Using succulents on your garden railway

sedum1

1. Hardy African iceplant makes a great groundcover, here blooming in late May. On the right is Angelina stonecrop, with yellow-green leaves, rising to 4-5″ tall. (All photos were taken on the author’s Hoot ’n’ Holler Railroad unless noted.) Photos by the author Don Parker 2. This small, yellow-flowering stonecrop (probably Sedum acer ‘Aureum’) is […]

Read More…

Using thyme in the railway garden

thyme1

1. White moss thyme (Thymus praecox ‘Albiflorus’), 1-2″ in height, with tiny white blooms in June, trails over the water’s edge. No need to trim this thyme, with the possible exception of shearing old growth in early spring. Two months beyond blooming thyme, Dan Saporito left a few gray twigs in place to give it […]

Read More…

A Passion for Steam book, second edition

steambook

A Passion for Steam (2nd edition) by Marc Horovitz Cal-Pac Trading Company 33268 Central Ave. Union City CA 94587 8¾” x 11″, 240 pages, color, hardbound with dust jacket Price: $45 Website: www.accucraft.com If ever there was an appropriately titled book, it has to be this one. The first time I met Marc Horovitz, in […]

Read More…

Corrugated metal sheets

corrugatedmetal

Marc Horovitz Corrugated metal G-Scale Corrugated Metal http://gscalecorrugatedmetal.com Price: 45¢ per  ¼” x 5″ panel + s&h Corrugated tinplate panels; 11/4″ wide x 5″ long x .006″ thick Pros: Good corrugated profile; prototypical material; easy to work; can be prototypically weathered Cons: Actual scale not quoted Corrugated steel sheet was (and is) an inexpensive, durable, […]

Read More…

MyLocoSound sound system

mylocosound

Kevin Strong Analog/digital sound system for steam and diesel locomotives MyLocoSound Available in the US through G-Scale Graphics 4118 Clayton Ct. Fort Collins CO 80525 Price: $79 Website: www.mylocosound.com Locomotive sound boards with analog and digitals sounds; programmable—lots of user flexibility; steam or diesel available; a variety of sounds on either board Pros: Good overall […]

Read More…

Accucraft’s 28-ton Shay in live steam

A garden scale model of a logging locomotive.

1:20.3 scale, gauge 1, live-steam Shay Accucraft 33268 Central Avenue Union City CA 94587 Price: $2,299 Website: www.accucraft.com 1:20.3 scale, gauge 1, live-steam model of a 28-ton, three-cylinder Shay; steel, brass, and stainless-steel construction; butane fired—gas tank in bunker; hand pump in bunker; blow-off pressure, 55 psi; fittings include safety valve, throttle, water glass, pressure […]

Read More…

Life along the Winnegance & Quebec

Garden scale figure operating a similar sized hand car.

Name:    Eric Schade Forum User Name:    captain perry Railroad Name:    Winnegance and Quebec Location:    Phippsburg, Maine Scale:    1:13.7 (7/8″=1 foot) Theme:    Maine two foot gauge Description:    Life in small town Maine is full of interesting characters. you see some of them as the train snakes through the woods and over the covered bridges. Most of […]

Read More…

How to model a formal English garden

english_garden1

Photo 1 Keith Yundt Photo 2 Photo 3 Keith Yundt Photo 4 Keith Yundt Photo 5 Keith Yundt Photo 6 Keith Yundt Photo 7 Keith Yundt Photo 8 Keith Yundt We wanted to create a sort of English formal garden, with the various patterns and geometric designs that make them interesting (photo 1). The plants […]

Read More…

Shrubbery: low-maintenance bushy plants

using_shrubs1

1. The Rhaetian Railway’s (RhB) Bernina Express runs from the Chur area in Switzerland over the Alps to Italy, here modeled with 12 varieties of thyme and other herbaceous perennials from the Mediterranean. Top left, pink fanflowers (Scaevola sp.) hang over pink stems of golden oregano (Oreganum vulgare ‘Aureum Crispum’, Zones 5-9). Underneath, lining the […]

Read More…

House of Balsa false front building kit

bakery1

Kevin Strong 1:24 scale, false-front building kit House of Balsa 10101 Yucca Rd. Adelanto CA 92301 Price: $39.95 Website: www.houseofbalsa.com 1:24 scale, plywood and balsa building-flat kit for wood-frame storefront. Dimensions: length, 9½”; depth: 1¾; height: 9½” Pros: Good instructions; easy construction; laser-cut parts fit well together Cons: Not suitable for outdoor use; smaller parts […]

Read More…