What is a garden railroad? It’s a model railroad placed outdoors, usually in a garden. Sometimes the garden is part of the scenery, sometimes the trains are just a “cute” addition to an existing garden, but usually it’s a cross between the two. If you are used to traditional model railroads, here are some comparisons:
Garden railroad observations:
- Supplies are measured in terms of tons, pallets, and cubic yards.
- Sledgehammers, handtrucks, rakes and shovels are commonly used tools.
- Weathering just happens, it’s not applied. We fight against weathering.
I have a lot of pictures of the garden railroad, but this one is kind of interesting in that it was taken in early 2010 from the window of the treehouse that straddles the mainline. The tunnel is right in front with an exit towards the bottom left, the industrial district is just visible to the right. If you follow the mainline to the left you’ll just notice the start of the yard. The existing pond is near the top center, behind some gizmo my wife hung up to combat ticks. Most of the area in this view is unfinished, as is evident by the pile of stones still sitting where dirt will eventually go, the track supports just floating above the ground, etc. The railroad wraps around a nice sitting area, and the swing overlooks some pretty garden scenes and the existing pond.
This is the J&M RR... Jason & Megan, our kids.
The layout is basically a large figure-8 with one passing siding, and switches to lead to a couple of sidings for future industries. Not a very realistic model railroad, but the goal was to make this fun for the family, not just me. I asked my son what he wanted on the layout, and he immediately came back with "a tunnel” which has been created. My wife wanted areas for gardening, which is why there are raised beds around the layout. My daughter just wanted to see trains run. Both kids liked the addition of the water garden and we enjoy the gaggle of frogs that call it home.
My goals were to:
- Have somewhere to do some modeling and show off.
- Go beyond the typical off-the-shelf model trains (better track, better couplers, etc).
- Be able to do some switching - I love switching layouts.
- Just let the trains run - sometimes it's just fun to watch trains!
- Have enough "to do" so I'll be busy at least 20 years!
The layout has already achieved some of these goals.
In early June 2004, I began work on the garden railroad. One of the biggest jobs was deciding where to put it, a general track plan, etc. I had worked out a rather complex track plan, spent hours thinking about how trains would move on it, etc, but once it came time to put down track, a much simpler plan evolved.
Our property is heavily wooded, so I spent a lot of time clearing out some of the low brush. As you look at these pictures, you'll see that I'm using elevated supports for track, and will eventually back-fill with dirt for my wife to plant in. Click on the Roadbed button for more information on my method.
Note that I don't always take the cheap nor easy way out. If you're considering a garden railroad and are scared because of the cost, there are a lot of things you can do to get a nice layout going without spending big bucks. You can probably get started for under $100 if you're willing to be flexible and look for some bargains. I've been involved with trains since I was a kid, so I've got very specific ideas which aren't always easy (or cheap) to accomplish. "The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys."