Paul Busse Garden Railway

The Paul Busse Garden Railway is back at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens from April 25 through January 3, running from the Conservatory station in Columbus. It's a G-scale model railway that's become a regular part of the Conservatory's calendar, and if you've been before, you know the drill: tiny trains winding through miniature landscapes, all set inside the glass houses.

What makes this one different from your typical model train set is how it's built. The railway is the work of Applied Imagination, a studio led by second-generation owner Laura Busse, who learned the craft from her father, Paul Busse. Paul got into G-scale trains in 1975, and in 1982, at the request of then-Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes, he built his first public garden railroad for the Ohio State Fair. That commission sparked his whole approach: freeform architectural models made from natural materials rather than the plastic buildings you usually see in model railroading. It's a slow, painstaking process—each piece takes between 80 and 800 hours to build. The largest one to date, a replica of the Biltmore Estate, took more than 3,000.

The railway has been on display annually since the Conservatory's buildings were first created in 1992 for the Ameriflora international horticulture exhibition, so it's practically a local tradition. It's now part of the permanent collection, acquired with the help of 42 contributors, including the Columbus Garden Railway Society and Deb and Donald Sweet, whose $9,000 gift helped the Conservatory secure it for the 2023 season and beyond.

It's included with general admission, so you don't need a separate ticket to see it—just your regular entry to the Conservatory. It runs from April 25 through January 3 at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Columbus, OH 43203.