Garden and outdoor railroads are often more difficult to build and operate. Because they are usually built on the ground, getting down there can be a problem. Add to that the difficulties created by weather and debris and it’s easy to see why small and simple is often better than huge and complicated.
But a more complicated build may provide added fun later when maintenance issues are reduced. So, it’s often a trade-off.
#gardenrailroad #outdoorrailroad #backyardraildoad
17 Comments
Another great video, I wonder how you guys are doing.
Hi Dale! Since the Arizona Dust Devils like to come by from time to time with their friend: The Micro-Burst, I have to cement my track work into the ground, or they could knock the whole thing over or rip it right up!! It's like living in Tornado Alley when you least expect it!! That's why my natural plants are so hardy here!! As I build the raised benchwork, I'll install a water 💧 lines to drip feed the bushes and plantings I'll install on the sides of the continuous trestle!! I have always wanted an Herbal Garden here to sell to the general public!! I just wish that I could get help doing this!!!
I want to share a few minutes of my 2007-2017 "indoor" G scale layout with 5 lines running simultaneously. It's quite crowded, but there is lots to marvel at here. It was all dismantled when we moved back in 2021. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3Di_bhJMu8&t=809s
Sound advice for any model railway. Regards, Stephen.
Kiss in the garden? Wasn't that Tiny Tim? (Just tiptoooooe, throoough the tuuulips, wiiith meeeeee…) 😜
At 9:00 in the video where you showed the ground level track going into the garden shed I immediately had the thought that you could have an 8' section of track inside the shed that could be raised up with ropes- build the train on that raised section of track then lower it to match up with the ground level track and roll it off.
So many good ideas on track plans. The raise bed is how I would do it the knees are not as young as they use to be. 😂
Enjoy this shows.
GOD BLESS 🚂💕🚂💕🚂💕🚂💕
Well thank you. I am in the process of developing a back hill on my back yard that has been giving me a nightmare issue. To now I will be tiering it and incorporating Gauge One Track for my live steam Ruby set and having it also electrified for regular gauge one trains. Thanks again for some good ideas.
Great advice, Dale. I always tell anyone who will listen to start small and keep it simple!
Wow, that’s a lot of electric lines overhead your railroad.
@SouthgateLightRailway have done a great job of elevating their track but into raised garden beds that looks like it would be much easier to operate without having to get down on their hands and knees!
Fascinating information. Thank you.
Great vid, once again. KISS is right on point.
Simple design. As fewer turnouts as you can manage. Drive in and out storage is an idea that is worth the initial outlay…I don't have it..yet. Add cement to your crusher fines/dust when you ballast then sprinkle it with the hose. That way you can hit the track with the m.o.w. blower and only blow debris.
Having a loop for roundy rounds is also good thing. If nothing else , just to have a train running in the background while you're gardening, bbqíng or just sitting thinking about how you'll solve some of the world's ills.
I'm also tending to think about a dedicated space just for the layout. For example adapting an indoor design, like, San Juan Central. Not having it wind it's way around the yard. So it's more, like your timber raised section, a layout that's outdoors, not so much of a garden road.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your wife and family. ❤. Bob Cooney 🎉
I like Dick Saunders solution the best. Not only because it is raised up a couple of feet but allows for plants. You can get so creative with the plantings, used edible herbs as an example, slow-growing succulents, etc. and keep them small as they do at Disneyland’s Storybook Land. But even using annuals that fit the motif (like marigolds for a Southwest theme) would work and despite being out of scale they would look great! I have such a bed along one fence, about 50 feet long and I have often thought about doing that (but it has long been planted with small citrus trees, roses, etc so it would require a complete re-do of that area.
Dale – You could get creative and do paintings on your elevated railroad fairly easily by sawing out large holes (5-10”) on the deck, dropping in rimmed plastic pots so they sit below grade, create some rock work to disguise the top of those pots and drop in a plant! Rosemary would look great because they easily be shaped into small trees – and you could decorate them for Christmas!!
Great advice, especially for those of us with bad knees or bad backs. Have you ever seen Dennis Serines Palos Verde and Southwest railroad. He has ground level and planter box level track that covers about one acre. He has a garage with the wire shelving to store trains and built up areas in the garage for staging. All trains are battery powered so it's one less thing to worry about. Worth the look if you haven't seen it. I think he is in Tempe, AZ. Love your videos.