR – Owner: Alvin & Beverly Mann
Since 2005 the Crawford Valley Railroad has served the towns of Crawford and Lily Pad Junction. The train winds its way past the Elk River’s upper and lower falls as it feeds into Lily Pad Lake. The river feeds the Millstream to run the waterwheel at James Frame Mill. The Elk River sawmill is supplied with timber from the surrounding mountains and delivered by the Shay engines designed for the job. The town of Lily Pad Junction boasts diverse industry from farming to wood working and textiles of all sorts. The 1880’s community knows how to work hard and enjoy their leisure as well. Don’t forget to stop by town gazebo and listen to the local jug band. In the town of Crawford, time has moved on to the 1920’s. Motorized vehicles are every where and the newest fascination is the moving pictures house. As you look across the way you will see the community where Thomas and Percy live. The people and children here depend on them to make deliveries and get them from home to work, the park and the country. Come join us for a relaxing afternoon when life was lived at a slower pace and the sound of the steam engine’s whistle sent a thrill through your spirit.
9 The Mad Apple Express – Owner: David & Sherry Bush
Come one, come all! The circus has come to the Mad Apple Garden Railway! This will be the Mad Apple’s 5th year on the Columbus Garden Railway tour but this year will feature some minor track changes and an all new circus theme layout and train. The plants are blooming in the 10×14 pond with koi and goldfish and a double spill waterfall where two trains will pass over the different levels. Come sit by the pond, relax, watch the bear fishing in the stream and enjoy some trains.
Be sure to pick up a scavenger hunt and search for all the hidden gems.
10 The Marhefka Express – Owner: Ron & Deb Marhefka
Our garden railroad setup is an example of a smaller layout. The track is a 14 X 20 ft loop with a sideline by the train station. The buildings represent a small farming community, with a variety of flowers and ground coverings.
11 The B & K Railroad – Owner: Beth & Kent Kloes
The Grove City edition of the B & K Railroad was started in 2018 with a single loop in front of the house. It expanded in 2020 to the south side and back of the house, and has acquired a theme of West Virginia logging communities – Hosterman, Durbin, and Cass. The B&K features a Climax engine (the engine used in Hosterman, according to a descendant of that family,) on the front loop, which represents that village. The railroad then winds down the south side of the house through the village of Durbin, and on to Cass in back of the house, which features a Shay engine, the primary geared locomotive used there.
Hosterman continues to grow and now has a point to point track from the train station to the sawmill / general store area. A recreation area is under development in the center of the town.
The village of Cass is still developing. Cass now includes a station and two “company houses”, a sawmill, and a sand station before the big climb to the logging camp on the north end of that section. A point to point Paul Bunyon line connects the train station area to the logging area.
Our railroad is named The KPW Line, the Kiousville-Palestine-Warnersville Railroad which we started in 2006. It is about 1,000 feet, with three main lines that encircle two ponds and a sunken patio and a third loop around a lighthouse that sits over a underground lake (septic tank). There’s also a trolley that runs down the middle of the street where the town will be constructed once the depression is over. We have an inside trains storage yard. We run steam and diesel engines and a railbus. We also have a rock garden and four flower gardens that the trains run through. We use track power for the locomotives – all of which are radio-controlled. PLUS we have a live steam engine.
13 The Buchanan Express – New to the tour
coming soon
14 The Inniswood Metro Gardens RR – INNISWOOD METRO GARDENS
The Inniswood Metro Garden layout was built in 1998 and was restored in 2021, and features many miniature hostas. Trains run every Saturday and Sunday 11 AM – 4 PM, May thru October by metro park volunteers.