This is the Web Site for the LT&S Garden Railroad

Here is our schedule for Operating Sessions/Open Houses for 2012. Some of these dates and times may have to be changed. So be sure to recheck the date and time before you come!

We ask operators to show up as close to the starting time as possible. Others are welcome any time, but we will not have time to chat with people until we get the trains running and the operators settled into their jobs - usually about an hour after the starting time. Send email for directions if you want to attend an operating session or an open house.

March 31, 1:00-3:30

April 14, 1:00-3:30

May 26, 1:00-3:30

June 9, 9:00-11:30

July 21, 9:00-11:30

August 18, 9:00-11:30

September 8, 9:00-11:30

October 20, 1:00-330

November 10, 1:00-3:30

A Railroad in Middle Earth?

If you've read J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classics The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings trilogy, you know that travel in Middle Earth could be both dangerous and difficult. Since Sauron the Necromancer and the goblins and orcs he commanded were destroyed, travel is much less dangerous. The Middle-Earthers began importing narrow gauge steam locomotives from our world by magical means. Now travel is also less difficult. One of the many railroads that have sprung up is the Lake Town & Shire connecting Hobbiton in the Shire with Dale and Esgaroth (Lake Town) on Long Lake. On magical days in spring, summer, and fall, the Lake Town and Shire can be seen when Middle Earth crosses into our world in Athens, Geogia.
Donald and Jane Nute, shown here at Civitas de Bagnoreggio, Italy, operate the Lake Town & Shire in their garden in Athens, Georgia. This 1:20.3 scale narrow gauge railroad in Tolkien's Middle Earth serves Mirkwood Lumber Company and the Mines of Moria as well as Hobbiton, Bree, Rivendell, Lake Town, and Dale. Don and Jane are members of the Georgia Garden Railway Society.

Regular Tomas and vistor Trevor, April 3, 2010.

LT&S regulars Omar and Patrick take a break during a work session.

Use these links to jump to the latest changes in these web pages.

9/30/2010 - Garden Railroads.
This is a PowerPoint presentation used in a class on getting started in Garden Railroads presented for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Athens, Georgia, September 30, 2010.

4/28/2010 - Designing and Building Structures from Wood
This is a PowerPoint presentation used in a clinic at the 2010 Southeast Garden Railroad Show, Dalton, Georgia, May 1, 2010.

5/3/2009 - Operating Sessions in the Garden.
This is a PowerPoint presentation used in a clinic at the 2009 Southeast Garden Railroad Show, Dalton, Georgia, May 2, 2009.

Also be sure to check Donald Nute's Steam Locomotive Photos.

And see the article on the Lake Town & Shire in the Athens Banner-Herald.

 

The Lake Town and Shire is one of 17 garden railroads featured on Garden Railways of Central Georgia. Check out the Creation Trek Productions Website and preview this exceptional video tape.

Page last updated:
Send email to donald@nute.ws.