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Published: April 16th 2009
The Train Trestle
The trestle was built by engineer Jerry Holmes. It is 35 feet long, has 777 hand cut cedar boards and stands 13 inches tall. It can be dismantled into seven 5 ft. sections. Well the holidays were wonderful and the weather was a little cooler than normal here in beautiful Florida.
All the typical holiday parties were loads of fun and the desire for social activities is never lacking at Riverbend.
We had a group here (4 guys and one gal) who wanted to start a miniature railroad. First we jumped through the proper hoops with our management team in order to get this started. The Riverbend and SouthWest Florida Railroad is up and running. The laying of the original circle of track was done by Bill Severns and Jerry Holmes in the spring of 2008.
A train going around in one simple circle however is very boring without having something else interesting to watch. Patti came up with the idea to build a village and Bill came up with the idea of adding on some additional track, reverse loops, and turnouts to make the village more interesting. Jerry Holmes, an engineer by trade, built a 35 foot- long trestle to add more interest and we were off and running. The trains ran in this country from the 1920's through the 1950's and some are still running today from Durango to
The Old Southern Church
No village is complete without the Old Southern Church standing out in the background. Here a little humor was added by having the bride dragging the groom into the church by the collar. Silverton, Colorado. There are 5 trains here in all. The engines weigh as much as 38 lbs. each and are exact replicas of the original trains right down to the latches on the doors and windows. The railroad has become the most popular attraction in the park on Saturday mornings and we now have close to 200 or more visitors each week.
The buildings are all hand made and custom built by Bill Maxey, Bill Bartels and Larry Wall and designed, painted, and decorated by Patti Maxey and JoAnn Wall. They are built to scale of 1:20.3 and must be of the time period from 1920's to 1950. The village is built around the era the trains actually ran in this country and all buildings must conform to that era.
It is a true labor of love and we are having a great time doing it. When the village was started, 12 loads of soil were hauled in to elevate the area for the village. Two rivers were built to connect the village and allow for drainage during the rainy season. Special grass that only grows an inch a year and never needs to be mowed was installed
McMillan's Marina & Crab Shack
What a great place to dock your boat and have lunch on the river! along with other landscaping of natural plants, ferns, and miniture trees.
Once the building of the buildings for the village was started, it took off like a rocket and we spent most of the winter months of December, January, February and March building the town. A total of 67 buildings have been designed and 47 are completed to date. Each building is requested by a resident of the park and it brings back a sentimental memory from their past as they view it each week. During the Christmas season, the village is illuminated at night and we gather on Christmas eve for carolling around the village. We plan to expand the village each year until the area is complete. We have an area called "Alligator Flats" which will be landscaped much like the Florida Everglades with buildings on stilts. There will also be a commercial and warehouse area added along with a tunnel. If you get a chance to visit southern Florida in the winter, come by and see us at Riverbend.
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