Gary and Peggy Martin can see Nogales, Jerome, Monument Valley and the White Mountains from their back yard. They don't have eagle eyes, but they do have Eagle Mountain, their outdoor garden railroad.
Eagle Mountain is just one of eight sites on this year's annual Rails in the Garden tour, sponsored by the Tucson Garden Railway Society. The event, Saturday and next Sunday, is a fund-raiser, and it's the only time the club charges to view the railroads. Proceeds support exhibitions at schools, hospitals and other places.
Named after the Martins' street, Cerro de Aguila, the Eagle Mountain Railroad covers 5,100 square feet of the couple's yard. Several radio-controlled model trains travel over 1,400 feet of track through replicas of Arizona towns, complete with miniature buildings, cars, people and animals, circa the 1930s.
"Everything I built, except the trains and the track. It's all the little things that make the difference," Gary Martin said. He added that it takes at least one hour of maintenance every day to fix fallen figures, tend to the plants and clean debris off the tracks. "It's constant work."
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Though garden railroading is only about 30 years old, it's the fastest-growing hobby among modelers. The major difference is that it's an outdoor activity.
"With indoor (railroading), you have a room and can fill it with whatever you want," Martin said. "Outdoors, you have to deal with the real stuff — nature."
The event will be canceled only in case of extreme weather.
● Anne Gardner is a local freelance writer.
» If you go:
What: Third Annual Rails in the Garden tour
Sponsored by: Tucson Garden Railway Society
When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and next Sunday
Where: At eight homes throughout Tucson. When tickets are bought, maps will be provided with directions to each home. All homes are wheelchair-accessible, but extra assistance may be needed at some.
Cost: $5 per person; $10 for a couple or family. Tickets are available through Friday at Barbeques Galore, 5616 E. Broadway and 5068 N. Oracle Road, and Ace Hardware, 6959 E. 22nd St., from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. To buy tickets on the days of the event, call 551-4699.
Etc.: For more information, call 551-4699 or go to www.tucsongrs.org online.