i have liked the idea of being able to have a train and make it more lifelike by using outdoors in a garden. i was wondering if you guys have a for sale section where some of you might sell trains or things that you have progressed from or no longer use? i am new and didnt know where to post this, and hope i am posting in the correct area. i live in Nebraska, and trying to find out more about garden scale. i prefer steam locomotive type over the look of the diesel electric locos. in Nebraska i am about an hour north of the Omaha area so no real train shops close. thanks for reading and any help given in advance.
Jim
Hi Jim, I live over the pond and run a garden railway, You may find a good selection of locos and track on ebay or look in the garden railways mag there are some good offers there. As regards track I use what was LGB its been down about 6 years with no probs and over the years i have moved it around as layout has got bigger.. Hope this helps
Age is only a state of mind, keep the mind active and enjoy life
There are no sales allowed on this forum but both www.mylargescale.com and www.largescalecentral.com both have active classified ads sections. Give them a check.
Ebay is by far the largest used items seller, but be wary of "buy it now" and ebay stores as they are often 20-30% more expensive than other online sellers. Good luck with it.
Have fun with your trains
Well then Jim..
Could I suggest we tell you how to build your own? I am a dyed in the wool scratch builder and Vic (above) is a kit basher. Either technique is not as expensive as you might think and for the past 8 years I have been building my railway, locomotives and rolling stock on the princely budget of £10 per week, (though due to inflation this may have to increase to £12 per week). I don't know how much Vic spends building his "bashs", but for me, I can build a 16mm scale loco for around £60. The time taken would be around 6 weeks from start to finish. The Gauge "3" locos that I am building at the moment are rather more expensive and complex. I think the current loco will top the £250 barrier -but I did start work on it in August of last year....
regards
ralph
The Home of Articulated Ugliness
Welcome Jim,
You'll find two fellow Nebraskans online and both GR writers, Marty Cozad and Jerry Barnes. They pop in once in awhile but can be found on MLS or LSC (or the AristoCraft forum).
If you like big standard gauge steamers and diesels, 1:29 scale offerings from Aristo, USA Trains, and soon Accucraft. MTH offers 1:32 scale SG trains. If you want small narrow gauge engines there are 1:20.3, 1:22.5 and 1:24 scale offerings from Bachmann, Aristo, Hartland Locomotive Works, old LGB, and Accucraft.
More on scales/gauges here -
I run primarily 1:24 NG and 1:29 SG on my main layout and I have a smaller layout just for 7/8n2 (1:13.7) scale. More on my stuff here - http://www.grblogs.com/index.php?blog=25
-Brian
My wife and I live in Wisconsin and installed our first loop of garden track last summer. My wife started out buying an inexpensive (under $200) Buddy L set, 2 years ago, from a place called Sportsman's Guide. The locomotive has sound and you can add smoke fluid to make it puff smoke. It isn't to any true scale, but she got it for me when I had knee replacement surgery and couldn't do anything in the yard due to the uneven terrain. She also bought some brass track on ebay so that we could leave the track set up on the patio all summer (the track that comes with the Buddy L set isn't very good quality.) The set came with several cars too: gondola, box car, flat car and caboose. The Buddy L engine isn't very strong...wouldn't be able to pull 10 cars...but it worked for us for that first summer and we ran it around the Christmas tree that winter and on the large loop we installed outside last year. Our grandson loves it as it makes "noise".
We've since invested in a USA Trains SD40-2 diesel engine and have bought some Aristo-Craft and USA Trains (1:29 scale) cars to go with it. Our goal is to get a 2nd loop up and running this summer so that we can have both the Buddy L train and the diesel locomotive and a few cars both running.
You might want to consider buying an inexpensive set like my wife did, and getting some good brass track (LGB, Aristo-Craft and USA Trains all sell brass track that will connect together) and just laying a loop on the grass to see if you like it.
Another suggestion is to see if there are any train shows in your area. They are a great way to meet others interested in large-scale trains and you can get an idea of the various scales and kinds of trains available.
I Googled "Nebraska Garden Railway" and found several sites for people who have their own garden railroads. Here's a link to one located in Lexington, Nebraska: http://thescrr.com/ You might find someone in your "backyard" (so to speak) if you look down the list a little further than I did.
Most railroaders, no matter what scale they model, are more than willing to show you their layout and answer your questions. So, keep looking for someone nearby and asking questions here on the site.
One other thing I might suggest...if you can't find any garden railroaders near you and you can't go to any shows, try ordering a large scale catalog from Lionel, Bachmann, Aristo-Craft, LGB and USA Trains. That will give you a chance to see what is available from each of these companies. Most of these companies also have websites that you can check out to see what is available.
I've bought a lot of garden railroad stuff from good, honest, folks on ebay. Check their feedback and ask them questions.
Another good source of ideas for what might still be available are the old "Big Trains Catalog" and "The World of Large Scale" catalogs that were produced by the Walthers Company from about 1989 through 2002. While they don't show the entire line of Aristo-Craft, Bachmann, LGB or USA Trains engines or rolling stock, they give you an idea of what was (and still might be) available including buildings, figures, track, signals, tools, kits, etc. Your local library might be able to obtain a copy for you from another library in your state through their Interlibrary Library Loan, if they wouldn't have one in their collection. Often they are available on ebay or amazon.com but watch out for scalpers....I've seen some listed for $50 and $60 dollars!!!
Hope this has been of help to you.
Ed
P.S. The hardest part is just getting started. Once you've taken that step, you'll be off and running! Large scale railroading is a great hobby! Fun too!!!
I do not suffer from insanity...I enjoy every minute of it!!! Over 60 and still playing with toys!
Forgot to mention....the type of locomotive and rolling stock you purchase many have to depend on how much space you have available for your garden railroad. LGB's engines tend to be short so they can negotiate much tighter curves than some of the others. 4' diameter curves are very common on garden railroads that use LGB engines.
We have 10' curves on our garden railroad, which obviously takes up much more space. Our SD40-2 could run on 8' diameter curves but we liked the idea of the larger, sweeping curves, so went with the 10' diameter track.
Check the manufacturers' catalogs and watch to make sure that whatever you are buying will fit in the space you have available. Otherwise you'll have derailments all the time and that can make "playing with your trains" very frustrating.
well, for those that asked i am sorry i forgot to say where i lived. i live about 1 hour north of Omaha in Nebraska. i live in the Tekamah, Nebraska area. sorry i didnt respond sooner to your posts you all made, i have been busy going to junkyard for parts on my cars and messing with cars here at home...
i appreciate all the info you have all given me. my future goal in the G scal/ garden scale is to one day have a 4-8-8-4 locomotive number 2023 to represent the one located in omaha. i like the look of the steam locomotives over the diesel/electric. more moving parts and such just look nicer to me. for those living closer to me in Omaha area... my email is..
Jims_87_Crown_Vic@hotmail.com
USA trains makes a 1/29 Big Boy at 57 inches long and about 70#. I believe Marty has one.
and MTH in 1/32
e-mail me at
cozy6z@yahoo.com
The NE railroaders is our club and we have a memeber up by you
Marty
We are meeting this weekend in lincoln
Is it REAL? or Just 1:29 scale?
Long live Outdoor Model Railroading.
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