Sunset Hill's Illiana Train Society

I T S Construction Progress #1
Building the "Bull Moose Line" at Sunset Hill Farm Progress. #1 May 1, 2018







                                                      Sunset Hill Farm May 1, 2018

Ground Breaking Day

Ground breaking took place on May 18, 2018 at Sunset Hill Farm County Park for the proposed Sunset Hill's Illiana Train Society "Bull Moose Line" train garden. The completed venue is expected to open to the public  in the Spring of 2019.
Participants: (left to right) Lance Molenda, George Sarver, Dave Ransom, Owen Todd, Dave Casey, and Gary Barneko.

Planning the Location

At its April meeting, the Porter County Park Board agreed to give the Sunset Hill's Illiana Train Society some extra space for its model railroad layout in the grassy area over the septic field west of the old restrooms along the road that leads to the amphitheater between Redbud Trail and the pond.



"We decided to make some changes that require more space, including a five-foot sidewalk around the display and a 12’ x 32’ building for storage," Sunset Hill's Illiana Train Society President David Ransom told the Park Board. He also noted that the organization may want space for picnic tables or future expansion. The Sunset Hill's illiana Train Society had asked for a 40’ x 80’ plot of space last spring, and later their estimate went up to 50’ x 100’. The new design calls for a 64’ x 104’ space. Ransom also said that the buildings the group is looking at are prebuilt, barn-shaped cabins, and the train layout will be surrounded by a six-foot high…

        The Sunset Hill's Illiana Train Society Story


A Beginning
To say that the Bull Moose Line came together without a formal plan might be just a bit of an understatement. Yet the elements that led to its construction were hardly a gleam in the eyes of the sixteen founding members of the original Illiana Train Society when they met at Samuelson’s Greenhouse in 2003 to begin a mutual G-Scale railroad group.
What had begun the previous year as a personal canvas by Max Samuelson to find practicing Garden Railroaders in the tri-state area of Northern Indiana, Southwestern Michigan and the Northeastern suburbs of Illinois, led to the founding of the society and ultimately to the construction of the Society’s G-scale Train Garden.
Since 1998 Max an avid G-Scaler, with a family greenhouse business and a small hobby shop, enjoyed the fulfillment of Garden Railroading. With his wife Fran, he built a dual line Railroad Garden around a two level water feature at their home. The two also er…

A New Start


Looking across the pond at Sunset Hill Park at the future location of the Sunset Hill's Illiana Train Society railroad garden.

To more closely identify with their move to the Sunset Hill Farm County Park the membership of the Illiana Garden Train Society voted to change the groups name  to



Here is the official tally for the name change to Sunset Hill’s Illiana Train Society.
Number of member ballots received after the 12:00 noon cut off time on February 14, 2018
and Society members solicited who did not respond = Thirteen (13) Number of Ballots received before the 12:00 noon cut off time on February 14, 2018 = Seven (7) Number of ballots with “Yes” votes received for the name change = Seven (7) “Approved” Number of ballots with “No” votes received = Zero (0) “Not Approved” The “Yes” vote majority passed the name change, 7 to 0, 100% of the votes submitted. By a vote of 7 to 0 the name change to “Sunset Hill’s Illiana Train Society” was approved by the Society membership.




Members of the relocation commettee:

Lance Molenda, Owen Todd, George Sarver,Dave Ransom, Dave Casey, Gary Barneko 
Asking for $52,000.…