How to prune dwarf Alberta spruce

forest with station in garden railway

How to prune dwarf Alberta spruce In an effort to model conifer trees, garden railroaders usually go to the nearest garden center and find dwarf Alberta spruce shrubs. This classic, Christmas-tree-shaped evergreen has a nice, green color and a densely packed growth habit, giving it a fuzzy look. Picea glauca conica (aka. P.g. var. albertiana […]

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Irish narrow gauge in the garden

Neil Ramsay’s garden railway

Bo-bo diesel, built for the West Clare Railway in 1955, with two six-wheel saloon carriages in CIE livery, waits at the station on Neil Ramsay’s railway. Marc Horovitz avan and Leitrim train in the livery of the nationalized Irish transport system, Coras Iompair Eireann, or CIE. The sea of tiny, green leaves, replicating Ireland’s plains […]

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The Tuloumne County Narrow Gauge Garden Railroad

The Tuolumne County Narrow Gauge Garden Railroad

The Tuolumne County Narrow Gauge Garden Railroad Bob Brown Railway at a glance Name: Tuolumne County Narrow Gauge Size of railroad: 30′ x 60′ Scale: 1:20.3 Gauge: 45 mm Era: 1920-1930 Theme: A pleasant place to run trains in the garden Age: Six years Motive power: Small, live steam, geared and rod locomotives plus several […]

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The Miller Creek & Moss Rock Garden Railway

Miller Creek & Moss Rock Railway

The MC&MRRy. at a glance Name: Miller Creek & Moss Rock Railway Size of railroad: 30′ x 40′, approximately Scale: 1:24 Gauge: 45mm (no. 1) Era: Pre-WWII Theme: Freelance Colorado narrow-gauge branch line Age: 6 years Motive power: NiMH-battery-operated Delton Consolidation Length of mainline: 130′, (approximately) Maximum gradient: 3.5% Type of track: Micro Engineering, code […]

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Thyme-leaf fuschia

Thyme-leaf fuschia

Common name: Thyme-leaf fuchsia, Encliandra fuchsia Latin name: Fuchsia thymifolia Plant size: 2-4′ high x 2′ wide Plant type: Perennial USDA Hardiness Zones: 8-11 Cultural needs: Rich, moist, drained soil; sun or light shade Planting Fuchsia thymifolia in your garden railway will surely attract hummingbirds, which love the profusion of magenta tubular flowers from spring […]

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PDF: Build a 1:20.3-scale ice-cream wagon

Build a 1:20.3-scale ice-cream wagon

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. Despite our best […]

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The Dunckley Northern Railroad

Don’t miss the Dunckley Northern Railroad, our cover story for the June 2008 issue! Enjoy these bonus photographs, which will not be in the magazine. A busy morning at Wombat Station, with passengers eagerly awaiting the arrival of the morning Comet. The catenary is only installed from Inshed (In the train room) to Wombat, and […]

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Eagle Mountain Railroad PDF

The adobe town of Old Nogales resides on the backside of the Eagle Mountains. A cattle drive is taking place up the main street. Sage-colored brittlebushes will be aflame with golden “daisies” in the spring. Doris and Doug Evans The railroad at a glance Name: Eagle Mountain Railroad Minimum radius: 18″ on logging loop, but […]

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How to begin a garden

Over 2000′ of track runs through the relatively lowmaintenance Sunset Valley Railroad of Ted Sharpe in Issaquah, Washington. Dwarf Alberta spruce (Pirea glauca ‘Conica’) and low groundcovers predominantly thymes and sedums) are repeated throughout each section of the line. Joel Hayward Gary and Norma Agard of Augusta, Kansas, are building a beautiful garden in which […]

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Good times at the Fairplex Garden Railroad

At the western frontier area, a section of fence can be lowered to allow fair goers a first-hand experience at running a train. The panel holds three buttons that control separate vintage trains. A streamliner skirts the area on the blue line. Don Emmons Railway at a glance Name: Fairplex Garden Railroad Scale: Various, between […]

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Snow Creek RR

Track plan at a glance Name: Snow Creek RR Scale: Gn3 (1:20 and 1:22.5) Size: 50 x 50 feet Prototype: narrow gauge tourist railroad Period: present day Style: outdoor model railroad Mainline run: 425 feet Minimum radius: 5 feet Maximum grade: 2.5 percent Originally appeared in the June 2002 issue of Model Railroader. See a […]

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