FARMINGTON — Steve Flanders has never met a train he didn't like.
He got his first model train for Christmas when he was about 5 or 6. "I don't remember a year I didn't get one after that." Something about those trains captured his interest, his imagination and a piece of his heart. "From my earliest memory, I've enjoyed trains. And I always wanted one outside my house."
If you visit Flanders' home in west Farmington, you'll see that he has achieved his lifelong goal — except he doesn't have just one train in his back yard, he has dozens of them. His S&S Shortline Railroad Park & Museum, which opened in September 2002, boasts 11,000 feet of 7 1/2-inch rail and 5,000 feet of 24-inch gauge rail. Riding those rails are more than 90 engines and cars in both sizes.
He has a 1914 Model T Rail Bus, an electric trolley, a caboose with a working coal-burning stove and a turn-of-the-century D&RGW narrow-gauge boxcar. His pride and joy is a Crown Steam Locomotive.
In addition, there are bridges and tunnels and railroad crossings. There's a museum housed in the station, which is a replica built from plans he got from Union Pacific for a 1920s freight station. There are buildings where trains are stored and a workshop where Flanders designs and builds new engines.
And more track, more trains, more accessories are being added all the time. He has plans for a little lake that will attract waterfowl. He wants to add little replicas of famous buildings to create a kind of village. He wants to scatter sculptures, including one of a hobo taking a bath, along the track.
"I'm afraid it's a work-in-progress for my lifetime," Flanders said with a laugh. "I have way too many ideas of what I'd still like to do."
In a classic case of "if you build it, they will come," he now gets about a hundred people a day who stop by to ride the trains. "We get a lot of preschool and school groups and a lot of senior centers, so we get them from both ends of the spectrum," he said. "We recently had a busload come down from Barton Creek, and we calculated that the average age of the group was 92. They had the absolute time of their lives riding the trains."
In order to pay for insurance, and to pay his daughters' salaries, he has started charging — $2 and $3 for children and adults for the large train, and $3 and $4 for the small train. Group rates and multi-ride tickets are also available. Trains depart every half-hour or so, beginning at 10 a.m. daily, except Sunday.
Flanders also plans special activities. An Easter egg hunt in April drew lots of youngsters. In December, he does a variation of the "Polar Express," where he reads the famous children's story and takes riders through Christmas lights and displays.
Every now and then, he sponsors a Hobo Night. To get in, people just have to bring something that can go into stew — a potato, a can or beans or some such thing. "And they have to bring a story. Then, we put all the food in a pot to cook into stew, and while it's cooking, we sit around the fire telling tall tales of life on the rails."
Sometimes old-timers like to come by just to watch the trains, "so we have lots of places to sit." And he has some friends who own small trains; they will sometimes bring them down to run on his rails. "The most trains we've ever had running at one time was 28," he said. Most days, about five trains are out at any one time.
The S&S Shortline Railroad (the S's stand for Steve and his wife, Susan) actually got started in 1975. "I spent time in Colorado, pulling railroad track out of some uranium mines so they could be opened again." But it took 20 years before he started laying track. "I spent a lot of years gathering material and then trying to figure out what it do with it. My collection was out of control by then," he said with a laugh.
Flanders moved to Farmington 21 years ago, where he has 10.5 acres. Originally, the idea was to give his wife room to raise miniature horses. The first track was just a circle in his back yard. "Now I've got buildings everywhere filled with trains. We never stop laying track. I should have been content with that little loop," he said, ruefully.
It began simply as a hobby, Flanders explained. "So everything's built to fit me. If you're no taller than I am, you can go under any bridge without ducking."
But it's been a lot of fun. A recent addition has been a 66-foot tunnel that goes under the Union Pacific railroad. "It's the only place in the country, as far as we know, where a small train actually runs under a real train." It was no small task getting permission, he said, "but the Union Pacific has been very generous with donations and projects. They've been very supportive."
A lot of the material in his museum has come from donations, he said. "People who had a brother or a father who worked for the railroad, and they had things they didn't know what to do with. That's how we got our conductor's uniform, for example."
He has railroad tools, china from dining cars, old locks and lanterns, rule books. Not all of it is old. "The railroad people drop off a lot." Most recently, an instruction card that went into effect on April 6, 2003. "But I like the old stuff best. It's kind of fun to have schedules for trains where there aren't even any tracks now."
That nostalgia is part of the appeal of the park, said Flanders. "At least with Grandma and Grandpa. With kids, I don't know. There is just something about trains that works as a magnet. Kids get here, and the excitement level is overwhelming."
It has been a lot of fun for his own children and grandchildren as well. He and Susan have seven children and five grandchildren, and most are or have been involved with the park.
"It's pretty cool," said son Justin, who now gets to drive a lot of the trains. He likes "feeling the power." His favorite is the steam engine, but on any train, "it's fun to see the excitement on the kids' faces."
Michael also likes driving the trains, but the best part, he said, "has been getting to know Dad better. We've worked at his side here for eight years. We've seen his love for trains. He's taught us a good work ethic. The trains have brought our family closer."
If you go
What: S&S Shortline Railroad Park & Museum
Where: 575 N. 1525 West, Farmington
When: 10 a.m. daily, except Sunday
How much: $2-$3 to ride the large train; $3-$4 to ride the small train
Phone: 801-451-0222
E-MAIL: carma@desnews.com