New to the World of Garden Railroads

[Texas Rail Runner]

Howdy Everyone,

I thought I would introduce myself and say howdy to one & all.  My handle is Texas Rail Runner and my name is Bo Walker.  I have recently taken a serious interest in this garden railroad hobby and hope to learn all I can from you hobby enthusiasts and pros (if there is such a thing). 

I was into model railroads in the late 70's where my entire basement was a complete HO scale layout.  I had everything from a nice size town to the country/farm scene and mountains.  I had running streams, waterfalls, operating cars & trucks and the entire town was lighted with working street lights, traffic lights, etc.

This new world of Garden Railroads is really fascinating to me and I hope to do everyone proud in what appears to be a fast growing hobby.  Thanks for taking the time to read my introduction, a very brief history of this old cowboy and I look forward to learning a great deal on this forum.

Thanks, Bo.

[Ray Dunakin]

Howdy, and welcome aboard!

[PJM20]

Welcome to the forum! I hope you enjoy your time here! - Peter

[Beach Bill]

Welcome.   This forum provides plenty of information and a great opportunity to pose a question.

I am also an indoor HO modeler (in addition to the Seashore, Horry And Georgetown in the back yard).  You will find that building for the garden railroad is a whole new level.  SOME of the things that you have learned in building for HO will be very useful, and some things are a whole 'nother animal altogether.  Things need to be sturdy and fastened together really well to hold up out in the sun and exposure.  The regular reliance that you have on "scale" in HO will be gone:  You know that something made in HO is pretty close to actual scale, but things made for the garden are sort of more... flexible.  But on that same idea, things that are a little out of scale in the big back yard setting don't seem to be as troublesome as they are indoors where one looks more closely.

While I like switching problems in HO, in the garden I tend to just enjoy letting the train run. 

I find the small maintenance items, such as keeping the grass trimmed back from along the track, to be quite enjoyable.   I hope that you find the same level of challenge and pleasure.

Bill

[ttrigg]

Bo: Welcome to garden railroading. My HO, N, and most of the Z stuff now fills boxes on the shelf in the garage. Bill has given some very good advice. Most all the "rules" of the smaller scales fell out of the box when moving to the garden. Narrow gage is larger than standard. You rail-side structures will be more "substantial" being made from lumber purchased from the local lumber yard, real cement and PVC pipe is useful for many things. Instead of using small spray cans of paint you will find yourself using house paint and the full sized cans of spray paint. Should you decide to use a water feature, you will learn new skills of water management (the real wet stuff).

I spent my first year here reading almost every post on these pages. (take care to read the bottom of these pages and turn on "all posts" instead of limiting to the last month or so.) There is a tremendous amount of information here. Lots of little "If I Had Only Known’s". Fell free to ask any questions and someone will have an answer. I would ask that you not ask "What is best" as best is in the eye of the beholder, and that question has caused some "heated" discussions. Each choice carries its own pro’s and con’s, gather the information and make your own educated decision.

[Texas Rail Runner]

Thanks for the warm welcome.  I can see there is a great deal to learn here in this new world of "G" scale and I am really looking forward to it.  I've already downloaded some plans and information to help get me started.  There are so many amazing ideas, it's hard to know where to begin, lol.

 

I'm currently looking at trains and trying to decide which way to go.  I've already met one gentleman online thru surfing eBay and have learned some of the differences in specific manufacturers.  I am really leaning towards the USA trains with a close eye on these SD70 MAC diesel engines.  The descriptions get a little confusing as some show what each model has to offer however, they don't say if this model has this, plus the other stuff on the cheaper model?  Example:  The SD40-2 has side marker lights and the SD70 has directional headlights.  So, does the SD70 have the side marker lights as well, they just show the directional headlight as another option with the more expensive engine?  Did I ask that right, lol?

 

Anyway, thanks again for the warm welcome and I hope to learn all I can from anyone who is willing to share their knowledge and experience.

[Texas Rail Runner]

Ray Dunakin

Howdy, and welcome aboard!

In-ko-pah eeh?  That is definitely some very rugged and beautiful country.  I use to descend & climb that mountain terrain daily from SD to the NAS in the Imperial Valley.

[Ray Dunakin]

Texas Rail Runner

Ray Dunakin

Howdy, and welcome aboard!

In-ko-pah eeh?  That is definitely some very rugged and beautiful country.  I use to descend & climb that mountain terrain daily from SD to the NAS in the Imperial Valley.

Wow, it's not often I run into someone who knows the area my RR is named for! Yes, it's very beautiful, rugged country, which inspired my scenery. Many years ago I used to hike the tracks in the Carrizo Gorge, after the SD&A had ceased operations there. My trestles and tunnels were built to a similar style as the structures in the Gorge.

[chad tm5000/trainstation]

hello and welcome aboard from trainmaster5000/chad noel at the trainstation from pittsburgh pa. you can catch me on face book or myspace i do scratch build and all scales of railroading

[two tone]

Hi Bo to trhe forum,   You were saying about ebay we always say buyer beware. Most of the sales are very good but you can get caught with something duff, always use pay pal to pay this gives you some come back if sale goes wrong.     Right always ask on the forum for info we can always answer 99% of questions and enjoy the hobby

[Gundy]

The ABC Garden Railroad welcomes you Bo!  You have made a great investment, by subscribing to this online magazine and forum.  Use it as much as you can.  Don't be afraid to ask questions my friend.  Peace.  Gundy

[Rex in Pinetop]

Welcome to the forum Bo.  There is something for everyone in the garden world.  Some guys are rivet counters and love the high end of the scale market.  Some guys get into live steam to add to the realisim.  Others just love to run any kind of trains.  I have a Thomas set I run for the kids and a Connie with full Phoenix sound I run for the other generations.  All run on the same track in my front yard on a corner lot.  At times I have up to 20 kids and parents enjoying the layout and watching the trains run.  I run battery power and RC so I don't spend much time cleaning track or worrying about conductivity.  To each his own. 

Enjoy,

Rex

[mgilger]

Welcome to the forum Bo.

Will you be starting out with track power or battery?  If your thinking of battery, the you might consider the Aristo-Craft engines, as they are already set up for either track or battery power. If you choose battery power for the USA's, it can be done, but you have to do a bit of rewiring.

 Again, welcome and hope you have fun with the Garden Railroading adventure. 

 Mark

http://mmg-garden-rr.webs.com/