There be TRAINS Running @ the Biltmore Estate!

Sam,

Thank you for the photographs!  That garden railroad certainly was not what I was expecting at the Biltmore, but I like it a lot.  Yes I agree with Allan that they are very creative folk!!  

Wow, I only saw a snapper once.  Back 40 years ago I was stopped at a rest stop along Interstate 80, and a guy asked if I wanted to see his watchdog.  I didn't really care, until he threw back a tarp in his pickup bed and there was a snapper with a hole in the edge of it's shell, chained to the bed.  He said someone stole his tools once, but no one goes near his tools with this whopper there.  True story.

c.sam posted:

Hey, I even have that tower! (Sorry Sam, couldn't resist.)

Sorry Joe but here size DOES matter! This one is 14' and has lights!

Did you have any rail corrosion or is it just crud from moisture and particulate?

c.sam posted:

Sorry Joe but here size DOES matter! This one is 14' and has lights!

WOW. I didn't get that from the picture! 

That ain't a terrapin... that's a snapper. (Commonly called an "Alligator snapper".) Give him room... some of 'em can have a downright nasty temperament. Don't let the "turtle" part mislead you about being slow... they can leap quite a ways when attacking. They are also territorial... I've seen one kill one of its own ilk for invading "their" territory.

Andre

Pardon my ignorance, but how do these outdoor setups survive inclement weather?  Are the tracks made of brass or stainless steel?

laming posted:

That ain't a terrapin... that's a snapper. (Commonly called an "Alligator snapper".) Give him room... some of 'em can have a downright nasty temperament. Don't let the "turtle" part mislead you about being slow... they can leap quite a ways when attacking. They are also territorial... I've seen one kill one of its own ilk for invading "their" territory.

Andre

Amen to that Andre!  I was surprised at how quickly the snapper moved to attack the stick of wood the "owner" held into the back of his pickup truck.  I was expecting powerful jaws.  That was the only one I have ever seen!

Yup, Mark! Mean moheenies, they can be.

Saw one bite a broom stick in two like it was a matchstick!!

Andre

I remember coming up on one of those big snappers at a small bridge on winding back road outside of Boone.  Biggest turtle I had ever seen.  A couple then pulled up in a truck going the opposite way and stopped.  The lady gets out and nonchalantly walks over to the big boy, grabs it by the tail and throws it in the pickup bed.  Told us they would be eating it.  I do love turtle soup but wasn't about to approach that thing.  I know they can snap fingers.

Don't think I have ever seen a snapper that big sense.  I know we say everything is bigger here in Texas, but Western NC owns the snapping turtle title in my mind.

I recall the man 40 years ago had an Indiana plate on this truck.  I don't know if any snappers live in Indiana or if he got it elsewhere.

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 *  *  *

Thanks for sharing, Sam!  Wonderfully clever and creative display. You can keep the snapper.

Kind regards,

I'm visiting and staying right beside this layout on July 11, 12, and maybe the 13th, going to ride on the The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad on the 11th also, the steam engine.

That sounds great, Frank!

laming posted:

That ain't a terrapin... that's a snapper. (Commonly called an "Alligator snapper".) Give him room... some of 'em can have a downright nasty temperament. Don't let the "turtle" part mislead you about being slow... they can leap quite a ways when attacking. They are also territorial... I've seen one kill one of its own ilk for invading "their" territory.

Andre

The turtle pictured is a Common Snapping Turtle. The Alligator Snapping Turtle is a different species, with a different appearance. The Common Snapping Turtle is the more aggressive of the two species.

c.sam posted:

If you've never been, it's worth the price of admission to see it and what they accomplished in the late 1900s. Hard to imagine how they built structures like this at the time. 

The late 1800s. Actually, building engineering and design were very sophisticated then. Lots of magnificent structures were built at that time which involved far more expertise than the Biltmore, from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Eiffel Tower. Looking at an enormous European cathedral built in the 1200s - now that is something that's hard to imagine. Or the Taj Mahal, built in the 1600s. Or the Pyramids, for that matter. The Palace of Versailles in France, home of King Louis XIV, built in the 1600s, has over 721,000 sq ft, 700 rooms, and 1250 fireplaces. The Biltmore has about 179,000 sq ft. 

The Biltmore is worth seeing, though. Also worth seeing are the grounds, which were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, America's most famous landscape designer (who also designed Central Park, among other things). 

If you can't visit, rent the movie "Being There."  

Frank, I've taken the GSMRR trip a couple of times. Nice trip. Enjoy it.

Stopped at the Biltmore layout last Thursday evening just before the cloud burst. Very nice job and the attendant was knowledgeable and informative. 

Also rode the GSMRR on Wednesday. They have a great train museum, wandered around for hours.   Rode the blue ridge train on Monday.  My wife is sick of looking at trains. 

  If you head there in fall, you better reserve a room. You might not find one when the leaves change colors. I drove from Detroit to Ashville spur of the  moment once (actually Brevard), couldn't find a room so headed north again. Stopped at every exit to look for one, ended up back in Detroit to sleep. No vacancy from NC till Toledo....my bed was 40min away at that point; I kept going.

Lovely pics, lovely place to visit. I want to go back!