Designed and maintained by the Wichita Area Garden Railway Society, the Gene E. Spear Railroad Garden fills a wooden hillside tucked behind the Sally Stone Sensory Garden. Model passenger, freight and work trains feature realistic replicas and run daily.
Traveling through miniature communities, landscapes and countryside, the model railroad garden operates from March through September and during Illuminations, weather permitting. Thoughtful details build the bright world around them and delight Botanica visitors of every age.
Dedicated: 2012
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Feature Facts
- Passenger trains are streamliner cars pulled by F-7 diesels in the Santa Fe War Bonnet paint scheme.
- Freight trains include various engines pulled by a Mikado Steam locomotive.
- Work trains are cars used in the Maintenance of Way (MOW) and pulled by a small 20-ton diesel.
- During Illuminations, the Polar Express, a Mikado, leads standard Pullman-type passenger cars with figures of children and baggage cars.
- The track is Gauge One and made of brass with plastic ties. The model trains are scaled relative to the size of real trains at the ratio of approximately ½ inch to one foot.
- Trains on the tracks are subject to change based on availability.
