How much imagination...?

[Anonymous]

How much imagination is healthy in Garden Railroading? Or, I should say, is it within reason to actually "play" with the garden railroad?

For example, some N scale and HO scale railroaders concentrate on operations. Would I be crazy to imagine that my railroad actually services the variuos crops grown in a garden? [:p]Is it sane to imagine one has a miniature universe in the backyard?

I plan to play with my trains, along with my ever growing infant daughter. What say you...?[4:-)]

[Anonymous]

Hi Captain Carralis
I thought that was why we built garden railways to play with them OOPS! I mean
opperate a full and profitable service to our little cusomers mind you mine is going to go Broke in the 1960's with the advent of a decent power supply and the arrival of petro chemical fuels in abundance and all that goes with it.
Does your daughter have a train of her own and if not why not? there must be inexpensive trains that would be suitable for a young child.
If you plan on this sort of play you will need freight sheds loading docks they help no end with the imagination.
I would also let your dughter help with the trains as well so she feels ownership of line
this will also help teach her to look after it.
Garden railways tend to be more family orientated then indoor lines for some reason
have fun thats what it is all about.
regards John

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by John Busby

Does your daughter have a train of her own and if not why not? there must be inexpensive trains that would be suitable for a young child.

I would also let your dughter help with the trains as well so she feels ownership of line
this will also help teach her to look after it.

My daughter is quite young now, less than a year, but I plan to let her grow up "Railroad aware." I was aware of trains from a very young age. My mother taught me my alphabet by building trains out of blocks. One could say that my early education consisted of consists. My dad built an HO set for me when I was about 4 or five. I actually have all these early memories.

Originally I planned to by one of those "Coastal Express" battry powered trains for myself and see how far I could go with it, but as per yours and other's input, I think I will buy it for her.

I do so enjoy trains and gardining. I plan to use it as an educational tool for her, as it was made for me. She will have part ownership of our line. I even plan to draw up some official looking paperwork.

Thanks,
[4:-)]

[Anonymous]

Capt C

The more imagination the better! What is nice about our hobby is that you can do what ever you please: Operations, whimsy, or just run and play!

The idea is to just have fun! I like the idea that you are getting your daughter involved.

George

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for justifying what has been a life long addition to model railroading in N, Ho and now G Scale.

[Anonymous]

Hi Captain Carrales
going the comments I have seen on other threads in the forum.
It might be worth saving a few extra dollars and trying to find something a bit better quality
Also worth keeping an eye open for a second hand in good condition
LGB battery set don't think they make those any more and don't get conned in to paying silly collectors prices for a second hand LGB battery set if you see one.
regards John

[Anonymous]

umm i got news for you ppl, it's ALL imagination unless you have your own full size railroad....

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MICH CAL

umm i got news for you ppl, it's ALL imagination unless you have your own full size railroad....

Yes, this is true, but I am interested in hearing stories about how others have fun with their railroads. It not so much a question about whether or not one uses their imagination, but rather how.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by John Busby


It might be worth saving a few extra dollars and trying to find something a bit better quality

That is my eventual intention, but for now I must be content with what I can afford. I am a firm believer that one can eventually get what they desire with time a patience.

For example, I have all the things I desired as a child as an adult. The layout I desire, worth more than just mention, is just a few years away. [4:-)]

[bman36]

Capt. C,
Got my kids a set made by Playmobil. Came with LGB brass track and the loco appears to have an LGB drive under it. Very good quality and my kids can play with it by taking the tops off of the cars and loco to put people inside. These sets are no longer made but can still be found lingering in toy stores etc. Check out Rene's article on Pets and Garden Railways on this sites home page. There is a pic. there of our rabbit beside the train. You can see there the train I mentioned. Later eh...Brian.

[Anonymous]

well then I'm just happy to be running trains, i do make a conscious effort to plant my garden into scale all dwarf trees , elfin thyme etc, so i at least try and make it somewhat proportionate from that sense. But once again it's all 'bout running the trains!

[grandpopswalt]

Hey Cappy,

I'm retired and my kids and grandkids live pretty far away, so my RR hobby is pretty solitary and more "serious". But when my kids were small, we had several indoor RR's, slotcar tracks, model rockets, etc, etc, etc. Our empires were limited only by our (their) imaginations. Our basement RR spanned the entire country, our backyard launching pad was cape Canaveral and so on. It was a wonderful time for all of us and it taught them, and me, that it's O.K. to dream. I encourage you to do the same. I think you'll find that it will bring you and your child closer together now and for life.

Walt

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by grandpopswalt

Hey Cappy,

I'm retired and my kids and grandkids live pretty far away, so my RR hobby is pretty solitary and more "serious". But when my kids were small, we had several indoor RR's, slotcar tracks, model rockets, etc, etc, etc. Our empires were limited only by our (their) imaginations. Our basement RR spanned the entire country, our backyard launching pad was cape Canaveral and so on. It was a wonderful time for all of us and it taught them, and me, that it's O.K. to dream. I encourage you to do the same. I think you'll find that it will bring you and your child closer together now and for life.

Walt

Thanks Walt,

I do plan to have a grand old time with my trains. I plan to use it to be a link between my Daughter and I, I want her to have fond memories of her youth with trains.

[bman36]

Capt C,
Making memories is very important. One thing I found with my kids is that "play" is essential with trains. Just watching them go won't do. Create scenarios with loads, offloads and A to B. Makes for a lot of fun. Later eh...Brian.

[Anonymous]

Capt: I'm not certain this post fits the title, "imagination". I plan to have small live plants on my indoor layout. I'm not sure about what receptacles to use.

Has anyone tried to use live plants on an indoor layout?
fishwagon

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by fishwagon

Capt: I'm not certain this post fits the title, "imagination". I plan to have small live plants on my indoor layout. I'm not sure about what receptacles to use.

Has anyone tried to use live plants on an indoor layout?
fishwagon

I think cermanic pots might be your best bet since they come in various sizes. you could cut out the circles where they would slide into the layout and then use a folliage/texture consealment method to hide any part of the pot when it is installed. This will allow you to "pull" the plants out at various times to be pruned, fertilized or allowed to get direct outdoor sunlight to promote growth.

Insects may be a problem, if you use miniroses there are spider mites that will infest the plant and, though not that dangerous to humans, the plants will really suffer.

Drainage is an issue, you may have to invent or innovate some method to collect execess water that will seep out out of the bottom of the pot. You will also have to be innovative to set up some method to secure the pots under your layout.

This is what I would do...