NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — In the coming weeks, the story of America's 250th anniversary is going to be told in a whole lot of ways. Nashville's certain to have one of the coolest ones.
There are a lot of ways you could tell the story of a place with the history of the Ryman Auditorium, but how about this? A detailed miniature among many miniatures surrounded by model trains.
It's all part of something opening at Cheekwood Estate and Gardens on Saturday.
"Everything you see here is made out of recycled plant materials," said Emily Luxen of Cheekwood. "This is the largest and most expansive model train exhibition ever displayed at Cheekwood."
It's called America the Beautiful National Parks and Landmarks by Rail. The miniatures and model trains depict scenes from all around the country. The Alamo. Graceland. Grand Canyon Railway Depot.
"There are ten different trains that are part of the exhibition," Luxen continued. "We've got a 22-foot Golden Gate Bridge! We've got a Statue of Liberty!"
It was all so striking, I wanted to talk to the artists behind it. They'd already left back to their home in Alexandria, Kentucky. I gave a call to Laura Busse Dolan of Applied Imagination.
"We installed that in a week with a team of 17 including myself," she said. "We have 25 landmarks at this new exhibit. Each one of those alone takes from 200 to 600 hours."
What Applied Imagination has created at Cheekwood is, of course, a tribute to the 250th anniversary of the U.S. There are all these small details to catch, iconography like Wheaties on a train car. Another train car has a reference to Dog N Suds. Those are drive-ins for hamburgers and root beer, and the sign is true Americana.
"Trains actually play a really important part in Cheekwood history," Luxen continued. "In 1895, Leslie Cheek Sr. boarded a train from New York to Nashville and met Mabel Wood. They later fell in love, got married and built the Cheekwood estate."
Every work by Applied Imagination is a continuation of a true American success story. Dolan's father, Paul Busse, started the company in 1991. It was a combination of his job as a landscape architect and his love for model trains.
"He was born in 1949," Dolan said of her father. "He grew up in the 50s and 60s. The model train was the most appealing toy of that time. He just never lost the love for them."
Since Busse's retirement, Dolan has kept the tradition going. It's a way of storytelling that takes a whole lot of time, but when it's finished, it's quite something to stand back and watch.
"As my dad used to put it, we're making happy art," Dolan said. "It can't get better than that."
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
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