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A four-story mannequin practice set depicting components of Arizona, on the Capitol Museum. Photograph: Jeremy Duda/Axios
Mannequin trains and Arizona historical past are colliding on the state Capitol in a undertaking that takes individuals again to the Nineteen Fifties, when the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe railroads dominated the state.
Driving the information: Volunteers with the Arizona Railroad Historic Society have been engaged on a practice mannequin that fills the higher a part of a second-floor room of the outdated Capitol.
- It has eight impartial loops of observe, stacked into 4 ranges, with exquisitely detailed landscapes representing numerous factors of curiosity from alongside the tracks, as they appeared about 70 years in the past.
- Work started on the undertaking round June 2018, with an interruption for the pandemic in 2020. The estimated completion date is ready for the summer season or fall of 2024.
- The mannequin is about 65% finished, Craig Faris, the society’s vice chairman, tells Axios. He mentioned about 50,000 man-hours have gone into the mannequin to this point.
![A model of Tucson's Hotel Congress along a model train track](https://images.axios.com/ul6B2iZnAeGYF8i-ENPr6AmvNaY=/2022/12/12/1670876278457.jpg)
Particulars: The landscapes and buildings characterize nearly each nook of the state, with the railroad starting in Yuma and winding its technique to Williams, the terminus of the Grand Canyon Railway.
- The Williams space and the Grand Canyon are nonetheless beneath development.
- The landscaping consists of wildlife, akin to a coyote stalking a herd of antelope and a tiny jackalope sitting close to Picacho Peak.
- They’re additionally designing a lighting system that may mimic a 24-hour cycle each 20 minutes, so guests will be capable of see it lit up at “night time.”
![A model of the historic Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott Arizona](https://images.axios.com/kHGOlnLMADrGyza0cPRIGlhS3cw=/2022/12/12/1670876154066.jpg)
1 journey down reminiscence lane: Historic buildings, a few of which now not exist, are depicted alongside the rail line, just like the outdated Tovrea Stockyards on Washington Road in Phoenix or the fruit-processing buildings that have been an necessary a part of Tempe’s economic system.
- They’re planning so as to add different bygone landmarks, just like the outdated Invoice Johnson’s Large Apple on Van Buren Road, which opened in 1956 and closed in 2015.
- Different historic websites that also exist are proven as they have been within the Nineteen Fifties, just like the Capitol, Phoenix Union Station and Hayden Flour Mill.
![A partially incomplete plaster model of the south rim of the Grand Canyon facing a panoramic photo of the north rim](https://images.axios.com/yp6ayD_Yl3I3In6VdN3GZYFkHfA=/2022/12/12/1670876020779.jpg)
What they’re saying: Whereas most mannequin railroads are concerning the trains, Jesse Poole, the society’s former president, advised Axios that the mannequin on the Capitol, which he designed, is about utilizing the railroad as a medium to show Arizona’s historical past.
What’s subsequent: The society’s lease on the Arizona Capitol Museum is up in spring 2024, however Faris says they hope to increase it.
Jeremy’s thought bubble: I ended by to get a couple of fast pictures and ended up staying for lots longer than I anticipated whereas Poole confirmed me round. I used to be very impressed, and I might love to come back again with my youngsters. He even let me run one of many trains!
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