OK first off please excuse the blasphame,
But truth be told I am not a gardener and dont really have any desire to become one. I am really only interested in running an outdoor railroad with my G scale loco's.
I am curious if I am alone in this or if there are others that feel the same way as I do and have built there outdoor railroads gardenless. If so how did you go about it?, any tips would be helpfull.
I am planing to build a 16'x65' raised area off of my deck in which to construct the railroad. It's not large by most standards but its where I am going to start.
I would also like some info where I can find some track plans/layouts that will help me decide on a layout for my railroad. I would like to be able to see what the layout look like before I start laying track.
Thanks in advance, Ron
Sure man, whatever floats yer boat! There is no rule or law that I can find that states a "garden" is a requirement for a garden railroad. Many outdoor ie "garden railroads" are built on some form of decking, much like an indoor layout only far more expensive. Nearly all outdoor railroads have some form of natural vegitation as part of the senicking, but you can minimize that or eliminate it completely according to your taste.
As far as the track plan is concerned, that will be determined by your space, your budget, whether or not you want to hand lay or use commercial track, and the final theme or concept of your railroad and it's operations. I have found that a pencil and paper works well for conceptualizing a railroad- they may be archaic, but they work with 100% reliability.
Welcome aboard!
The Dixie D Short Line "Lux Lucet In Tenebris Nihil Igitur Mors Est Ad Nos 2001"
I plan on using a doulble layer of 6x6x16's pressure treated wood, to make a 16x65 foot area, I'll use clean fill to bring up the grade to about 9", from there I will have to figure out where to go as far as roadbed ect., I am thinking about putting in a pond or 2 to run over and maybe a mountain to drive though.
I plan on using aristo craft stainless steel track with 12.5 foot curve radius, and some form of DCC for track control.
I am looking for peoples experiance and some pointers on what they did.
http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/forumid/4/postid/38991/view/topic/Default.aspx
Ya mean somthin' like this?
Have fun with your trains
Like TJ said "what ever floats yer boat. Check the pix of my Rosebud Falls Scenic Railyways you will see a lot more buildings and rocks than any vegitation. I have a few trees and some Elfin Thyme around some of the buildings. The only real "Plants" my GRR encounters are the wifes roses (which I'm not allowed to touch.) I'm in much the same catagory you describe, not a gardener.
Tom Trigg
vsmith wrote: http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/forumid/4/postid/38991/view/topic/Default.aspxYa mean somthin' like this?
Very nice I would love to do elevated like that but the boss has vetoed that idea
I also have a 300' fenceline that butts up to my allowed space of 16x65' so some day maybe the main line will run like yours (hope hope hope hope).
I was wondering if you guys know of website that has a variety of layout plans so I can come up with an idea for a track layout.
Hi BodsRailRoad
Well how about the railway on a stick system.
Where you have a series of posts with a track bed on it.
If you are no gardener maybe SWMBO could deal with That??.
But then I want a garden railway not a railway in the garden.
Best way to get a railway is to do it with SWMBO's assistance but plan it to deal with the years later in mind.
regards John Busby
How is you NON-GARDEN- Garden Railway going? I am a landscaper with 40 +yearsin the field and at the desk. If you have any questions about plantings , I might can help. If you have pond,stream, or warerfall issues mack darn sure you call, Aquascaping is all I have done for the past few years. My largest to date is 45' across, 52'wide, sloping botoom down to 4 1/2' deep. It has around 20,000 gallons of water, 7 falls, and took about 190 tons of stone to build. So I might can answer any questions you might have.
4-4-0 Steamer Florida Branch (NWF)
Hi, One way of starting your layout is to get the garden hose out and drag it around the garden then kick a few curves in it/pull or push it abit then when you are happy withthe look of it lay some chaulk or floor around the hose, get rid of hose strart laying track
Age is only a state of mind, keep the mind active and enjoy life
I don't have a garden because the Arizona soil is so hard a Roto-Tiller just bounces up and down on top of the dirt, but I have a G-scale layout in my back yard. Most of my track is elevated so I can spray weed killer (bleach) on the tumbleweeds and other plants that try to grow during the summer rainy season.
For starters, I killed the grass. Then laid landscape cloth over the entire area. Next brought in bark chips to cover the landscape cloth. Then laid track (using redwood planks as roadbed). Then g r a d u a l l y bought some cute plants and put them into holes cut into the landscape cloth. Some lived, some died. Some were wrong, some were incredibly right. Ran drip irrigation to each plant (using maniforlds on the old sprinkler risers an 1/4 inch plastic tubing. After a year or two, you get a nice looking result, low maintenance and let nature determine what grows and what doesn't. Just take your time.
Get the Garden Railways newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month