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John Woods’ Arborway, T.T. & Northwestern Railroad

Photos by Richard Schumacher

The Arborway, T.T. & Northwestern Railroad is one of the largest private miniature railroads in North America. It is located on Woodsvalley Farm near Steelville, Missouri. It was the dream of investment banker John R. Woods with five miles of track, two tunnels, one wood trestle, automatic block signals, a ten-stall roundhouse and a 40-foot turntable. A three-story depot building greets visitors as they first arrive. A non-profit private foundation now operates and manages the railroad, preserving John Woods’ dream, making railroading history come alive, and further educating the younger generation on railroading. Find out more at http://www.arborwayrailroad.com/. These photos were taken during a recent tour by members of the Gateway Division NMRA and the St. Louis NRHS Chapter.

Richard Schumacher is the GatewayNMRA.org webmaster and models the transition-era Saint Louis Southern in HO scale. He is the technology manager for the Workforce Solutions Group of St. Louis Community College. Learn more about Richard by following him: LinkedIn - Twitter - Email
  1. Steve Hanson

    The Facebook page just announced that the railway is closing, pending the sale of the property, in hopes that someone with the same love of rail operations as Mr. Woods will buy the land and reopen the railway to the public.