ST. LOUIS — In one south St. Louis County neighborhood, most people know Jeff Uhlemeyer as “the train guy.”
“This is the fourth year I’ve had the train running,” he told 5 On Your Side. “I had never seen one of these before. So, I had to have it.”
The operational mini amusement park train running through his front yard took Uhlemeyer 15 years to restore. Now, it's the main attraction of the breathtaking holiday display in front of his house on Healy Court.
When the sun goes down, visitors get to see the more than 20,000 lights shine!
There’s always work to be done, and Uhlemeyer is constantly adding to his display.
“I just keep thinking of things,” he said.
He’s put a lot of time into the display.
“I began Sept. 12, I finished – mostly finished – the day before Thanksgiving,” he said.
Local stores have been lending a hand, donating much-needed equipment.
“The animated reindeer was donated by the manager of the South Kingshighway Home Depot,” he said. “Space heaters were donated by Tonia Johnson, the store manager of Northern Tools in Arnold.”
The display takes you on a journey and local kids can ride the train through it all.
Uhlemeyer spent 15 years getting the once-rusted train up and running again.
“Over the years I finally got four out of the five cars running,” he said.
Little ones take a trip through his front lawn to his backyard, traveling back in time to 1964.
“This is the entrance to my drive-in movie theater… 'The Uhleview,’” he said while standing in front of his handmade movie theater sign.
Uhlemeyer’s favorite classic Christmas movie “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is playing on a loop, projected onto a screen in the backyard. The children ride the train to the backyard theater and see life-sized characters from the movie in the display.
For Uhlemeyer, it's all a labor of love.
“My uncle Oscar Schowalter was a lifelong Shriner,” Uhlemeyer said.
“Every year, when the Shriners circus would come to town, he would get me backstage, and I would get to see the clowns… I wanted to return the favor to Uncle Oscar and put smiles on a lot of kids’ faces,” he said.
Uhlemeyer has a donation jar set up at the end of his driveway, carrying on his uncle’s legacy and raising money for kids and their families being treated at Shriners Children’s Hospital in St. Louis.
“The first year, I collected $300. Last year, I collected $3,216.46. This year, I’m hoping that with the expansion of 'Rails of Fun,' I’m hoping to do more.”
Uhlemeyer said he'll be conducting train rides and collecting donations through the holidays and the public is welcome to visit. He’ll have the display running Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.