In the fall of 2020 I decided to convert the unused 3,000 square feet at our Cedar Shoals location in to a big office/personal space. At the time Pam was diagnosed with osteoporosis. She was in constant pain and couldn’t travel much. I wanted create a space in town where we could all be together and entertain friends. I had the bathrooms, breakroom and general back area all redone and painted. The front area was made into a small theater with comfortable chairs where we could watch TV or movies.

I’m not actually sure when, how or why I decided to build a train set. I have always been fascinated and liked trains, but never a fanatic. I remember when our son, Robin, was young we surprised him at Christmas with a train set built on a 4’x8′ piece of plywood. I worked on that train set at night for weeks in the back of our frame shop on Cedar Shoals Drive – and had a lot of fun doing it.

The Table
With some advice from Mr. Lewis, from Memory Station train store in Watkinsville, I decided to build the table 7ft wide and 16ft long. A width of 7 feet gave me a enough room to use the largest size curve pieces; 072. My reach is about 3-1/2ft, so anything much wider than 7ft I would have trouble reaching the middle. I built 4 – 3-1/2 foot x 8 foot sections then screwed them together to create one big 7 foot by 16 foot train table. I built the height at 36″, standard counter height so I wouldn’t have to bend over much. I painted the whole base black. For the top, I used 1/2 inch plywood then topped the plywood with a 1 inch thick insulation foam. l

The Walls
One things usually leads to something else. Once I got the train table done, I realized, I could no longer stand the exposed insulation on the walls around the table. I decided build walls 8 feet tall to cover the insulation.

The Layout
It took some time and playing around to finally decide on the type of layout I wanted to create. From the beginning I knew I wanted to run at least 3 trains and have 2 levels with a tunnel.

Electrical
I knew there would be a fair amount of electrical work to be done in building this set and I was a little apprehensive because I was a little afraid of electricity and what it can do. I met a new friend Greg, at Memory Station, who lives close by and knows a lot about wiring a train set. He came over several times to help and give me pointers. It also turned out that his wife and Pam knew each other from 35 years ago – small world.

Terrain

I was glad to have some help from Robin, Andrea and Greta on creating and painting some of hills and mountains.

Barkerville

In February 2022, when Pam got diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, I quit working on the train set. Now, almost 13 months later, I’ve half-heartily decided that I want to finish. It make take several years, but I’m okay with that.

More progression posts to come….

Pamela Catherine Barker, age 73, died peacefully at her home on Lake Oglethorpe surrounded by her husband, daughter, son and daughter-in-law. Pam was a loving wife, mother and successful business woman. She was born on April 10, 1949 to Lee Hendrix and Catherine (Kitty) Toole Hendrix.

She was a 1971 graduate of Miami University of Oxford, Ohio and was proud to have been part of the April 15, 1970 protest of the Vietnam War. In her early years Pam loved motorcycles, owned a Moto Guzzi and didn’t hesitate to tell you it was Italian. After graduating with a degree in psychology she moved to Athens, Georgia and joined her father at the House of 10,000 Picture Frames (now Athens Art and Frame). She bought him out in 1985 and continued  a successful, 52 year career as a business woman. She married Bruce Leeds Barker on October 6, 1984 and together they raised 2 children: Robinson (Robin) Leeds Barker (1986) and Margaret (Greta) Catherine Barker (1988). When her first child was born, Pam started what was to be a 9 year maternity leave to raise her children and loved every second of it. Pam sung with the Meridian Women’s Chorus in Athens for over a decade, served two terms on the board of Prevent Child Abuse Athens, and the Lyndon House Arts Foundation. In her free time Pam loved to walk, hike, ride bicycles, gardening and especially cook. Pam was always experimenting with vegetarian and vegan recipes. Pam was also a big supporter of local organic farmers and rarely missed a Saturday farmers market. She was also an avid reader and was known to devour several books over a weekend, especially biographies.

Pam had many friends but held a special place in her heart for her oldest friends: Alice, Rick, Lynn, Mona, Fred, Julia and Norm (when he was being good). Pam was preceded in death by her mother, Catherine (Toole) Hendrix; her father, Lee Hendrix; and her sister, Phyllis (Hendrix) Ransom. She is survived by her husband, Bruce Barker; son, Robinson Barker; daughter-in-law, Andrea (Winsor) Barker; daughter, Greta Barker; soon to be son-in-law, Nick Kenney; brother, Robert Hendrix; sister-in-law, Beth Hendrix; niece, Emmy Hendrix; sister, Ellen (Hendrix) Daniel; brother-in-law, John Daniel; brother-in-law, Don Ransom; niece; Briana Ransom; nephews, Tony and Taylor Ransom and her 2 beloved pets, Cleo and Aspen. In lieu of flowers Pam would appreciate donations made to her favorite organizations the Lyndon House Arts Foundation and Brightpaths (formerly Prevent Child Abuse Athens).