Generally perceived as a private hobby, garden railroads are emerging as popular attractions in public botanical gardens. An examination of this trend begins with an historical perspective on railroads and the pivotal role they played in the economic and cultural transformation of our nation. Botanical gardens have capitalized on this collective fascination with trains, using model railroads as tools to increase and diversify their visitor base. This thesis recognizes garden railroads as valuable assets to public gardens and offers a design process specific to their installation. Utilizing this design process, a conceptual plan is presented for a garden railroad at the Atlanta History Center.