Ho Garden Railway?

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine is thinking about moving his HO set to an outdoor settings since his wife is usruping his layout for a sewing/upholstry room. Is this possible? I have always considered HO and N scale to be to fragile and delicate for the rigors of outdoor useage.[?]

I may acquiesce and purchase a G scale Bachman Set from TrainWorld as per the advise I have received from VSSmith and others. Later I’ll buy some really cool and expensive locomotive.[8D]

[whiterab]

Two big problems; Track and motive power

The plastic used for G-guage track ties is special UV plastic. Normal plastic will "rot" in normal sunlight and get very brittle over time. This is also true for HO scale buildings.

As to the motive power, G-guage engines have special motors that are waterproofed so a quick, unexpected rain shower does burn everything up. With HO engines being so low to the grown, the motors would pick up any moisture on or around the track and quickly fry themselves.

On idea I've been toying with in the future is taking an HO or N guage train and cutting it down to a 1/24th scale kiddie train ride for the town park on my layout. To do this I would mount it on some marine plywood and only take it out on clear days for special occasions. Only an idea for now but it wouldn't be design to stay outside more than a few hours at a time.

[vsmith]

One other possibilty is to install the layout under a protective canopy that would keep the rain off, a shed would be even better as moisture and dew could be controled easier. HO track is a definit no-no outsidein the sunlight, it would still get brittle very fast. all the track would need wood sleepers. a canopy or a shed with an elevated benchwork for the track would be the best way to locate HO outside the house.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by whiterab



On idea I've been toying with in the future is taking an HO or N guage train and cutting it down to a 1/24th scale kiddie train ride for the town park on my layout. To do this I would mount it on some marine plywood and only take it out on clear days for special occasions. Only an idea for now but it wouldn't be design to stay outside more than a few hours at a time.

You know what would be cool, and maybe even a little philosophical? If you acquired a Z scale set and a G scale mock up of your house and used the Z scale set as a model of your G scale set.

I wonder if that would be the first G Scale Railroad modeled in G scale history? [4:-)]

[Anonymous]

Hi Capt Carrales
it is possable Peco do a small booklet about puting OO scale in the garden (the English equivelent of HO) a lot of painting ect would be nesasary as most HO/OO scale
track and buildings are not UV stable.
My personal oppinion of this is forget it it isn't built for that and evict domestic managments sewing and uphostory works, or build a new hobbie room small problem with both of those one is expencive the other may start a domestic war
Been there done that I won in the end by leaving train parts on the dinig table all the time
and refusing to move them untill I got my hobbie space back
This is not a path I would recomend.
But a model railway should not be mixed in the same space as other activaties in the house too much risk of other damadge that will result in you guessed it.
Much better to have the hobbie out side in the garden where it can be shared by the whole family and the workshop in the shed works a lot better
regards John

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by John Busby


My personal oppinion of this is forget it it isn't built for that and evict domestic managments sewing and uphostory works, or build a new hobbie room small problem with both of those one is expencive the other may start a domestic war.

This is not a path I would recomend.

But a model railway should not be mixed in the same space as other activaties in the house too much risk of other damadge that will result in you guessed it.
Much better to have the hobbie out side in the garden where it can be shared by the whole family and the workshop in the shed works a lot better.

I am in full agreement with you on many of these points. The War between husband and wife is an ongoing cold and hot war that, as with the world’s railways, seems to disrupt all rail transportation and leave ruin and destruction in its wake.

My N scale set was sacrificed or the needs of the family laundry. First the wife began to place the laundry on the train set, then to cover it. When structures were destroyed and total disregard was paid to it (it was merely a laundry table to her), I began to scale it back. The came the starch! Yes, the wife chose to set up an ironing board and iron clothes in close proximity to it. The result was a travesty; a whole module of the display was destroyed!

I was forced to relent and save what I could and now it is now disassembled. The locomotives and rolling stock have been degraded to being display items and conversation pieces.

That is why I have moved outside. Aside from a well trimmed lawn, not a mention is made of gardening activities other than the complaint that is looks to plain.

And the War moves on…