It’s the end of the line as the Osoyoos Desert Model Railroad closes its doors after 18 years.
“The most exciting part of the whole thing is to meet people that have come from all over the world and see all the smiling faces that you see all of the, time so it’s been a pleasure,” said Poul Pedersen, the model railroad’s founder.
The more than 4,000-square-foot creation, filled with approximately 19,000 hand-painted little people, 1,900 houses and 45 computer-controlled trains running on two kilometres of track, is heavily influenced by Germany and their home country of Denmark — and it’s been busier than ever since they announced their retirement.
“The three weeks since we’ve announced that we will be closed, that’s been the busiest it’s ever been. It’s absolutely crazy but it’s nice to see all the people,” said Pedersen.
The tourist attraction is a passion project that began in the 1970s, when the Pedersen’s started collecting trains in Denmark. It then grew into what you can see today, with each tiny person, house and piece of the landscape painted by his wife, Ulla Pedersen, and his daughter Lotte Mendes.
“It’s never been tedious for all the years that my daughter and I worked on it. It’s just been fun, fun, fun,” said Ulla.
“It’s our own fantasy miniature world and we can do with it what we want, so whatever we could dream up, that’s what we did.”
Their hard work has left a lasting impression on the hundreds of thousands of people who have come through its doors since opening to the public in 2003.
The last miniature train will leave its station at the Osoyoos Desert Model Railroad on Sept. 7 and then the Pedersen’s well-earned retirement begins the next day.
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