Wednesday, May 7, 2025
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Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . . . . . . . 2➤ Mother’s Day . . . . . . 10-11
Vol. 54, No. 46
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
WARSAW ARSAW’S ’S BACKYARD RAILROAD Text and Photos By MAKSYM HART Staff Writer In a quiet neighborhood in Warsaw, retired aircraft mechanic Stan Hepler has transformed a lifelong love of models and machinery into a one-of-a-kind backyard railroad: one with live steam locomotives that visitors can ride. The Walnut Creek Railroad, named after a childhood creek near Hepler’s home, has been growing since its first puff of coal smoke in 1986. Built almost entirely from scratch, it now spans through Hepler’s backyard and into his neighbor’s, complete with bridges, a 90-foot trestle, and scaled-down cabooses and cars. Hepler designed and constructed much of the layout using steel rails, handmade wooden ties, and components machined in his or others’ shops. “Often when a youngster says, ‘how can I get involved in this,’ and some people I’ve heard say ... you probably need $30,000. You don’t need that,” Hepler said, recalling how he began the project while raising children and working full time as an airplane mechanic at the Warsaw airport. That determination led him from plastic Lionel trains in the 1950s to working, coal-fired locomotives modeled after narrow-gauge steam engines. His first engine, based on Bob Maynard’s “CliShay” design from Live Steam magazine, took nearly a decade to build. Powered by a hand-assembled boiler and fueled with rainwater and coal, it still runs on the tracks today, pulling riders young and old through the tree-lined yard. “We’ve probably had between 300 and 350 visitors over the years,” Hepler said proudly. But Hepler’s passion isn’t limited to rails. In recent years, he’s also become a skilled builder of scale Navy ships, inspired by his son’s service as a gunner mate on the nuclear cruiser USS Arkansas. “I found a kit that was one-eighth scale, so it was just over six feet long,” he recalled, “and it was a terrible kit. I discarded everything except the wood you used to build the hull ... I built the rest of it from scratch.” His most ambitious naval project was for the final reunion of the World War II-era Taffy 3 task force in 2019, when he and other modelers recreated the entire fleet for display in San Diego. Hepler built a model of the USS Raymond, a destroyer escort that survived the Battle off Samar, part of the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf. “I kept watching that ship and nobody was picking it,” he recalled. “I finally said, ‘If my Navy buddy, Bob, were alive, he’d do it in a heartbeat.’ So I did it in his honor.” The display brought gratitude and stories from surviving veterans who had served aboard the ships. One even took the radio controls to ferry his ship one more time. Hepler still builds about one model railroad car per year and often uses 3D-printed parts, original blueprints, and scratch-built components to ensure historical accuracy. His grandkids, neighbors, and fellow hobbyists all take part in operating the railroad, which remains a labor of love and a reminder that sometimes, the biggest dreams can fit on miniature tracks. “It’s been a fun hobby,” Hepler said. “But there is no instant gratification — it takes work, it takes time.” HANDMADE PIT STOP — Part of Stan Hepler’s Walnut Creek miniature railway — named for the creek where Hepler and his childhood friends skipped rocks and caught crawdads — is its model “pit stop,” consisting of working coal and water towers.
MINI FLEET — Stan Hepler’s love of modeling extends to navy ships, which he began modeling in honor of his son, who served in the U.S. Navy. From left are the USS Stanly, the USS Raymond and a V4-M-AI.
SLOW AND STEADY — At the rate of around a car per year, Stan Hepler makes train cars for his backyard Walnut Creek railroad. His cars, made of parts handcrafted, 3D-printed or cast by fellow modelers, strive for attention to detail. Even the wood siding on his cars is fitted in authentic tongue-and-groove to match its historical counterpart.
FOR LOVE OF THE CRAFT — Stan Hepler and others sharing an interest in accurate model trains use whatever materials they can find, from reference photos to original plans. The train pictured here, a replica of historic Denver & Rio Grande Western designs, uses a real 19th-century steam engine powered by coal.