The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, 300 Gap Road, Strasburg, will hold its 18th annual Garden Railways Tour on Sunday, Oct. 5, from 1 to 5 p.m.

The self-guided tour includes a total of five stops located in Wrightsville, Lancaster, Lititz, and Manheim. "You can plan your route, what works best for you to go see the homes, whether that's from where you live and start or where you're ending up," program coordinator Elizabeth Myers said.

Tour site locations will be provided once tickets are purchased. The event will be held rain or shine, but some homeowners may not be able to operate their equipment if the weather is poor.

To buy tickets, go to http://www.eventbrite.com and search for "Railroad Museum of PA." The deadline is 1 p.m. on the day of the event. A limited number of paper tickets are available in the museum store.

"Even though you can buy up until the last minute, we recommend trying to buy a little earlier," said Myers. "That way you can get the list of homes and plan your route and make the full use of the four hours that the tour takes place."

Each stop on the tour will be unique. "I think it's been a really nice way for the public to be able to see the creativity of this hobby," said Myers. "Every layout is a little different, and people are able to see all the different homes and how they incorporate the natural elements of their backyards and their yards with the hobby. Everything is a little different. So even if you go to a home that's been on the tour before, there's new elements there, so I think that really resonates with people to be able to go out and see all the creativity the people put into it."

The Garden Railways Tour is a fundraiser for the Friends of the Railroad Museum, a membership-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to support the restoration and educational programs at the museum. Go to http://www.rrmuseumpa.org for more information.

"Members can come to the museum and enjoy our facilities," Myers said. "Your membership starts from the day that you purchase it, so it's one year from date of purchase. We have special events. We have a discount in our museum store for members. There's lots of other great benefits. Our Milepost magazine has lots of railroading stories and information. It's a great publication that's put out here at the museum. There are lots of great reasons to become a member."

Museum advancement director Deb Reddig stated that "The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania" is home to a world-class collection of about 100 historic locomotives and railroad cars, a vast research library and archives, a working restoration shop, an immersive education center and programs, a museum store and special events and exhibits."

Myers added, "We are kind of the crossroads of showing people the past of railroading but also seeing how railroads are still shaping our lives today. It's a really great thing about our museum. Probably 30 years from now, there are maybe some pieces of railroading equipment that you're riding today on Amtrak or something you've seen like Norfolk Southern coming through your neighborhood that might be here at the museum in 30 years. Railroading is still ongoing. It has shaped our country from its origins through to today. So being able to kind of merge the present into the past is a really intriguing thing

The museum is proud of the fact it offers an opportunity for the public to enjoy hands-on experiences. "One thing we always talk about here at the museum is how fortunate we are that our visitors can get such a close interaction with history," she said. "A lot of times when you go to other kinds of museums, the pieces are a little too fragile for people to interact with in the way that we can hear. We try and get volunteers out into some of our pieces so you can go into the cab of a locomotive. You can sit on the seat of a historic passenger car. You can go in a caboose that was used in the 1930s and experienced what that was like. We're able to give people a little bit closer view of history. We really value that we're able to do that for our guests."