I READ WITH FASCINATION, THE ARTICLE ON GETTING INSPIRED BY A MULTI- LEVEL GSARDEN RAILROAD .... BUT RATHER THAN GET INSPIRED, I GOT QUITE EXASPERATED. NOT ONLY DID THIS RAILROAD NOT INSPRE ME, BUT MADE ME ALMOST WISH I HAD NOT STARTED BECAUSE I AM NOT WEALTHY, NOT AM A WIRING WHIZ. I DONT HAVE A HUGE PLOT OF LAND AND MY YARD IS VIRTUALLY " LAND LOCKED" ADN NO WAY TO GET A VEHICLE TO HAUL STONE , DIRT ,ETC.
IN READING , IT SAYS THEY STARTED FROM THE OUTSIDE AND WORKED THEIR WAY IN. TO MY WAY OF THINKING , HOW DID THEY AVOID STEPPING ON ITEMS WHILE HAULING IN MATERIALS.
THE POWER SUPPLIES ARE CERTAINLY STATE OF THE ART ( THO I DO HAVE ONE OF THOSE ) AND THEY CERTAINLY HAVE THE PERSONNEL ( ENGINEER ) TO HELP WITH WIRING, ETC ....
THIS IS A VERY NICE RAILROAD IN ALL HONESTY BUT MUCH MORE THAN I COULD EVER HOPE TO HAVE ....
CARL KOKES ----PERU , NY
I haven’t read the “Get Inspired” article yet but can only guess that most of us in the hobby have started from humble beginnings that could well have been triggered by seeing a larger layout displayed somewhere. Those are the ones that are more likely to receive wider publicity because they show lots of construction ideas for the rest of us to think about. But there is a fair chance that the builders of these “empires” did not start out full-grown but they planned, built, and polished their skills and then found they could keep the enjoyment going by finding ways to add to their layout. Eventually, such “inspiration” can lead to a layout that seems awfully intimidating to a beginner but doesn’t mean that you have to start with a large master plan for your first entry to the hobby. If your simple start pleases you, you may be encouraged to make it more extensive or just add detail in your smaller space to make it more and more realistic. No reason to be discouraged. If you check around on the various train message boards, you will find others who specialize in very compact and interesting layouts. Big isn’t the only thing that is impressive and small means a lot less heavy labor to achieve some spectacular results.
Tom Beckett
There will always be complaints and compliments about layouts of any scale that appear in the various magazines.
Personally, I don't pay much attention to the multi-thousand dollar empires because they're all way beyond my means, but I don't complain about them, either. It's all a matter of choice of what I can afford to build without being jealous of those who do have lots of money.
cacole There will always be complaints and compliments about layouts of any scale that appear in the various magazines. Personally, I don't pay much attention to the multi-thousand dollar empires because they're all way beyond my means, but I don't complain about them, either. It's all a matter of choice of what I can afford to build without being jealous of those who do have lots of money. I had a very large N sclale RR 25 years ago and saw a G scale video on you tube and thought I could biuld one in my new large back yard. I started with a Piko starter set then bought six 4' LGB straight track and the project started. I now have a 309' main line and over 150 cars and 8 engines. I do most of my shopping on ebay and have spent over $25,000 and I feel I have a modest RR compared to ones I've seen in the club I belong to. I feel its money well spent as I no if I quit today I could sell all my gear and get back 90% of what I spent. This is a great hobby to be in and you can see my RR at "Jose Silva G Scale" on You Tube. Spend what you can and keep your heart in the the things you love, the RR in your bcak yard. JJ
I had a very large N sclale RR 25 years ago and saw a G scale video on you tube and thought I could biuld one in my new large back yard. I started with a Piko starter set then bought six 4' LGB straight track and the project started. I now have a 309' main line and over 150 cars and 8 engines. I do most of my shopping on ebay and have spent over $25,000 and I feel I have a modest RR compared to ones I've seen in the club I belong to. I feel its money well spent as I no if I quit today I could sell all my gear and get back 90% of what I spent. This is a great hobby to be in and you can see my RR at "Jose Silva G Scale" on You Tube. Spend what you can and keep your heart in the the things you love, the RR in your bcak yard.
