Railfanning on the Plattburgh & Poverty Railroad

Railfanning on the Plattburgh & Poverty Railroad

Name: Perry Railroad Name: The Plattsburgh & Poverty Railroad Location:   Champlain Valley – Northeast USA Scale:    G, 1:29 Description: Here’s a quick peek at a small garden railroad in a back yard that I’ve built over the last number of years. It’s not much here in 2012 but its coming along. I hope you like […]

Read More…

How to use sedum in your railroad garden

adobe houses on garden railroad

Got a brown thumb? Need low, rugged groundcover? Here’s a botanical group of succulents with more than 400 varieties—sedums. Common names include “live forever” and “stonecrop” but most gardeners call them sedum (rhymes with “can’t beat ’em”). In this column you’ll see foliage colors that range like a rainbow, from red to purple and even […]

Read More…

A compact backyard line

The P&BW Railroad

Railway at a glance Name: P&BW RR Size of railroad: 30′ x 40′ Scale: 1:29 and 1:20.3 Gauge: Nº 1 (45mm) Era: Late 1800s to present Theme: Colorado railroading then and now Age: 4 years Motive power: USA Trains diesels, LGB and Bachmann steam locomotives Length of mainline: Lower loop, 106′; upper loop, 146′ Maximum […]

Read More…

The Baker & Grande Ronde Railroad

1:24 scale garden railroad

Railway at a glance Name: Baker & Grande Ronde Railroad Size: 60′ x 185′ Theme: 1880s narrow gauge, mining, and logging Age: 9 years Scale: 1:24 Gauge: Nº 1 (45mm) Type of track: Code-250 brass rail handlaid on redwood ties Turnouts: #4 stub, #6 stub, and #4 three-way stub, all scratchbuilt Length of mainline: 560′ […]

Read More…

A catalog of useful plants for railroad gardens

catalog3

What appear to be small apple trees in bloom are really Mexican false heather, a.k.a. elfin herb (Cuphea hyssopifolia, Zones 8-11). These are easy to grow in full to partial sun and average soil and watering. They flower almost continually with white, pink, red, or purple blossoms, outdoors year round in the south or over-wintered […]

Read More…

Enginehouse drawings in 1:29 scale

Enginehouse drawings in 1:29 scale

  Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. Please note: […]

Read More…

Sand house drawings in 1:29 scale

Sand house drawings in 1:29 scale

Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. Please note: This […]

Read More…

Animate your outdoor railway

animate1

1. Since 1928, Spruce Falls Power & Paper Company in northern Ontario has provided all the paper for The New York Times, which affectionately calls it “Uncle Spruce.” Jim and Julie Barber model real places from their past and present by building concrete-sided buildings. Protected inside, a smoke machine helps to model a high-pressure weather […]

Read More…

A wood pellet fired Ruby

A wood pellet fired Ruby

Name: Eric Schade Forum User Name: captain perry Railroad Name: Visiting the Down East Light Railway Location: East Boothbay, Maine Scale: 1:13.7 (7/8 inch =1 foot) Description: Wood pellet fired modified Ruby I made a new boiler for this Ruby kit so it could burn solid fuel. She has a water pump working off the […]

Read More…

Make stronger scale retaining walls

retaining_walls1

Here’s a delicate looking woodworking project that’s tough enough to resist even being accidentally stomped on. Almost everyone has a section of a 2 x 6 stored on their property. You’ll also need a table saw for ripping the narrow boards required, or you can use thin wooden stakes from a garden center or collect […]

Read More…