Holiday Magic Garden Railroad Display – December 2017

The Central California Coast Garden Railroad Society (CCCGRS) introduced a garden railway display as a new feature to record crowds for the 2017 Holiday Magic celebration at the Charles Paddock Zoo (CPZ) on Saturday, 13 December, 2017.

Zoo Director, Alan Baker, stated “both children and parents were thrilled to see the trains running, many commenting on what a great addition it was to our celebration. On behalf of the zoo staff, he expressed thanks to CCCGRS for bringing the trains to the zoo. The club members had the display decorated and ready to go when our gates opened for the event, even including live landscaping and track side structures. Certainly an amazing job.”

Zoo visitors watch large scale model trains
CCCGRS members constructed and operated a large scale garden railway display for the 2017 Holiday Magic event hosted at the Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero, CA.

CCCGRS members were also excited to participate and share our passion about the hobby. Sheila and Mark Goodman (CCCGRS) shared “it was very exhilarating to see all the happy faces of the children who were excited to watch our trains.” Julie and Walt Wajda (CCCGRS) confirmed these observations. “Children seemed to enjoy trains starting, stopping, reversing and leaving the station” Walt observed. “changes in the routine keeps their interest.”

Zoo visitors watch large scale model trains
Zoo visitors, both young and young at heart, enjoy the CCCGRS garden railway display, which is a new addition to the Holiday Magic event hosted by the Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero, CA.

This year’s event attendance exceeded the 2016 total by more than 100 with over 700 guests participating in the festivities. CCCGRS participation in the event allowed us to introduce a diverse group to our hobby on the day of the festivities, as well as during the several days of construction preceding the event.

Mark Edwards (CCCGRS) noted “on more than one occasion, we had discussions with guests that have large scale trains in their house, were interested in running them outdoors, and were excited to know there is a group of people on the central coast that can help mentor them in the hobby.” Edwards added “we were very please to have such a strong response from CCCGRS membership for this event, including some long-standing members with which we haven’t visited in awhile. We greatly appreciate the over 90 hours of construction and operations contributed to this successful display.”

CCCGRS members in attendance at Charles Paddock Zoo Holiday Magic event
CCCGRS members traveled from Morro Bay, Santa Maria, Arroyo Grande, Santa Margarita and Atascadero to interact with zoo guests.

Lori and Mark Hays (CCCGRS) added “the public response was excellent. Many children and parents were very interested and entertained. We have a few ideas for next year and hope this will be a recurring event!” Alan Baker also expressed his hope that “CCCGRS and the zoo can continue to work together in the future.”

On Sunday morning, when Dennis Cementina (CCCGRS) told his grandson he was going to the zoo to dismantle the garden railroad display, his grandson proclaimed “the trains should stay longer than just one day!” We could not agree more.

Happy Holidays!