‘It just evolved from there’: Man’s backyard turned into mini-train yard

Larry Mything is proving you’re never too old to pick up a new hobby. In his retirement, Mything wanted to find something to challenge himself and also find a project he and his grandkids could help with.

“The train idea came up and it kind of just evolved from it,” Mything said. “It’s fun for us big kids and it seems like it’s fun for the little kids.

“Part of the goal is to challenge myself with something that I wasn’t used to doing. When I couldn’t do something I know people who know things about electronics and people always seemed to chip in.”

Mything retired in 2017 but began working on the mini-train in 2016.

“I looked on the internet and read some books and come up with this idea. We thought a real steam engine might be a little dangerous for little kids so we found a (wheelchair) motor, an electric motor, and that’s what we use for the power,” Mything said. “I’ve dialed it back so it’s a relatively safe speed for the kids plus I carry a remote control shut off with me just in case.”

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing.

“Lots of prototypes wouldn’t quite work, so you go back to the drawing board. The kids were involved in a lot of the process and got to run the hammer or the cordless drill.”

The steam that comes from the train is from a fog machine. The train sounds come from an iPod. Mything tried to make an engine compartment and ended up calling an irrigation company for a piece of plastic pipe, which they were more than willing to help out with.

“Any time you mention grandkids, people seem to drop what they’re doing and be more than eager to help you,” Mything said.

Mything didn’t just stop at a train. He has since added a motorized grain car and turned his shed into a mini-grain elevator with a fort for his grandkids.

Larry Mything operating a crane, a part of his miniature train setup (Britton Gray/980 CJME)

The track runs about 80 feet and features curves at about 30 feet. At this point, it takes up a majority of his Harbour Landing backyard.

“The oldest one was only four so he enjoyed driving it. Once we added the crane, that’s when the excitement really came because there was more things to do,” Mything said.

He thinks he has probably spent between $10,000-$15,000.

When you have a large train track in your backyard, people tend to notice. Mything said people often stop by all the time and ask for photos or to ride the train. He said they are looking into insurance to have peace of mind letting people ride it.

“Lots of people ask for rides and we’re going to give it to them but we’re just going to make sure we’ve got insurance just in case, god forbid, something happened,” Mything said.

Mything has been posting videos of the train and other projects on YouTube.

He’s also taken the train out to trade shows for people to enjoy.

The Saskatchewan grain bin in Larry Mything’s back yard (Britton Gray/980 CJME)

“The locomotive got a lot of interest from moms with little kids. They sit in there and blow the horn and the whistle and the bell and take their little videos and pictures. The crane can be operated remotely so the older kids play with that,” Mything said.

He does admit his grandkids will eventually grow out of getting enjoyment from the train. Once that happens, Mything will see if a museum wants to take it or else it will become parts for his next project.