Fairplex Garden Railroad History

The Fairplex Garden Railroad is located on the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, California.

The railroad began in 1924 by the founder Mr. Hennan Howard and his brother who were members of the Pomona Model Yacht Club. A single Pacific Electric Railway 1200 interurban model ran around the Army Corps of Engineers' Puddingstone Reservoir Exhibit during that year's Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona. The train diorama was to promote the dam, which had just been built. The exhibit later was moved to a tent, and in 1935 to its outdoor location. The railroad was sold in 1958 to Mr. & Mrs. Herman Templin. After the death of Mr. Templin, just before the fair opened in 1968, Mrs. Templin, with the help of her daughter Suzanne and Mr. John Huie, kept the railroad running. In 1970, the Los Angeles County Fair took ownership of the railroad, and Mr. John Huie, under an agreement with fair management, kept the railroad maintained and running through 1996.

The exhibit ran every year for the Los Angeles County Fair except during World War II. The War Era brought a halt to the Fair for six years when the grounds were taken over by the U.S. Army. The first year the fair and the Outdoor Miniature Railroad resumed operations after WW II was in 1948.

The original rolling stock was all "handmade" and ran on one-half inch scale standard gauge custom laid steel track. There were both steam and diesel consists of freight and passenger service running for the enjoyment of fair-goers through various displays of the old town of Pomona and the surrounding countryside. Approximately 2,000 linear feet of underground pipes and conduits support its operation. Nearly eighteen miles of wires operate the electrical system and over 12,000 gallons of water flow through its lakes, rivers, and streams. With over 4,500 feet of track it was, and is today, the largest operating garden railroad in America.

Each year over one million people from all over the United States and the world have attended the Los Angeles County Fair and other annual events held at the fairgrounds. Approximately 750,000 of these each year visit and enjoy this spectacular exhibit.

In April 1997, volunteer model railroad enthusiasts began to upgrade the exhibit with the use of G-gauge materials and rolling stock. Maintaining the original right a ways and roadbed, the original steel rail was removed and over 5,000 feet of new brass rail was installed. The electrical system was also upgraded and re-wired to accommodate the new track and switches. A volunteer crew has devoted more than 16,000 hours on-site to the renovation project between April 19, 1997 and the start of the 1998 Los Angeles County Fair. It is estimated that another 4,000 hours were spent outside the exhibit during this same time with the renovation of the existing and construction of new exhibit model buildings. Work is now underway to complete plans to have the exhibit depict California life from the 1850's through the year 2,000.

Today, the exhibit is most likely the oldest and largest garden railroad in America with over 7,000 feet of track covering a 100-foot by 300-foot area with trains running every year since 1935, except during WWII war years (1942-47). Multiple scenes with four main lines, five trolley lines, two operating truck routes through mountains, farmlands, lakes, rivers, towns and deserts bring the railroad to life. Four interactive areas allow children of all ages to operate trains on ten additional loops and a mountain mining scene.

With the support of the Fairplex Management, the volunteer Fairplex Garden Railroad Crew will continue to create as many pleasant memories for railroaders in the future as this exhibit has in the past.