There be TRAINS Running @ the Biltmore Estate!

Where is this Biltmore?

Asheville, NC

http://www.biltmore.com/

Sam

So when will you be working the layout so I can get me own personalized tour?

Steve

Sam, thanks for posting the photos, it looks like a fun place to go and visit.

Very cool. Thanks for sharing, Sam.

Sam, what year was this started????  Have not been up there for several years but never knew anything about this.

Ron

Hmmm, I got 'em running too! 

not much of an estate here though! 

c.sam posted:

The Biltmore Estate has a really nice outdoor RR operating through the first week of Sept in the Antler Village section near the Biltmore Winery. A regional cub, The Piedmont Garden RR Society, was asked to help staff the display to assure good operation for the guests. A handful of us volunteered and had to officially become Biltmore employees to function in that capacity. It was involved with a drug test, background check and a two day on site orientation that was quite interesting and fun. We took an OSHA class as well as back room tours of the main house and winery so that we can be better informed of the place to talk with guests. Us 'older' fellas were in stark contrast to the large groups of 17 - 25 year olds who were hired through various education programs or for regular positions.   The grandson of George Vanderbilt who built the estate who was grandson of 'Cornelius' Vanderbilt talked with us on day 1 for about 30 minutes. He was quite an interesting man and I sensed that he genuinely cared for his employees and it showed in the programs available to us and genuine feeling of 'family' that prevailed among the established employees. If I were a young person I would consider becoming involved in some capacity. Great company!

The display was created by Applied Imagination, a nationally-recognized, award-winning crew of artists, botanical architects, and landscape designers. Depicting the history of the Vanderbilt family and George's marriage and honeymoon, it is very nice and an eye catcher. 5 independent loops wind through the lush landscape. Many flowers are beginning to bloom and the whole thing has a magical, whimsical feel to it. Asheville area has been getting a LOT of rain this past week and today it only let up for a few minutes at a time. Quite a few guests came in spite of the weather and many little faces beamed as they ran around the display, dressed in raingear in wonder.

The layout opened last Friday in the rain and we have been adjusting the locomotives and cars experiencing numerous derailments and breakdowns. Today was a better one - I started the trains by pulling track cleaning cars for 8 - 10 laps on each loop and then let them run with their consists. They performed flawlessly with nary a glitch! In the rain. Without a break. It was a good day...

Great Display, by chance any of the structure's barrowed from the Bronx NY Display?

Engineer-Joe posted:

Hmmm, I got 'em running too! 

not much of an estate here though! 

Looks like a MANSION to me! I will be right over with a six pack!

Can you show us some video?

Each of us works one day with the weekends split in two shifts. Open from 11a to 7p and 9p on weekends. We get there by 9a to clean the track and wheels. They layout is track powered but would be much better if they would go to on board batteries. I'm scheduled for Tuesdays all summer so come on over Steve!   This started last summer and was quite a hit.

Joe, yours is very nice and much larger but do you have a full-fledged Winery next door? Or an Ice Creme parlor?  :-)

Nick, this may be the same outfit but I don't know much about Applied Imagination. You can look them up....

Still raining over here!

I had been there years ago for a vintage car show on the grounds.  When there much later, restoration has been done, and l balked at entrance fee.  In the area again at a Narrow Guage convention, a friend visited it but l did not.  Dunno but will ask if they saw this, but was probably before this was added.

colorado hirailer posted:

I had been there years ago for a vintage car show on the grounds.  When there much later, restoration has been done, and l balked at entrance fee.  In the area again at a Narrow Guage convention, a friend visited it but l did not.  Dunno but will ask if they saw this, but was probably before this was added.

I'm with you on a lot of these things. I just looked it up and it's $57 per-person during the week. I'm sure it's nice, but not sure I would feel I got my money's worth. There's plenty of places to go that I enjoy for a lot less if not free.  

 no and no.... Wait! I do have ice cream!

WOW, wish that had have been there when I lived in Asheville back in 1990-1991.  I was 13 and we had season passes to Biltmore.  Loved just hanging out there.  Haven't been since then.

Sam, who is the artist who made all the wood structures?  Those look like ones made by a local guy.  I had a house made out of a stump from the guy I am referring too but don't know what happened to it.  Would love to find one again.

I really LOVE that layout.  Is there a video of it?

Ohio based Applied Imaginations, founded by fellow Ohio State alum, Paul Busse, has been around for a long time constructing garden railways all over the country (too many to list here). His specialty. along with his crew of artisans, has been in making use of natural materials whenever possible. The results are often astounding.

Sam: 

Wow, that's quite an impressive display and its only temporary!  They always decorate the mansion and the grounds for the Christmas Holidays, do you know if they will have a train display, too, this Christmas?

Bill

You had to become an employee in order to volunteer?  Wow.  That's dedication.

See you on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 after lunch

palallin posted:

You had to become an employee in order to volunteer?  Wow.  That's dedication.

Ha!  They actually do pay us and better than minimum wage plus we get some nice perks. I can go to the grounds anytime and take a guest. There's good fishing in the rear along the French Broad River. A guest would need  a ticket however to go through the house itself. If you've never been, it's worth the price of admission to see it and what they accomplished in the late 1900s. The house itself covers 4 acres - that's 175,000 sq feet.  Just the house. The largest private home in America. I enjoy reading and viewing the old photos taken during construction in the basement. Hard to imagine how they built structures like this at the time.

They have interesting exhibits during the year. Recently was one on the Titanic as the Vanderbilts were scheduled to travel on the maiden voyage when they became homesick and departed a short time earlier on another ship. One of their valets however stayed with their luggage on the Titanic and perished.

Presently, there is a vast amount of blown glass artwork by artist Chihuli that is interesting. Reminds me of John Carpenter's remake of the sci-fi classic 'The Thing' with all the tendrils...

We're having some problems in the area with all this rain - as I was driving out last evening the river that is normally quite tranquil and serene is a raging torrent. I spotted this very large snapping turtle that had escaped the fast water and was crawling into a filed. It's shell was about 21"-23" in length and the tail was almost a foot long! That's a LARGE terrapin...