The author glued an owl nest to the top of her Aggie’s grain elevator. One day, a chickadee boldly robbed the straw as her family watched. Rooftop details add interest to garden railways The roof usually isn’t an especially attractive part of a structure – it’s a weather-proofing function. Yet, we usually look down […]
Scale: Large Scale
An extra freight train runs on a rainy March day
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 J&MtZ No. 20 runs an extra freight train for railfans on a rainy March day. Ride along on J&MtZ Caboose 02 as we tour the railroad. Watch […]
Scout plans train meet as fundraiser for club
A northern Illinois model railroader is using his – and others – love of the hobby as a Boy Scout project to raise funds for a large-scale railroad group to expand its facilities. George Werderich, who appears on the toy-train oriented GFW Trains Channel on YouTube, is organizing GFW Trainfair as a community service project […]
Scout plans train meet as fundraiser for club
A northern Illinois model railroader is using his – and others – love of the hobby as a Boy Scout project to raise funds for a large-scale railroad group to expand its facilities. George Werderich, who appears on the toy-train oriented GFW Trains Channel on YouTube, is organizing GFW Trainfest as a community service project […]
The Fairplex Garden Railroad
The Fairplex Garden Railroad in Pomona, California is located in the middle of the Los Angeles County fairgrounds. The 100′ x 300′ railway has occupied the same space since 1935 and has been a part of the annual fair every year except for the war years of 1942-1947. However, the fair’s train display is […]
Trailing spikemoss
Common name: Trailing spikemoss, golden clubmoss Latin name: Selaginella kraussiana ‘Aurea’ Plant type: Groundcover Plant size: Moist, acidic soil; part or full shade USDA Hardiness Zones: 6-9 Cultural needs: Mounding as high as 6″, spreading to 24″ Spikemoss, with its seaweed-like jointed stems, has an other-world appearance, as do the liverworts, when you get […]
A 1930s-era garden railroad set in the western countryside
The railway at a glance Name of railroad: Virginia & DACS Railroad Size of railroad: Approximately 14′ x 36′ Scale: 1:22.5 and 1:20.3 Gauge: Nº 1 (45mm) Theme: Pre-diesel, western countryside Era: 1930s-40s Motive power: LGB and Bachmann steam-outline engines Length of mainline: Outer loop, 90′; inner figure-eight with spur, 120′ Maximum gradient: 3.5% Minimum […]
Garden railroad MI Jack Crane
A garden railroad MI Jack Crane: Something unique, something different, that’s what I needed to endure the long winter of the Midwest when outdoor railroading comes to a dead stop! A building project. If you are thinking about railroading in the period 2020, you must recognize the dramatic change to containerized shipping. What better way […]
Meet the modeler: John Vorhes
How did you get started in the hobby? My love of trains started when I was six years old, watching steam engines on a branch line of the Union Pacific in the late 40’s. I recall being swept away with the sounds and power of the Consolidation (2-8-0) locomotives that stopped in my Dad’s hometown. […]
Kitbash a large-scale bunkhouse
I like to spend my Saturday mornings going to garage sales. Occasionally I find something I can use for my large-scale railroad. At one sale, I found a damaged Christmas Workshop sold by USA Trains. I paid the dollar asking price and brought my prize home. I had recently kitbashed a yardmaster’s office from […]
Add batteries, sound, and radio control to a large-scale Bachmann rail truck
I bought a second-hand Bachmann rail truck at a good price and wanted to convert it to battery power and radio control. I needed access to an on-off switch, fuse holder, charging plug, volume control, and programming jack. The truck is small and limited as to places to add these items, so I decided […]
Solar-powered garden railroad building
A solar-powered garden railroad building is a fairly easy project for most do-it-yourselfers. But one day while shopping at a home-improvement store, I stumbled on to a solar pathway light similar in shape to an HO scale model I liked. I thought the size would work well in my garden railroad as a structure. I […]