History of The GCRR
In the fall of 2003, the first garden railroad in Sun City Grand was developing nicely. Unfortunately, it was developing in the back yard of an SCG resident who subsequently learned that garden railroads are not permitted, per the existing covenants. What to do! The SCG resident complied with the regulations and dismantled his garden railroad. The regular visitors to his budding railroad expressed their disappointment, not only to the railroad enthusiast but to the HOA Office, all hoping for some resolution of the situation.
The home owner developed a proposal to create an outdoor garden railroad to be built in a common area within Sun City Grand. This would be a "SCG Community Railroad" which would enable all railroad enthusiasts within SCG to work together and for all the SCG residents and their guests to enjoy. With the support of several other residents who themselves enjoyed outdoor garden railroading, the proposal was submitted to the CAM (HOA) office who, much to our delight, agreed with the idea.
In December and in a splendid display of support, the CAM Community Standards Office offered us a corner lot bordered on one side by the tennis courts, and by sidewalks on the remaining portion of this plot of land. The SCG resident along with a small group of train enthusiasts met on the very next day to begin laying the track that was donated by the original resident from his first back yard railroad.
This initial group of three SCG home owners designed and built most of what you see on the corner part of the railroad (the “right-hand” side as you approach the layout). These three men contributed their own money and materials to bring the railroad to fruition. Their initial goal was to have trains running by Christmas Day of 2003, just two weeks from CAM’s approval. They were successful!
The railroad was in its embryonic stage relative to what you see today. For example, lacking any electrical outlets, the trains were run from a 12 volt gel-cell battery! The three founders came up with the authentic sounding name of “Grand Central Railroad”, a combination of the famous station in New York City and Sun City Grand.
With track in place and trains running, we needed more members to assist in building up a railroad all would be proud of. The three Founders, who contributed well over $6000 among themselves, were the first Board of Directors. They decided that new members would be charged $150 to join. While this seemed like a lot of money, we had no other source of funds at the time to complete the railroad. Specifically, we needed power supplies to control the trains, electrical wiring to get the power to the track, rail connectors, switches & turnouts, buildings, bridges, ballast and more. Many of the new members simply purchased badly needed items and donated them to the effort. By the end of our first full year, 2004, we had over a dozen new members, all of whom contributed time, work and money to the development of the Grand Central Railroad.
Our public exposure attracted the attention of our neighbors - tennis players, dog walkers, joggers and many other passersby – so we had to erect a low fence around our railroad to prevent curious well-meaning folks and excited grandchildren from walking through the construction site. These visitors began to ask us to post the regular times when we would be running the trains - it is obviously more interesting for residents and guests alike to see the trains operate than to watch the workers placing ballast around the tracks – so we began posting our run times conspicuously around the layout, which continues today. So, from the very beginnings of the Grand Central Railroad, we have been sensitive to feedback from the community to provide many opportunities for SCG homeowners and their guests to watch and enjoy our trains.
Today, you see track expansion through the tunnel, across the sidewalk and into the “triangle” area (the “left-hand” side as you approach the layout). This expansion was approved by the CAM Office in 2006. This wonderful support by our CAM office, our SCG Community, and the hard work of our members, has resulted in creating one of the largest garden railroads in the Phoenix area. We can operate up to 6 or 7 trains simultaneously on some 1,850 feet of track. The combination of track including switches and turnouts, steel buildings, bridges and many other types of structures has a total value well over the initial investment. Needless to say, our "Donation Caboose", with contributions from admiring visitors, has helped significantly along with the $25 annual dues received from each of our present 35 or so members.
A dream that started as a one-man-project in the space of a back yard, is now a very popular Sun City Grand destination, an activity which became a recognized SCG Interest Group, and an entertaining attraction for countless people over the years. But most of all, we enjoy operating our trains and are thrilled to share the delight of garden railroading with our many visitors.
History provided by
Tom Butler, the "First Engineer"
of the Grand Central Railroad