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Scrap wood, like that pictured here, is readily available and free for the asking. Rene Schweitzer Trestles! Bridges! Cribbing! Wooden rolling stock! There are many applications of unpainted wood for an outdoor pike to challenge the beginner and veteran alike, all requiring tools, time, money, and skill. The most common choices of wood for outdoor […]
Soldering tools. Top row: mini torch; 40/60 rosin-core solder; liquid flux. Bottom row: heavy-duty pliers to align rails while the solder is hot; a wire brush for cleaning rail ends; and an Atlas Super Saw to cut the rails. Jack Verducci Here, two sections of flex track have been soldered. Notice that the solder has […]
Jack Verducci shows you how to make durable, outdoor rock formations from a mixture he calls “gulapata.” Download the 1997 article free here. […]
Download this free trackplan that accompanies our Tuscarora project railroad series. In the June 2006 issue: Determining a trackplan, surveying the land, and defining objectives In the August 2006 issue: Breaking ground and building a stone retaining wall In the October 2006 issue: Building a PVC-based trackbed In the December 2006 issue: Laying track In […]
The No. 24 was the last locomotive supplied to the two-foot gauge Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad in Maine. This G scale live steam model was manufactured by Roundhouse Engineering of Doncaster, England. Kenneth Matticks Gas is added through the filler valve in the center of the tank. By watching the pressure gauge and […]
Lillian “Curly” Lawrence and the history of live-steam locomotives Lillian “Curly” Lawrence was a British model engineer who lived from 1882 to 1967. He built his first live-steam locomotive at the age of 13 on a used treadle lathe. A curious and reclusive fellow, he wrote live-steam columns for British model-engineering magazines under the pen […]
The No. 24 was the last locomotive supplied to the two-foot gauge Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad in Maine. This G scale live steam model was manufactured by Roundhouse Engineering of Doncaster, England. Kenneth Matticks Gas is added through the filler valve in the center of the tank. By watching the pressure gauge and […]
A Roundhouse “Fowler,” fitted with a coal-fired boiler by John Shawe, at work on the author’s garden railway near Toronto. Jeff Young When we acquire a small-scale live steamer, it is usually to run on an established garden railway. The selection of your live-steam locomotive was probably influenced by the physical characteristics of the existing […]
Marc Horovitz When trains run over and under bridges and trestles, a garden railroad becomes more interesting to watch Randy Mower Marc Horovitz Marc Horovitz Many garden railways occupy a corner of the back yard in an area big enough for only a simple loop of track. Although an HO or N scale railroad would […]
A variety of plants have been chosen to populate the railway. Marc Horovitz While building the railroad we casually discussed plant material. What would look good here, what kind of effect were we trying to create there, how should we plant this rock formation? So, when it finally came down to it, we had a […]
Small trains give the illusion of traveling long distances in a garden railway. Marc Horovitz As mentioned in the first installment, since we had a little, tiny railroad, small equipment was called for. The smaller the equipment, we reasoned, the greater the illusion of distance travelled. So, we opted for the smallest equipment we could […]
The importance of ballasting gauge-1 track: LGB track is heavy enough to float by itself in ballast, just like full-size railroad track. The ballast not only provides a good, solid base for the track, it keeps the track away from the soil and provides good drainage. Before we could begin ballasting, we had to remove […]
