New Member Questions

[Anonymous]

I am a new member and want to install a garden railroad in my back yard. The space I have available is about 12 X 20 feet. I plan on this being grandfather/grandchildre project and their ages are 9 to 3 years old.

I am looking for a good book that will help me understand the basics of getting started. I am hoping to get ideas on layouts, tunnels, bridges, waterways, wiring, tracks, etc.

I am a real novice in this area and would appreciate any advice on how I can get started correctly.
Thanks and looking forward to your inputs.
Bob

[Anonymous]

First of all, WELCOME TO LARGE SCALE! Excellent choice for having fun with grandchildren. One of the main reason I got into it was for my grandson, as well.

I, like you, am relatively new to GRR. There may be some good books out there; I don't claim to have seen them all. The ones I've seen had nice pictures but weren't as detailed as I was looking for. Better than books, I found that there is an amazing amount of information about GRR on the internet and that this forum is a GREAT source of information. GRR afficianados love to share their knowledge and experiences so right here you will find the answer to 99% of your questions.
I would suggest a couple of things to start -

1. For other ideas of where to start, read the topic and replies at http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=63440
It's general information but it will help sort out some of the confusing aspects of G scale.

2. I learned a lot from reading the older forum posts. There are ideas about everything from track ballast to the scale differences to eqipment to what to do about gophers. Use the search function liberally because often a particular question I had was already discussed in one form or another.

3. Look for other garden railroaders and a club in your area. They are world wide. If you aren't sure where to find them, post a topic on the forum asking who lives in your particular area.

4. A subscription to Garden Railways, besides being fascinating, gave me a lot of references to the major train stores, manufacturers, and I learned a lot about what is available. (I also learned that I love diesels and am not so crazy about steam engines.)

5. I follow three main GRR forums for ideas and information. I found them by Googling ' large scale railroad forum ' and ' garden railroad forum '. There are a lot of people that love to talk about large scale railroading. They also like to share photos of their layouts, which is great for getting ideas, and are happy to critique and make suggestions if you want to share your layout ideas and photos of the space you have to work with. One note - if a forum site asks for money, move on. There are good ones for free.

I have to say that the one we are on now is one of the best I've found. Ask a question, somebody has the answer. When I received a locomotive without instructions a couple of weeks ago, I posted a call for help and within a few hours a member from England had taken digital photos of the pages I needed (his scanner was on the fritz) and put them up on the forum for me. You will quickly find that the forums are more than just discussion groups - they become world wide groups of friends.

6. Google for information using search terms like "garden railroad" and "large scale railroad" There's lots of info available.

7. Most of all, HAVE FUN!

Dan

[Anonymous]

Dan:
Thank you for such a prompt, detailed and informative response to my question about getting started in large scale railroading. I am printing your response and will refer to it often. I certainly will be getting into the forums and asking questions like any novice would and know that generous individuals such as yourself will be willing to share their love of large scale with me.
Thanks again Dan for this advice which I will take to heart and use it as the basis for expanding my knowledge of large scale railroading.
Peace,
Bob

[cabbage]

Well speaking as a person who at the start of construction had to design everything to 'at least edible' by offspring and nieces and nephews I know exactly where you are coming from!!!

Your best design for a layout is a 'dogbone' rather than a loop. This enables small helpers to see the train go around them -something they cannot do without 'accidently' stepping on the track in a loop. My track is elevated due to geography -but this is not a bad child proof point either.

My layout is in a fruit garden -so not only do the children get entertainment but vitamin C too!

regards

ralph

[Anonymous]

One of the first and best suggestions I received as a newcomer was just invest in a simple "starter set", put some track down on the bare ground and run it around for awhile. I did that and, tho I junked most of the starter set within months, I learned a lot about what I could and couldn't do and what would be wiser in the long run--e.g. large radius/diameter curves. I also found the following link to be extraordinarily helpful as is the entire series the gentleman wrote and which you can access from here: http://www.btcomm.com/trains/primer/fence_posts/fence_posts.htm. It has a lot of basic but important information and just reading through each of the articles will give you some definite ideas about what you want to do.

