While traveling, I came upon an operating large scale layout that was a circle of track attached to the top of a whiskey barrel planter that had been cut in half. I thought that it would be fun to build something like that for our front porch, but wanted something a little larger and less […]
Many of us started our love affair with model trains after getting Lionel or American Flyer items, perhaps to circle a Christmas tree. We might have gotten a toy plastic or metal station with people printed on the sides and some fake evergreen trees. It was all the excitement and the reality we needed. I […]
I model Colorado narrow gauge, specifically the Denver & Rio Grande Western and Rio Grande Southern. I own two separate garden railroads (not connected and about 8 feet apart). Trains run around approximately 250 feet of mainline tracks with a couple of short lines for logging and running the Galloping Goose. I can run five […]
What is an operating session? Operating sessions attempt to mimic the activities we see on a full-size railroad. To support a successful operating session, a garden railroad must have certain characteristics. There must be multiple industries where cars can be spotted. The more unique industry locations on the railroad, the better. These car spots must […]
The Oberammergau, Ogden & Olomana Railroad (a.k.a. the Triple O) operates across eras and continents on a small piece of land on Oahu’s windward coast (see Garden railroading in Hawaii – Trains). We have employed the German toy line Playmobile) to bring it to life in all its incarnations, whether European, Wild West, or Hawaiian […]
Steam locomotives in the garden Do you have a photo you’d like considered for a future gallery? Email editor@gardenrailways.com for more information. […]
7 tips for your roadbed and right-of-way: Keep your trains rolling with these easy tips. Learn how to store ballast nearby, easily pick up leaves, clear switch points, and more! Piping under the roadbed When we built our garden railroad, we found that we needed to provide water to plants on the far side of […]
The New England & Pacific, the Bay State Model Railroad Museum N scale layout, was featured in Great Model Railroads 2023. The Bay State Society of Model Engineers, the club that builds, maintains, and runs the museum’s layouts, was founded in 1968. The museum, in Roslindale, Mass., has four layouts in O, HO, HOn3, and […]
Name: Ray Wheeler Railroad Name: Jericho & Mt Zion Railway Location: Lynnwood, WA Scale: G scale Theme: Tourist railroad with freight operations in the modern era. Description: The Odyssey of UP 2488 on the Jericho & Mt Zion Railway. AristoCraft 2-8-2 live-steam Mikado makes the run with a local freight. […]
Name: John Barrett Forum User Name: JohnniebGoode Railroad Name: DD&C/M Location: Sacramento, CA Scale: 4 yr old’s imagination Theme: Was western, but now Disney thanks to 4 yr old Granddaughter Description: Social distancing comes to the DD&C/M. […]
Name: Shawn Viggiano Railroad Name: Kittatinny Mountain RR Location: Wantage, NJ Scale: 1:20.3 Theme: Logging Description: Regner Class A Climax steaming on a warm spring day. […]
Name: Shawn Viggiano Railroad Name: Kittatinny Mountain RR Location: Wantage, NJ Scale: 1:20.3 Theme: Logging Description: Steam in spring snow […]
