1370 Ontario St. - Mezzanine, Cleveland, Ohio 44113 • (216) 241-2630 / Fax: (216) 241-6516

Train enthusiasts build working track in back yard MASSILLON, Ohio -- Two friends have turned their lifelong love of trains into a miniature backyard railroad, according to a wire service. Tucked away in a wooded 5-acre lot behind Larry Volzer's northeast Ohio home in Perry Township is a train that runs on nearly a mile of hand-laid track. Each train car is about 5 feet long and can hold two adults. Volzer, 64, and his friend, Derald Kraft, 78, began building their Great Northern Ohio Massillon Eastern Railroad Co., which they call GNOME, in 1986 and are still making changes. So far it features a covered bridge, nine engines and a warning signal at the crossing that intersects Volzer's driveway. Smiling gnome statues can be spotted as the cars curve through the trees and over hills. "We run it just to run it," said Kraft, an electrical engineer. "I like to build stuff. I build engines in cars. I always had trains." Kraft said he remembers that as a child he would build train models out of cardboard. Kraft "did the engineering expertise for seeing it was done right," Volzer said. "I did the laying of the track and the buying of the material." Volzer has wanted to create a backyard train since 1959 when he saw the one his cousin, Clyde Blile, had built in Mentor. But it was not until 1985 when he bought his house that he had the time, the place and the money to do it. As for the money aspect, "I figured if I could eliminate one new car in my life, it would take care of the railroad, and that's about what happened," he said. Volzer and his wife, Kathy, ride the train to different parts of the yard to work on their garden or have an outdoor meal. They don't, however, open the track to the public. "It's not a public track; it's a private hobby," Volzer said, although he has let children in scouting groups or schools and a few church groups go for rides. Volzer built the railroad simply because he enjoys it. "Rather than going to ball games or playing golf or going down to the local tavern, I play with my trains," he said. Tuesday, August 27, 2002 © 1997-2010 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen

Safety Task Force Hotline
800-306-5414

Decertification Helpline
800-393-2716

DAILY HEADLINES
September 2, 2010

•	BNSF worker on cell phone killed by Northstar train

•	Amtrak: Some Virginia service canceled in preparation for Hurricane Earl

•	SEPTA pilot program to capture, reuse subway energy

•	Railroad shares up at the close of September 1 trading

•	NJ Transit pays $267 million to purchase 100 new rail cars

•	NJ Transit seeks to add WiFi to rail lines, train stations

•	Texas DOT seeks TIGER II grant for Tower 55 project

•	Norfolk Southern targets carbon emissions-reduction goal

•	Progress Rail, NS announce order of four locomotives powered by Caterpillar engines

•	Firefighters have BNSF tie fire under control

•	BNSF railroad yard's health impacts studied

•	French railway faces criticism in US for WWII role

•	Steamtown's Railfest on the right track

•	RRB: Summary of annual financial report to Congress

•	Credit for military service under the Railroad Retirement Act

•	Railroad Retirement Board 2010 informational conferences

More Headlines

Enter your e-mail address to receive BLET news updates.

Subscribe  Unsubscribe