Mini Train Helps Get One Couple's Life Back on Track

Kids love trains. That’s a given. And now Gaithersburg-area residents don’t have to go far to give their little ones a railroad-riding experience.

The A.V. Mini-Express, a pint-sized locomotive with four diminutive cars, makes runs every day around the second floor of the Lakeforest Mall.

The amusement ride was launched in December by John and Karolina Giller, a married couple from Wheaton. The “A.V.” in the train’s name is a tribute to the Gillers’ own children, Angela, 3, and Virginia, 19 months.

“I have the best job in the mall,” Karolina said during a break between runs on a recent Friday afternoon.

Serving as ticket seller, conductor and engineer, she did appear to be enjoying her work. Steering the train carefully among passersby, she waved often to mall merchants and customers, and she made regular use of the chugging train’s extra sound effects, a bell and whistle. She confessed that she has had to tone down the audio, especially near certain mall shops, such as the tax return preparation office.

As fun as the new attraction may be for children – and for the Gillers – it also is serious business. A new train like the Gillers’ costs $65,000. They got theirs, slightly used, for less but still had to scrape the money together, borrowing some from family and friends. The undertaking is not the kind of thing banks are eager to try, Karolina explained.

She was a stay-at-home mom before launching the train service. John Giller had worked as a billing manager for a plumbing company but was laid off. So, starting a business was a form of reinvention for both of them.

“There were not a lot of jobs for my skill set,” John said.

He runs the train mostly on Mondays through Thursdays. Karolina said she prefers to work busier Fridays through Sundays because she is the “worrier” in the family. On a good day, the Gillers serve as many as 200 to 300 riders; on a slow day, a few dozen, she said.

Ridership was really brisk, of course, before Christmas. Now comes the test of whether over the long term there will be sufficient revenue to pay all the bills and provide the Giller family with a living. The ticket price is $3 per person for a five-plus-minute ride. Children under 18 months ride free. Expenses include insurance, train maintenance and lease payments to mall management.

The train was manufactured by Wattman Trains and Trams of Granby, Quebec, Canada. The company’s website says it sells trains all over the world. Most are used at shopping centers, zoos, parks, festivals and fairs.

The Mini-Express is powered by a 48-volt electric motor. It has a rechargeable battery, similar to those in golf carts. The train runs 15 to 20 hours between charges, the company says. The battery pack’s useful life is projected to be a couple of years.

Despite the hurdles, the Gillers are optimistic about business prospects. “People are going to keep having kids,” John said. And Karolina noted that, even in difficult economic times, most people are willing to spend money to make their children happy.

Speaking both as a business owner and a parent, she said, “To see the excitement both before and after the ride, it is great.”