How to build a pondless waterfall: In considering the infrastructure of garden railways, waterways come high on the list of those items that are best built early in the process. It’s hard to beat the sight and sound of moving water or the mirrored allure of a pond. However, I won’t deal with ponds in […]
Last year we visited Las Vegas’ hot garden railways, which were set against a vast arid moonscape, or so it seemed to this New Englander (now gardening in northern California). As I looked closer, I saw beautiful gems of silver-blue, coral, and sage-green set in a sea of khaki. Diverse in color and texture, all […]
Whether you’re building on a hillside or on the flatlands, terracing your railway may scale down some problems while increasing interest. If you’re starting with either a boring, flat yard or an unstable slope that’s fit only for goats, we’ll look at some grading methods that allow better access to trains, ease of maintenance, conservation […]
Building a large-scale railroad outdoors requires varying amounts of earth shaping. Unless you are laying a pre-formed roadbed on a flat lawn, there’s going to be some digging and/or hauling of soil, at the bare minimum. The way you approach this may be as varied as there are individual ideas of what a garden railroad […]
Pruning is a learned practice. No one starts out knowing how to best prune a woody shrub. All of us just have to take a stab at it and learn as we go. We make mistakes, try to forgive ourselves, then find that plants will forgive us and grow back as healthy as before. We […]
Five track and roadbed tips Smoother soldered rail joints I had a problem getting smooth solder joints when soldering together 5′ rails. I took an 8′ 2 x 4 and cut a groove down the middle of one side, just wide enough to hold the rail. Then I cut a wide notch in the 2 […]
Garden railway at a glance Name: Snow Creek Railroad Size: Approximately 50′ x 50′ Scale: 1:20.3 Gauge: Nº 1 (45mm) Era: 1930-1950 Theme: High desert/mountain railroad accessing mines, quarries, and passengers Age: Original, 19 years; rebuilt portion, 3 years Motive power: LGB and Bachmann locomotives Length of mainline: 300′ Maximum grade: 3% Type of track: […]
The railroad at a glance Name: TooMuchFun Railroad Size: 60′ wide x 25′ deep x 15′ high Scale: Varies from 1:24 to 0-scale figures in some areas using forced perspective Gauge: Nº 1, plus a small N gauge railroad within the railroad Era: Mythical, Medieval, 1800s to present Themes: 15+ different themes, from Wizard of […]
I have always liked narrow gauge. In my early 20s I tried my hand at modeling a bit of the South Pacific Coast RR in HOn3. But truthfully, I didn’t have the skills or the time. Frankly, my first love was the 2-foot gauge Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes. I remember talking to Bob Brown, […]
Common name: Maidenhair spleenwort Latin name: Asplenium trichomanes Plant type: Perennial Plant size: 3-12″ high x 3-12″ wide USDA Hardiness Zones: 2-11 Cultural needs: Moist, rich, well-drained soil or rock crevices; partial to full shade In the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, maidenhair spleenwort grows under overhanging rock ledges, in moist crevices at high elevations. […]
The inspiration for this structure came to me as I was driving through a small town and a water tank came into view. It was one of those old-fashioned styles of water tanks. I stopped to take some pictures, and later I did research on these types of tanks. This type of structure is referred […]
The San Diego Garden Railway Society will be hosting a 2024 West Coast Regional Meet from August 10-15, 2024. The event will feature open houses of garden railways, operating sessions, clinics, and a farewell luncheon. According to a press release sent to Garden Railways, the clinic sessions will include: • Succulents and Plants for Garden […]
