Stanley Schere built his first model train at age 15. Photo by Can Türkyilmaz
Stanley Schere started working on the garden railroad in his backyard 30 years ago. He has 1,000 feet of track, 13 locomotives, 60 train cars and 11 handmade buildings, but this miniature railroad is never finished.
“The devil’s in the details,” Schere says. “I like to do things that are different. I like realistic details.”
A covered bridge over the tracks features miniature workers, frozen in their work to finish up the roof, for example. Schere built that bridge and 10 other buildings from plans, and he puts his personal stamp on each one. He adds steps and ladders where they would make sense, and also signs, lights, flagpoles and people. The engine house has a slate roof composed of tiny tiles. The houses and apartment buildings are based on ones Schere saw in Galveston. He also buys birdhouses at Walmart and makes them over to fit into his railroad, since they are very close to the proper scale.
Schere built his first model train car when he was about 15 years old. It was a Missouri-Kansas-Texas car, from a line known as “the Katy,” and that is still his favorite line.
“They’re hard to find because it’s one of those railroads that no longer exists,” he says.
He recounts a three-minute version of the Katy’s history, hinting at a vast knowledge of the railroad business, past and present. He’s held a lifelong passion for all things rail.
Schere’s garden trains are a little bigger than what most people imagine when they think of model trains. The cars are 17-20.5 inches long and almost 7 inches high, and his track is about 2 feet off the ground.
This isn’t a cheap hobby. Schere says a locomotive can cost between $250-$600, and each car costs between $70-$115.
“It’s expensive, but you don’t blow all that money at one time,” he says. “Four feet of track costs about $20, for example.”
Schere created this railroad world over many years because it makes him happy, and he’s happy to share it with anyone who wants to see. A few times, he’s passed out fliers in his East Dallas neighborhood, inviting neighbors to see the trains run. Few ever come, but Schere runs them frequently anyway.
He does it for the joy of conducting trains.