JJ
Have fun with your trains
I will add this, for me, I wasn't that impressed with that layout, its big but its also kinda ungainly IMO, trying to do too many things. What really wowed me though, was Joe Crea's AMAZING traction layout, THAT absolutely impressed me with its incredible level of detail and the fact that it very compact. Its something someone could look at and say, Yeah I could do something that size. It makes me want to get back to work on my indoor layout. So my hat is raised to Mr Crea
Carl, do not be put off by those whose back yards cover a couple of counties and their large amount of rolling stock.
I like seeing what the other guy has but my railroad is set in a small English back garden. Many garden railroads in the UK are set in small back yards. We all have fun in our own way, running what type of trains we prefer.
My railroad is 1:29 scale with a small amount of 1:22.5 as well and is based on American models rather than the more common European ones. It is at dirt level and winds its way around the perimeter of the garden. That allows for the best use of the space I have. It is single track with a passing loop and two spurs serving industries. I can operate with trains going around and around - when I have other garden or modeling projects to do - or I can do switching. It is all supposed to be fun, even the necessary maintenance can be quite enjoyable. It took me three months to get it as I wanted it, even so there have been one or two minor changes in its ten year life. I have purposely kept everything simple as I am not a techy guy.
So, Carl, do your own thing, get advice from the various large scale guys - a club or the different large scale fora, start it simple and slowly progress.
Alan, Oliver & North Fork Railroad
https://www.buckfast.org.uk/
If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there. Lewis Carroll English author & recreational mathematician (1832 - 1898)
CARL T KOKES IN READING , IT SAYS THEY STARTED FROM THE OUTSIDE AND WORKED THEIR WAY IN. TO MY WAY OF THINKING , HOW DID THEY AVOID STEPPING ON ITEMS WHILE HAULING IN MATERIALS. CARL KOKES ----PERU , NY
http://www.haworthengineering.com/
~Excellency in the Details ~
CARL T KOKES NO WAY TO GET A VEHICLE TO HAUL STONE , DIRT ,ETC.
NO WAY TO GET A VEHICLE TO HAUL STONE , DIRT ,ETC.
Funny you should mention this, we too are land locked and no vehicles can access the layout area! Every single stone, piece of rebar and pallet of concrete we hustled from the front yard to the back by wheelbarrow. I have no idea how many trips we made back and forth but it was A LOT :)
vsmith all I can say is that every layout is different and no single layout should ever be considered as a " definitive " layout. Just pay attention to the ones that are relative to what your doing and take the rest with a grain of salt.
all I can say is that every layout is different and no single layout should ever be considered as a " definitive " layout. Just pay attention to the ones that are relative to what your doing and take the rest with a grain of salt.
MRH044 vsmith all I can say is that every layout is different and no single layout should ever be considered as a " definitive " layout. Just pay attention to the ones that are relative to what your doing and take the rest with a grain of salt. I too agree with this. I have seen many many garden railroads, several bigger than ours and smaller too. But the one truism between all of the railroads is that no two are ever the same - and that is the beauty of this hobby! By getting ideas from others in the hobby, you can and will create a layout that is entirely unique. And, that being said, hopefully everyone can take something away from each layout visit that you can apply to your own railroad
I didn't mean anything negative in my comments, it's a very impressive layout, its just not what I'd do. As you say, every layout is different and reflects its builders interests. I also say there's NO wrong way to build a model railroad if the end result satisfied the builders intent, which your layout clearly does, so hats off.
Tom Trigg
I prefer unique layouts over size as terms of my own interests as well as tips and techniques, doing more with less...the pragamatic over any awe factor....whatever is useful..that's whats inspiring.
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
I have a small backyard railroad. We have no vehicle access. The islands are 4' up, stone and RR tie filled with dirt to mainline set in old 4X4 in original grade.
