Randy & Jacquie Banks

The Sparrow Flats Railroad

Indiana Large Scale Railroaders
Layout Open House June 21, 2008

The Sparrow Flats Railroad was started in 2003 as a small oval of track and small flower bed. After a few years of trial and error, this railroad has evolved into a beautiful and fun to watch layout with plenty of trestle work and an inviting water pond. The name Sparrow Flats Railroad was chosen because of a fond memory from a 2006 trip to Russia to the elite neighborhood of Sparrow Hills in Moscow. Since they live in the flatlands of Indiana, yet have many sparrows locally, Randy and Jacquie modified the name Hills into Sparrow Flats to be more consistent with their surroundings.

The entire layout is a single track that includes a "figure eight" and an oval area located across a small rushing creek. The layout rambles around a fish pond, which is landscaped with multiple perennial plants, plus a few annuals for color. The whimsical village of Sparrow Flats is comprised of birdhouses along with "bird" people that inhabit the area. (Information from the July/August 2008 ILSR Newsletter)

Host Randy enjoys a break (above) before an emergency call sends him to the water's edge (below) to right a sinking boat in the fish pond. David Palmeter Photo