Building My Outdoor Garden Scale Railroad
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- Опубліковано 10 вер 2024
- A short video on the building my G Scale or Garden railroad. The video covers site selection, laying the roadbed and running the trains. A small route, but there are plans for future expansion.
This is so helpful! I am designing a track in honor of my late father-in-law who passed away suddenly in 2020. We inherited his train collection but he never lived to finish building his track and running his trains. I am beyond excited to build a public track in our front yard for the neighborhood to enjoy in his honor. I am planning on using bricks to build up the foundation for the tracks and sand as well. I was never into model trains before but now I caught the bug and am excited to start this project this summer!
I have since moved and had to tear up the route in the video. Leveling is very important, especially any switches (points) to prevent derailments. The biggest long term problems with this route was weeds, ants, and animals (We have dogs and cats.) I just sprayed weed killer, put out fire ant bait, and watched the animals. I'm working on a video on my new outside route, but at my new house I have a large brick patio that is fairly level. No ants or weeds to deal with and I will tear it down before all the leaves pile up in the fall. Thanks for watching and your comment!
@@seemoretoys5944 Thanks for the tips! Can't wait to see the new layout! I am hoping to do a video for mine and will share once I get it done!
Thank you so much for providing all of the great information and details on how you put together your tracks and roadbed. I am interested in building a garden railroad but find that there is a lot of intrusive videos available. Thank you for taking the time to point out so many helpful things
Glad it was helpful!
I'm older than you by several years, I too started with an oval much like you did. Your's looks great! Now 24 years into G scale, the two best things I ever did was battery power with a tender car and elevated as my old body doesn't like to crawl or go ground level any more.
HO scaler here......this is awesome
I like the way you laid the roadbed. I have some cars and a sd70 and enough for a large oval but my yard is never really flat anywhere so the only thing I need to do is find a spot.
Thanks. The road bed has survived a really wet Winter in good shape. I have a small infestation of fireants but you have to fight them everywhere and always. I plan to expend sometime this Spring, weather permitting.
See More Toys, there’s no fireants where I live, just moles. Do you run track or battery power?
@@ksrailfan1008 I run track power and haven't had any issues. So far my track has stayed pretty clean. As I expand I will block out sections for dual control.
Very very nice! I will try this.
Thanks. The right-o-way has held up good. The biggest maintenance issues are spraying for weeds and killing the ants that move in.
Thank you for the information. Definitely will do!! 😁😊
Damn! Must've been a lot, I only have a small N scale layout, but it's cute compared to that! Now you can run your M1A2 against your train, lol!
I purchased my G Scale trains back in the late 1990's and early 2000's. I got great deals off the internet at that time verses the local train store's prices. I checked the cost of LGB track today and it has really increased in the last 20 years. Glad I bought it when I did. Also, a tank / train crossing video has crossed my mind. N scale is not cheap. I have a good amount of Kato N gauge trains and track. Nice stuff but not cheap.
@@seemoretoys5944 I have a UP 844 N scale train with some UP Express coaches which is really nice, but yeah, total was I believe 200+ dollars. I believe you can get a Life-Like HO starter set for a much cheaper price, which is understandable because Life-Like has poor products.
Yes, Life-Like is great for kids that will tear it up in the long run. (If they are playing the right way;-) I have learned to purchase quality trains over the years. Some of the trains I have in my collection are older than me and still operate and look great.
It would have been better to put the curve sections together and then use the straights between them. The way it is now the train makes a slight turn then a straight then a turn then a straight, etc. You can also get a rail bender and lessen or increase the curves you have. you can also bend straights into curves. If doing either you must cut the tabs between the ties. (At least every other one or all on one side). Other than that, it is a great start and welcome to the hobby. I also agree that as we get older we wish we had raised our layout so we do not have to get down on our hands and knees.
Thanks Colin. I staggered the curves and straights for the future placement of points where the straights are located. Those switches will head into my rail yard and onto and off a longer mainline. Thanks for the recommendation of the rail bender. I purchased all my G-scale trains around the year 2000 but had an indoor setup. I looked at the cost of larger radius LGB curves and about had a heart attack at the price. The rail bender sounds like a great idea.
I like o scale not to big not to small
Did you ever add more stages?
No. I've been busy the last few Summers at the lake and boating. The route is doing well and I have kept it maintained. It could use a re-ballast as some of the ballast has washed away from heavy rains over the years. I am impressed with how well the route's construction method has weathered over the years. Weeds and ants, and sometimes pets, are the biggest problems. If I add anything I may add a run through siding to park a consist.
Does G use high-rail?
I'm not sure what you mean about "high-rail". I am using LGB track on my route.
could i use a wooden plank as a foundation or would it not be as practical?
You could, but the wood will warp and rot over time and cause leveling problems with your track.
Did you have to glue track to the roadbed pieces?
No glue is needed. I 1st put a thin leveling layer of blast (chicken grit) on the bricks. Then I lay the track down and put blast on and between the ties. You then work in the blast and level out the track as you go. Holds up to the weather just like real railroad track. Mainly I have to spray for weeds.
Just out of curiosity, which power supply do you run your trains with?
As I expand this route I will use and block control A - B setup. I mostly use on this single line my MRC Control Master 20 Power Center. The Control Master 20 will run multiple engines with no problem. I also run a MRC Model 9500 Tech 3 Power Command. Tech 3 is not so good with multiple engines running but works well overall. I purchased both of these back in the late 1990s.
What size curves did you use?
Bob H 15000 LGB curves. I had this originally set up indoors so I used what I had already. 16000's or greater would really be better to use.
Where do you buy your track from ??
I mostly purchased my track online back in the late 1990's and at Legacy Station that used to be in Lawrenceville, GA. Online, I always looked for the best price and cheapest shipping. I only purchased LGB track.