This detailed exhibit of Prince Edward Island has just gone on display at Railroads on Parade in Pottersville.
A new 140+ square foot, scale model railroad exhibit of Prince Edward Island, which was commissioned by a wealthy New York City financier for his family’s weekend retreat, has come home to roost as the newest expansion of the popular Railroads On Parade attraction that just opened last summer. Owners Clarke and Barbara Dunham, along with their talented studio staff at Dunham Studios spent over 2500 hours creating this nautical masterpiece.
The new Prince Edward Island exhibit contains 52 buildings, several of which are exact small scale replicas of original buildings seen by visitors on the island today. Meticulously replicated are lighthouses and the Anne of Green Gables house, which are then complemented by a myriad of detailed other structures typical of this Canadian sea island community. There are people doing day-to-day tasks, automobiles and of course trains–this is after all Railroads On Parade!
Four operating HO gauge trains are interwoven on a track that laces the Prince Edward Island countryside. Made possible with the latest computer chip technology that Dunham Studios also utilizes to provide similar exciting and seemingly non-stop action with all of their realistically themed diorama exhibits which include more than fifty trains and trolleys, 2500 feet of track, 100’s of scale model buildings and 1000’s of trees that incorporate the entire 5000+ feet of displays at this unique attraction. Upon its return to Pottersville, a new day and night lighting feature and computer control system was also installed on the PEI display for even more dramatic effect for visitors.
Dunham Studios has been making commissioned railroad exhibits for over two decades, they average four per year, but many go to private owners never to be seen by the general public. The Prince Edward Island creation was returned when the private owner sold their weekend retreat and felt the best place for the massive display was where others could enjoy it as they have, so they asked Railroads on Parade to have it installed as a fixture in Pottersville.
Co-Owner, and award-winning Broadway set designer, Clarke Dunham notes, “Some commissions, like the Prince Edward Island piece, make themselves memorable just by their subject matter and the possibilities they present. The result was, I believe, one of the best and most interesting exhibits we have ever built, another being the Exhibit at the North Creek Depot Museum depicting the Delaware and Hudson Railroad’s Adirondack Railroad (now the Saratoga & North Creek Railway). In both of these exhibits we were able to develop a complete perspective effect creating a total visual link with the backdrops regardless of where you stand as an observer and in which the buildings and scenery actually diminish in perspective size as well. It’s an amazing result.”
Railroads On Parade is located just minutes from Exit 26 on I-87/The Adirondack Northway and is now open for the season. Check their website www.RailroadsOnParade.com for more information including schedule of operation, or call 623-0100.