Biltmore Gardens Railway showcases Vanderbilt family's ties to railroad

The new exhibition at Biltmore is drawing big crowds to the estate's gardens and features model trains and replicas of Biltmore landmarks. 7 News' Jennifer Martin has more on Biltmore Gardens Railway. With 800 feet of rails, trains are once again enchanting visitors at Biltmore. They really like to listen for the train and find out exactly where it is. I see a train going! Biltmore's newest exhibition, Biltmore Gardens Railway, takes guests on a journey through the past. More than a century after the Vanderbilts capitalized on the railroad industry. Mr. Vanderbilt's grandfather, Cornelius, he started a nice railroad company. And when Mr. Vanderbilt moved down this way, we had a railroad that brought everything to the front of the house for construction purposes. Whenever Mr. Vanderbilt's guests would come, they would get dropped off at the depot and then from there they would get shuttled up this way. In the conservatory, trains pass through exotic botanicals and intricate replicas of the estate's landmarks, built by the company Applied Imagination with natural materials. We gathered a lot of the plant material for the structures. What looks like shingles on the house is actually bamboo that came from the property. And at Antler Hill Village, model railroads pass through replicas of the Eiffel Tower, Pisgah National Forest and more. So it's all about areas that Mr. Vanderbilt traveled throughout his adulthood. Bringing history and a little wonder to these gardens. In Asheville, Jennifer Martin, 7 News. Railway is open through September 29th at the conservatory in Antler Hill Village at Biltmore. Entry is included with admission to the estate.