Wheelbarrows and buckets. Been at it over 20 years, still mdoing things...and I am a wiring whiz...ET on nuke boats, industry, college...I wire up major sound systems and smaller scale railroads...but there is no track or switch wiring anywhere outside.
I do have buried Malibu wire for lights off yard lighting transformers.
If I had to wire this and keep it running..six months and it would have been stacked in a corner of the yard.
When we started playing around initially, we used our LGB track and switches....brought out the power pack with alligator clipped leads, connected to the rail...and in those six months of testing to prove grade, curvature, passing siding length (none of us had ever seen a garden railroad at that point, so we got to experiment) the moisture, power, and acidic soils ate the LGB joiners apart at the sharp bends.
So, I looked around, made phone calls, wrote letters, and went radio/battery, aluminium rail, later started adding sound.
Yeah, big pikes can look ovewhelming, but you have to just start in.
TOC
Sir,
As a newcomer to this hobby, I hope you'll not be too exasperted to "take the plunge" (I am assuming from your membership date we got interested in this hobby about the same time. My apologies if I am incorrect in this assumption.). I face many of the same challenges you did, although I did have boxes of 30+ year old LGB "stuff" sent from the family's dusty storage bins.
The Triple O, with is mish-mash of gear, trial-and-error approach to things, compromises in design to meet other family needs, etc. will never be in GR. Still, with that, my only regret is that we did not sooner. Since we broke ground over year ago...
The beautiful roads in GR, as some of the other responders mentioned, have served as a source of ideas and inspiration, and, admittedly, some wistful longing, for the whole clan. All together, it gets us all out each week for a couple of hours with the next pile of rocks, box of pansies, or sack of "Quickrete" to take another crack at turning a gravel filled perimter of hollow-tile into something we call "our garden railroad."
I would also like to say that, too date, this is the only hobby in which I dabbled or in which I participate that lacks an elitist my-way-or-the-highway element. Help seems to be a simple post away, even on edge fo the empire, so to speak.
Dig in and have fun! We are!
Eric
Hello,
I am also a newcomer to the large scale, I started with a "ceiling" track system in my basement and wanted to see if it would hold my interest. My whole family has enjoyed it and my wife will even run it for her daycare kids (Thomas is their favorite). This year I plan on starting one in the back yard with 2 main lines that run side by side on an elevated track bed of various types. The articles in these Garden Railways magazines have been my inpiration over the winter months giving me ideas, I can't wait to get my hands dirty.
Drew
I am more than impressed with your empire.... Mine is nothing in comparison. I truly appreciate the effort and energy to haul every stone/ brick etc as I have to do - hence I dont have a lot of that in my railroad.... Being 76 years old, the muscles are not there nor is the stamina and strength any more.. When I was " younger' I did do more but bhave had to downsize over the years... Your is a real work of art in so many ways ..... Carl Kokes
I didnt mean to incite a riot or make anyone feel any negative thoughts -- I find all the layouts, big and small, most delightful to read and see pictures about . I guess that I am a little envious with the fact that I am not able to do some of the things like wiring , electrical etc . I do thank each one who submits their layouts to the magazine and hope that ours, can become a hobby where it is a little more affordable. What hobby IS affordable any more ??? I know it takes a great deal of money to produce an engine or rolling stock or even a building . But eveyone once in awhile, throw us a bone ----offer something kind of spectacular as a one-time sale such as Piko or Pola buildings..... THAT would be a real treat ... Thanks... Carl Kokes
I agree and any layout is a possible " Thats cool, I could put/do/add that" to your layout. I live in the Phoenix area and have visited Dennis Sirrine's ginormous and really impressive layout and while my small yard will never come close to a quarter of his, there are ideas and things I will try to incorperate into my layout, so I think you should look at what they have done how they did it and somewhere in each article you might find a nugget to keep. Maybe the article was not written as well or as informative as the headline suggested, and thats what you were trying to say. Keep at it and post some pictures to inspire us!
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