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Show "i fx ,:A - 0, M M yg ! jhJf PERFECTIONIST. Ralph Mortensen examines part of his enormous trainset. Mr. Mortensen has built the track and most of the train cars and buildings himself. TRAIN YARD. Mortensen's miniature train yard looks surprisingly like the real thing. Skyscraper's dot the skyline behind the train yard where Mortensen stores his engines. 1 ' JO If . "JEANNE J.". Ralph Mortensen of Parowan displays the "tall ship" which took him four years tocomplete. Mortensen Creates Miniature World Ralph C. Mortensen of Parowan has created a mini replica of the real world in his basement. The landscape changes from the city, to railroad yards, to small country towns, and even to the mountain top near Cedar Breaks where he works at the radar station. Mortensen's elaborate train set which fills an entire basement room, began with one table but has grown rapidly in the past six years. Town's are filled with buildings which he has made such as "Ralph's Cafe" or "Dr. Aris's". Some of the railroad cars, which he has built bear product names such as "Paragonah Pickle Packers". He began his hobbies building ships, the first one was called the "Jeanne J." after his wife and took four years to complete. About four other of his "tall ships", some complete with mini sails and some just sporting rigging, were finished taking about two years each. Mortensen constructed the ships to the "letter of the law" using toothpicks for the wooden pegs and studying nautical designs. He became interested in railroading through a friend who also railroads. He says, "I try to build everything from scratch... I like trains and had some when I was a kid." Small snaps on pins serve as brake wheels on the train cars. What he can't improvise, im-provise, Mortensen tools himself on a tiny machine lathe and with small hand tools. His buildings have windows which are half way open and elaborate period wood molding. While Mortensen has never been on a real train, his mini trains have iaspired him. He'd like to take some of the scenic routes through Colorado. Mortensen runs the trains for his nieces and nephews but seems primarily fascinated with building the railroad cars, buildings and scenery on the mini scale. When you look closely, you can even see grass growing between his tracks. |