- Guest Contributor
All Aboard! The Journey to Yew Dell’s Yuletide Train Village
Way back in 2010, when Yew Dell was still in its infancy, we had an idea: What if we could temporarily transform this already magical property into an even more magical experience- castle, barns, gardens and all? That was the nugget that would eventually become Yew Dell’s Yuletide.
A Holly Day Vision
The brainchild of former Yew Dell board member, Mary Klein, Yuletide was originally branded as Holly Days. It started as a series of workshops – wreath making classes, holiday centerpiece workshops, and programs on traditional holiday greens. But before long it became obvious that it needed more. And Mary knew exactly what it needed. Not just lights and music, but trains… miniature model trains… And of course, there needed to be a miniature village to go with those trains. So just like old St. Nick setting down his sack of presents and getting to work, she set to work to make Yuletide happen.
After seeking out and visiting several large, regional model train shows and telling anyone who would listen exactly what she wanted to do, she kept hearing the same name as the go-to person she needed to find. And quite amazingly, he happened to live just across the river from Louisville.
A Train Enthusiast
Bob Irmscher was already well known across the region as THE go to guy to design and build miniature train displays. His work has been featured in model train layout videos, including a fully landscaped 27’ x 35’ train room at his home. He even designed a fabulous G-gauge garden railway setup in southern Indiana. So Mary invited him, along with a handful of his model train enthusiast friends, to have lunch in the Yew Dell Castle. And over lunch and casual conversation, the combination of Mary Klein’s enthusiasm and Bob Irmscher’s generous spirit hatched the general concept of a project. Bob offered to go home and “think it over.”
Fast forward 51 days and some 260 hours of work, sweat, and creative toil, and Bob was ready to deliver what could only be described as a masterpiece. Four separate segments that can be cleverly unbolted for convenient movement and storage, came together to form a collection of mountains, valleys, rivers, ponds, skating kids, swimming swans, and an entire village of picture-perfect houses, stores, and parks- all impeccably landscaped. And all this was designed, built, delivered and set up as… get this… a volunteer project. Bob even loaned us a couple of his stunningly beautiful train sets for the first few years of Yuletide. A masterpiece indeed!
A Treasured Tradition
Since 2011, each year Bob and a couple of closely trusted friends come to Yew Dell in the fall and spend the day helping our staff bring the whole scene together for another Yuletide. And every year, when the gates of Yuletide open, throngs of kids, young and old, race to the barn to greet what has become a treasured tradition for so many families across the region – almost like greeting a loved family member for a holiday visit.
Thank you, Bob Irmscher!
Our Yuletide train and village are only available to experience during our Yuletide hours. See our Yuletide page for more information.
Dr. Paul Cappiello
Executive Director
