The Garden Railway
"Architectual Wonders of the World"
Grand opening on Memorial Day Weekend,
Saturday, May 24th and running through October 13th.
Upcoming Garden Railway Events
Scores of new buildings at the Morris Arboretum’s Garden Railway this summer will transport visitors to the far ends of the earth. Spanning the globe, visitors will experience magical visits to:
The Great Wall of China (China)
The Taj Mahal (India)
Hagia Sophia (Istanbul)
Tikal (Guatemala)
Maachu Picchu (Peru)
Petra (Jordan)
Buddhist Temple (Nepal)
The Castle of the White Tower (Japan)
The Giza Pyramid
The Alexandria Light House (Egypt)
The Eiffel Tower (Paris)
The Garden Railway building are the creation of famed garden railroad architect, Paul Busse who designs elaborate, three-dimensional structures made of natural materials. Amazingly accurate in detail, his creations look remarkably like they were constructed from actual building materials. Only upon further inspection can the natural materials be identified as bark, leaves, twigs, hollow logs, mosses, acorns, dried flowers, seeds and stones.
These perfectly proportioned miniature landscapes, complete with rivers and waterfalls, are set within the beauty of the Arboretum’s summer gardens. They include a quarter mile track featuring seven loops and tunnels with 12 different rail lines, two cable cars, and nine bridges (including a trestle bridge you can walk under).
Visitors of all ages cannot help but be delighted by the bustling G (for garden)-scale model trains running through a summer landscape. Each year, the Arboretum’s Garden Railway designer, Paul Busse, works with Arboretum horticulturists to design an ever-changing environment for visitors to enjoy. Busse has designed and created exhibits nationwide from The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) to the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
The display is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekends through early fall. Thursday evenings the Arboretum is open until 8:00 p.m. in June, July and August. The display is free with regular admission ($10 adults, $8 Seniors, $5 Students and Youth (3-18), under age 3 is free). Lunch is available daily at the Morris Arboretum Café from 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., and dinner is available on Thursday evenings until 7:30 p.m. through August 31st.
