The Choo Choo Barn - Strasburg, PA

The Roll Back Tow Truck Animation – UNVEILED!

Kristi — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 01:49:52 +0000

For those of you who haven’t figured it out via Facebook, I am Tom’s daughter. He does all the hard work…he creates these crazy complicated animations, he comes up with the idea to video himself and then he gives the videos to me to review and edit. Usually, I just post them to Facebook and YouTube and everyone is happy.
However, this animation requires something special. I saw this for the first time from a different perspective than you will see it. When I opened up the first video to begin editing, I saw the completed product…just like you would see it on the Choo Choo Barn layout. It was impressive, I’m sure you’ll agree. After a few seconds, I called my husband, James, into the room so he could watch with me. We commented on how smoothly it ran and what a clever idea it is. Then the camera panned back to reveal the mechanics underneath. Our jaws dropped and James said “LOOK AT THAT. That’s absurd.”
I think that pretty much sums it up. “Regular” people visiting the Choo Choo Barn would never imagine that ALL THAT is needed to make one animation work. So thank you for watching these videos that we make in an effort to help you understand the artistry behind the Choo Choo Barn. Well done, Dad…Tom…Mr Groff..
And with that, I give you the Roll Back Tow Truck!

Replacing the Creek Bed @ the Mill

Kristi — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 02:26:29 +0000

The past couple of years, Tom noticed some water was leaking underneath the display at the top part of the water falls on the creek that wraps around the mill and in front of the Boy Scout camp. Tom put a 5-gallon bucket under the leak and whenever he filled the water tanks under the display, he would check the bucket and empty it if needed. It wasn’t a major leak, only about 20 gallons during a season, so it wasn’t an emergency repair like has happened with the creek beds in the past. Well, this was the year to see what was going on. Using a drywall saw, Tom cut a hole in the top of the mountain where the water comes out.

Tom said he remembers when his dad had a leak at the same place many, many years ago. The original trough that his dad built to hold the water before it overflows to the creek was made out of galvanized steel and then covered with fiberglass mat and resin. Fiberglass has a habit of getting pin holes in it and that’s what happened in this case.

Tom’s dad, being almost as resourceful as Tom, used a small, pink, Rubbermaid trash can as the trough. It fit perfectly in the area that was originally made and it was waterproof and would probably last forever. You can see in the pictures from underneath the display how the galvanized steel trough rusted out and where the pink trash can took its place.

Anyway, when Tom cut the piece of landscaping out, he found the reason for the leak. It looks to him like the water supply hose pulled out of the reservoir and water splashes out around the top and spills out into Tom’s emergency bucket underneath. Tom is going to replace the black hose with PVC pipe and fasten it so this will never happen again. He’s also going to coat the bottom of the reservoir with PC-7, his 2-part Epoxy of choice for making and repairing the creek beds. But first he had to clean up his work space with his shop vac, which always looks completely out of place atop the layout!

Of course, what is there has lasted 51 years, so Tom doesn’t think he’ll have to worry about it ever again. Picture of the finished job will follow before everything is put back to normal. Unfortunately, this is a time consuming procedure that no one sees or actually cares about, it’s just part of the normal, yearly maintenance on the display.

Christmas comes to the Choo Choo Barn!

Kristi — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:55:49 +0000

Thanks to a super turnout last year, we’re once again decorating the layout for Christmas! Well, “we” is more like “he”…Tom, that is! We will be closed November 21 and 22 so that Tom can transform the layout into a winter wonderland…in just two days!

We invite you to celebrate the season as the Choo Choo Barn transforms Traintown, USA® to bring the magic of Christmas to our gigantic model train display. The homes and businesses along the tracks will deck their halls to share with the public from November 23 to December 31, 2012.

Search for 51 hidden Santas…that’s right…we’re adding an extra Santa for our 51st year! (and it might just be a “Where’s Waldo” Santa!) Watch as Santa’s sleigh flies above the 1,700 square foot model train extravaganza, which includes 150 hand-built animations and 22 moving trains. Enjoy the holiday decorations throughout the display including holiday lights and the snow-covered landscape. Plus, take a close look at the zoo animals in Traintown to see how they’re getting into the holiday spirit.

Mark your calendar and plan to visit November 23 – December 31!

For a sneak peek at the Christmas layout, click here!

Uncle Leroy’s Ice Cream & Candy Kitchen Set to Open!

Kristi — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 16:59:11 +0000

The Choo Choo Barn proudly announces the grand opening of Uncle Leroy’s Ice Cream and Candy Kitchen on Friday, July 6, 2012. Your visit to the Shops of Traintown will not be complete without a stop at Uncle Leroy’s to see the homemade fudge being turned on not one but two fudge tables! Order an ice cream cone or sundae to beat the heat – then enjoy your frozen confection and sweet treats while admiring the beautiful Lancaster County countryside.
Lunch at Isaac’s Deli, dessert at Uncle Leroy’s and then a visit to the Choo Choo Barn’s gigantic model train layout make the Shops of Traintown a destination not to be missed!

From the Workshop

Kristi — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:12:57 +0000

January is here which means it’s time for me to shift gears and get ready to design and construct new animations and buildings for the display. I have a list of new ideas that will once again “choke a horse”, many of which I won’t get finished, let alone get started. There are also a bunch of “tweaks” that need done that I’ve noticed throughout the year. I’ll try to document them here instead of a separate blog like I did in the past. Of course, we’ll also be posting to FaceBook and making more videos for YouTube. I’ve talked to quite a few visitors this year that really enjoyed my videos so I plan to do as many of them as I can.

My first job is to once again clean my workshop before I can get to work. I spent a lot of evenings and weekends prior to Thanksgiving on Christmas decorations to put on the display for the Christmas season. According to comments on FaceBook and from our visitors at the Choo Choo Barn, our work was a hit. If you visit between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, you’ll get to see the changes. But come next March, all the Christmas decorations come off, the snow gets vacuumed up and the display returns to summer. (I heard a comment that there’s snow on the ground and the people are in the swimming pool. Haven’t you ever heard of heated water?)

So keep coming back and I’ll try to keep you up to date. Watch our FaceBook pages and YouTube channel, too.