Alexander City residents, Jeanna and Jeff Brewer have almost 200 feet of railroad
running through their backyard and it's beginning to draw attention from a north
Alabama municipality.
The railroad, which the Brewers call a "railroad garden," is actually a to-scale model complete with railcars and model houses. The locomotives, which rise just about five inches from the tracks, are exact representations of modern-day trains.
Thursday, officials from Gadsden visited the couple's Dadeville Road home to view their railroad garden, and they believe the visit will help them plan a similar project they are designing for one of their city parks, Nocalula Falls.
"We needed to look at a layout and see what was included in it," said Quentin Parey, with the Lookout Mountain Garden Railroad Club Society. Pary is on the planning committee that is designing a railroad garden for the Gadsden park. It will also be comprised of approximately 200 feet of railroad but will cover an area that is roughly the size of a football field and will be modeled after the city of Gadsden.
"This has been a great learning experience because this is going to be similar to what we having in the park," said Kerry Payne, director of parks and recreation for the city of Gadsden.
Jeff Brewer laid the track out about two years ago after spending hours designing the layout of the track. His wife, Jeanna Brewer, said it is reflective of his life-long love of locomotives.
"He is just nuts about trains. It's his hobby," Jeanna Brewer said. "It's unusual … it takes a lot of tedious investments to keep it running."
The Brewers made contact with Gadsden officials through a model train hobby group almost six months ago. They have been in contact through e-mails and phone calls since that time but this visit marks the officials' first trip to see the Brewers railroad garden.
"I just love for people to come see it," Jeff Brewer said. "That's what it's all about."
The purposed railroad garden is just one of several updates Gadsden officials have made to the park in recent years. In 2007 park officials built a new welcome center and souvenir shop and in April they completed a wedding chapel at the park.
They hope that the railroad garden, which they believe will take three years to complete, will draw visitors from across the southeastern United States.
"The city was looking for a new attraction for the park and this fits so well," said Dewey Gray, Vice President of the Lookout Mountain Garden Railroad Club Society. "There (won't) be another one like it."
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Send email to Glenn Brewer at glennbrewer@bellsouth.net.