LYNNWOOD [WA] — Jim Noonan filled a garage-size building in back of his suburban rambler with a masterpiece in miniature.
Over 15 years, he re-created Colorado’s famed Rio Grande Southern railroad, a favorite of model train hobbyists.
Noonan’s scale rendition winds through eerily realistic mining towns with coal heaps and buildings of real wood. Tiny aspens and evergreens add to an optical illusion that transports onlookers to the Rocky Mountains, and back in time.
Noonan died in 2006, at the age of 80. Often, model train layouts get thrown out after their creator goes to the grave.
In Noonan’s case, family members and like-minded hobbyists don’t want to see that happen.
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