What Is the Garden Railroad?
The Garden Railroad is a volunteer operated miniature railroad that operates at the LA County Fair. This year’s fair is September 5th – 28th. The fair is open to the public Wednesdays 11am-10pm. Thursdays 11am to 11pm. Fridays 11am to midnight, Saturdays 10am to midnight, and Sundays 10am to 10pm. The Garden railroad operates on Wed, Thurs and Friday 10 to noon for school groups. Then 1pm-8pm Wednesdays through Sundays open for public self-guided tours. The railroad was originally built in 1924, to commemorate the building of the reservoir and became such a crowd favorite that it’s been back every year (except for WWII). According to Blackford, Martha Ed. Orderboard: A Periodic Publication for the volunteer crew. Vol.11- num. 5“Over 1.4 million people attend this annual event [the fair] and many of those enjoy visiting and taking the self-guided tour of the Garden Railroad.”
Interesting Things “Worth Noting”
(also from the Orderboard)“Did you know – The Fairplex Garden Railroad was named so for the 1997 La County Fair. The miniature railroad was originally intended to be a one-time exhibit promoting the development of a local reservoir and recreational area. The first exhibit was for the 1924 Fair and included a static trolley line depicting the Pacific Electric Railroad Company. In 1935 the miniature railroad was moved from the tent to its present location. The miniature railroad has operated for each LA County Fair except during WWII, when the fairgrounds were used by the government. All the original rolling stock was hand-made by the teachers and students at Pomona High School. Converted to G-gauge in 1997. The Railroad is the size of a football field – 100 x 300 feet – and has over 9,000 feet of operating track.”
More information…
According to the LA Fair’s Blog,“…There are 72 volunteers of all ages who put in thousands of hours each year.”Continuing
…“A 1998 study by Brigham Young University found the FGRR to be the oldest and possibly largest miniature railroad of its kind. Begun in 1924, the railroad moved to its current location in 1935. It was switched from a 1/2 scale model to a G-gauge in 1997. According to coordinator Bob Toohey, visitors come from as far as Australia and Germany to see the railroad. During the Fair, 32 different operations run at once, from trains to highways to mining sites.”
More information can be found at: www.fgrr.org There are also pictures of Sinclair’s train on our webpage!
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