THERE’S A TOY TRAIN IN YOUR GARDEN

Saurabh Tankha

At NeverEnuf Garden Trains near Manesar, Haryana, you turn into Gulliver and watch miniature toy train chug past you

It was in 2001 that I first met Adesh Grover, then 37, with dreamy eyes. A mechanical engineer, he managed an advertising agency, Clairvoyance with wife, Amita. On the top floor of his East Patel Nagar home, Adesh, out of the sight of his neighbours and friends, nursed his secret passion in his limited playground: toy train modelling.

Today, more than a decade-and-a-half later, when we meet again, I find that his passion has grown manifold and moved on from that small room to over 20,000 sq ft and over 500 ft of tracks at his weekend home near Manesar in Haryana. “Model railroading,” explains Adesh, “is the world’s greatest hobby. It does not matter whether you are five or 95, the satisfaction of building and operating a realistic miniature train layout is rewarding and fun and keeps many busy and entertained for hours. And you never get enough of it.” That’s the reason why Adesh calls his toy train garden: NeverEnuf. And it looks more real than real.

NeverEnuf is a garden railroad running “scale model-trains” in a magical, miniature world and presents sights of a world reduced to a scale of 1:22.5 (G scale). Water bodies, rocky hills and bouquets of colourful flowers… NeverEnuf draws you into its miniature world where the trains hurtle across bridges and arduously trudge across hilly slopes. The first track was laid at Manesar in 2010 and over time, the tracks and the structures have grown to dot this green canvas.

Most recently, NeverEnuf has opened its doors for educational institutions as Adesh tells me that young minds should keep getting inspired. “An excursion at NeverEnuf includes an exposition of an operating garden railroad in G and OO scale, an insight into the hobby of rail modelling, interactive automation, RC boats, resource material and educative poster gallery, on-site workshops, DIY projects and activity sheets. All young visitors carry back a dream in their eyes and a “take home: kit comprising how to get started in toy train modelling, an HO scale DIY card building kit and a NeverEnuf visor,” shares Adesh.

All the tracks at NeverEnuf are made of brass that are laid out permanently on the green along with other structures made of UV-resistant plastic. While an engine costs $250, bogeys come between $30 and $600, depending on their size, gradation and manufacturer which includes LGB, Piko, Bachmann, Aristocrat and MTH. The toy train tracks roughly cost Rs 300 per running feet. “Model trains conventionally run on two rail track which is powered by a DC power supply. Voltage supply to the tracks is varied to alter speed and polarity changed to reverse direction of travel. With the advent of Digital Command Control (DCC), toy trains now correspond with the power controller through decoders installed in them and provide use of functions to control sound and light,” informs Adesh.