Why I Oughta...

I was out walking one morning and came across this little garden railway.  It is not too far from our house, but I've never come across it before, despite walking around for the past few years.  It totally reminds me of the Epcot garden train that is just outside the Germany Pavilion - I've posted a photo of that railway here . This setup isn't huge - maybe eight feet by six feet and has a couple of switches and fie buildings.  There is no locomotive or rolling stock out, so I'm guessing that they run this seasonally.  The pond is a nice touch, too.  There's a little bench for kids to sit in on the far left of the photo above, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that this is a grandpa's house/railway that he runs with his grandkids. I *think* this is O Gauge - or thereabouts - and not a big garden train nor a train the size of Walt Disney's where you could ' ride aboard '.  There are a few cars from the Carolwood Pacific Railw...

I've written about the Carolwood Pacific Railroad twice before on the blog here.  First, was in 2016 when we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge Villas - which has a Carolwood Pacific Room adjacent to the lobby .  In the room, there's a bunch of Carolwood Pacific stuff, but the centerpiece is pair of actual cars that came from rolling stock.  Then in December, I posted a photograph from that same room that showed Walt himself operating the locomotive (Steam!) with a few folks on board the Carolwood Pacific.  This post features a photo that I took inside of One Man's Dream at Hollywood Studios .  The description accompanying the photo of Walt oiling the steam locomotive metions that that their home was in HOlmby Hills.  Here's a Curbed LA post about the property (which, I think has a house that was built in 2001 and NOT the home that Walt lived in.  But...does mention the Carolwood Pacific).  I've been fascinated by model trains (thanks, Dad!...

Last Friday, I posted some images from the Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge from the trainroom that featured Walt's Carolwood Pacific line .  In looking through some photos from that same visit, I found this one above that shows Walt himself riding the very Carolwood Pacific line.  Sure, the train line and track layout is neat, but look at that berm?!?  And all the variation in his elevations.   According to Forbes , it was four acres (and they apparently built a new massive house in 2001), so he had plenty of space to spread out.  A guy can wish, right?

If you find yourself down in Orlando at Disney's Wilderness Lodge, take a moment to head over to the Villas - which have been recently renamed the Boulder Creek Villas - and go to the "train room".  There, you'll see a bunch of stuff from the Carolwood Pacific train line.  That's the line that ran in Walt Disney's backyard.   They have two of the cars there that you can check out: I took some other photos of the train room (it is a neat space with a roaring fireplace and lots of comfy chairs) that I'll post at some point.  But these two cars, and the box they're in - which has a tramp art style to it - are the stars of the show.  Take the ten minutes after your meal in the Lodge to wander over to the Villas to check them out.  Neat stuff.