Paul Busse Garden Railway @ Franklin Park Conservatory

On July 1st Joan and I visited the Franklin Park Conservatory, not far from downtown Columbus, to check out the Paul Busse Garden Railway on its opening day. (It runs through January 10th). We signed up for the 9:00am admission of the members preview because we knew the day was going to be oven-hot in direct sun; the air temperature later reached 90°F (32°C). The lower angle of the morning light was an unanticipated bonus for photography.

We had a short walk to reach the railway after checking in, and on our way we halted to admire this topiary elephant.

 The G-scale installation was on the far side of the main plaza.

A closeup of the first sign (click on the image to enlarge).

The Conservatory often has a small indoor railway set up over the Christmas holidays, but it's just a speck compared to this Paul Busse creation, which you walk around, through, and even under.

A full-size version of the video clip is here.

The statistics of this project are impressive,

but they don't capture the detail that inhabits it. And let's not ignore the fact that the entire exhibit, except the trains and tracks, was built with natural materials.

The pathways that branch out from the wide central and encircling boulevards are marked as one-way: "enter here" and "exit only," but the restriction is impossible to enforce. Joan and I meandered through twice, finding more to see the second time. Thematically the installation is divided into four "lands," Fairytale, Wild West Town, the animal-themed Who Lives Here, and European Travels. I'll offer up a series of photos in no particular order; after all, everyone picks their own route through.

Looking in from one of the shady spots.

Don't forget to click on any image to enlarge.

The little folks need to lean in to study the buildings.

Note the vines used as bridge arches.

The elevated railway, one of nine train sets, circles most of the installation.

A beer shipment for the old lady who lives in the shoe.

Use your wide-angle eyeballs and you'll see simultaneous goings-on.

The European Village.

I loved this scene, with the elevated railway, two other loops, and the lighthouse plus waterfall.

  
I liked it so much I tweaked my photo using the Deep Dream Generator web site. Deep Dream takes an image you supply plus a style you choose, and applies the style to the image. It can produce psychedelic or other extreme transformations, but I experimented with the settings to achieve the look of a painting with slightly different color tones.

The High Castle of Fairyland.

This image of Rapunzel in her tower isn't sharp, but when enlarged you can see her hair falling all the way to the ground, ending in a red bow.

A more unusual feature was a "tree" you could enter,

with mosses garlanding the walls and pinpoint lights that changed color suspended from the ceiling.

The high track that passes the lighthouse and waterfall, from another angle.

A second waterfall is just above this locomotive.

An overview of the Wild West.

I hope this report has whetted your appetite to see the Paul Busse Garden Railway. My photos are superficial compared to the Real Thing.