[kstrong]

Kalmbach has just published a new book on basic garden railroading, written by long-time garden railroading guru Jack Verducci.

http://store.yahoo.com/kalmbachcatalog/12406.html

I've not seen the book myself, but Jack's been a columnist for GR for a very long time, and his Crystal Spring RR is perhaps one of the finest in the country.

I've got a multi-part series on garden railroad construction starting in the current (June '06) GR. Unfortunately, we won't get to actually laying track until further on in the series, so that may be too late for getting something down this summer.

However, before I built the "real" railroad in the back yard, I built a very small oval railroad just to keep me from going crazy. I described its construction here:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kcstrong/trr/Construction/Construction.html


It was built very inexpensively with minimal engineering, and held up remarkably well for the two years it was operational.

Later,

K

[John Busby]

Hi martinazzi
All the advice so far has been pretty good.
I do notice that no one has mentioned that small locomotives and rolling stock is a must with small space.
I think given that its ERHM!! for the grand kids shades of oldest exuse known too man for buying a train set[:D]
I would be tempted to look at the Lehmann toy train range of trains with particular referance to the operating cars these are a fairly short car with
small locomotives and a lot of bright colours.
For more realistic trains for granddad to play with there are may quality brands avalable
Just whatch the size of the trains and it is easy enough to change all the couplings so that everything can run together, in fact some of the toy train cars with a realistic paint job look quite acceptable.
Mind you I think DryHeatDan's point 7 should be no1 have fun
regards John

[tangerine-jack]

[#welcome] to the forum!

Garden railroading can be overwhelming when you look at all the possibilities with construction and rolling stock. Just take it one slice at a time and you’ll be fine. I agree that a simple dog-bone design would best suit your space, and may I suggest commercially available pre-fab track to do it with. Track power, about 5-10 amps worth will do you nicely for control. The rest is up to you based on your topography, gardening skills and imagination (not to mention budget and patience!)

Don’t be afraid to ask question- you may get 400 different answers, you might even spark off a heated debate (or two or three) but somewhere in there will be just the right answer for you.

Yes, the number one, numero uno, primum unum idea is to HAVE FUN YOUR WAY! Everything else is of no concern.

[Anonymous]

Hi Martinazzi, I started out by asking advice from my local dealer if he wants your trade he sould be able to give you good advice. Depending on what sizeof loco you are going to buy I always usr LGB track and R3 curves this allows big trains to get round with no problems. Also have any points electrifed this saves you running all around the garden. As a controller I use the Crest train engr. but you may want to go digital then use the LGB system

[Anonymous]

Just thought I'd say Welcome![:)]

[Anonymous]

Hi, [?]
I don't mean to interupt anyone but I have a question.
I am planning a rather ambitious prodject for a first timer garden RR.
It will be a 400' old west type "L" shaped loop w/sidings. Long Mountain made of this really nice yellow /orange rock.
My question is the trestles . I live in Long Island New York .We get from 4-8" of snow during the winter is it best to bury the ends of the trestles deep possibly in concrete or should I let them lay on top of the ground mabey on top of block or stone? the trestle on one side of the yard will be very long 50" and curved.
If any one can help me on this subject you can E-mail me
[e-mail]
Thank You
Jack

[Anonymous]

Martinazzi
I agree with gdancer just get started. Put some track out on the ground and run it around. You will find out from
practical expirance . As you look at your train and see what excites you and your grandchildren it will come to you as to what you want out of your railroad.

[dwbeckett]

I used a hopper or 2 and let my grandkids fill them with small toys that help make it fun for all.

[holland]

Welcome to the great hobby of out door railroading I should have started my outdoor layout 10 years ago

I started with a starter set and kalmbach books