Thimble cactus

Thimble cactus in a garden railroad

Common name: Thimble cactus Latin name: Mammillaria gracilis fragilis Plant type: Perennial USDA Hardiness Zones: 9-11 Cultural needs: Gravelly or sandy well-drained, neutral or slightly acidic soil; full sun Plant size: 1″ high, spreading to 6-12″ As might be expected, this miniature mammillaria cactus hails from south of the border in Central or Eastern Mexico, […]

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M.T.H. will continue to make trains

Open garage door with moving truck

  Some good news for toy train hobbyists: Mike Wolf might be retiring, but his former company isn’t. A year after M.T.H. Electric Trains’ owner announced his plan to depart the industry, a significant portion of the company is relocating from its Columbia, Md. facility to a new one in Elkridge, Md., while another part […]

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News & Products for the week of May 20, 2021

Union Pacific 2-6-0 Mogul Up steam locomotive.

Large scale locomotives  2-6-0 Mogul steam locomotive. Union Pacific. One road number. Five-pole can-type ball-bearing motor, hook-and-loop couplers, and cab interior with engineer figure. $689.99. July 2021. PIKO America, 619-280-2800, piko-america.com Large scale passenger cars Union Pacific wood passenger coaches. Two road numbers. Factory applied brake wheels, hook-and-loop couplers, and plastic wheelsets. $132.99 each. July […]

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Create a soybean field for your garden railroad

A garden railroad scene with a model soybean field.

Always looking for new ways to make the farm scene on my garden railroad layout look more realistic, I decided to add a field of crops. With my limited knowledge of gardening, creating long rows of perfectly aligned tiny plants just wasn’t possible. I pondered several ideas but discovered the best one as I strolled […]

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Bonsai: Techniques, Styles, Display Ideas

Cover of bonsai book by Peter Warren

While visiting a local nursery in February 2020, I bought a starter bonsai tree (Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’). It was beautiful, but how do I care for it? My search for printed resources began. The book I found was so helpful that I wanted to share it with GR readers. The author trained with bonsai master […]

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News & Products for the week of May 13, 2021

Ron’s Books Plymouth Locomotives Vol. 1 cover

Books Plymouth Locomotives Vol. 1. Reprints of ads and brochures for Plymouth Locomotive Works. Includes Plymouth Mine-O-Motives, Plymouth Torqomotive, Plymouth bulletins, and MDT four- and six-wheel locomotives. Softcover, 86 pages. $35. Manufacturers’ Catalog Archive series. SilverLake Images LLC and Ron’s Books, 914-967-7541, ronsbooks.com Tools 21-piece mini tool set. Includes five hex-nut drivers, six slotted screwdrivers, […]

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A fun way to operate your garden railroad

A hand holding two, handmade, four-sided dice.

We enjoy operations on our Weona (we-own-a) Railroad, but we wanted something different for our operating sessions. Here’s how we do it. I made a pair of four-sided dice, one with sides labeled 1, 2, 3, and 4, and the other 1, 2, 3, and blank, giving a possible outcome of 1 to 7, to […]

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News & Products for the week of May 6, 2021

Mushroom pin vise

2-1/2” scale locomotives Whitcomb 45-ton center cab side-rod diesel locomotive. 7.25” or 7.5” gauge. Base model comes with powered trucks, 2.5” Sharon couplers, electrical controls, and gray primer finish. $9,250. Following upgrades available: Paint, $500; sound system, $600; and battery installation, $500. Produced by Accucraft, available from Live Steam Station, livesteamstation.com Tools  Mushroom-handle pin vise. […]

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FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions for Garden Railways readers: Q: Trains in the backyard or around the house seem like fun. How do I start? A: One great way to start is to look through our Beginners section. There you can find downloadable articles as well as basics articles to help you on your journey. We also […]

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Welcome to garden railroading!

 Get an overview of the garden railroading hobby by watching our introductory video. If you are interested in knowing more about putting trains in your backyard or garden, consider signing up for our welcome email series. […]

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Kitbash a large-scale structure from a craft birdhouse

Tweedell Twins Construction Office made from a wooden birdhouse

  Our local Michaels craft store sells an unfinished wooden birdhouse you can buy for just $4.99 (or less if you use a coupon). I’ve found it useful for kitbashing small buildings for your railroad. I will share three examples I made for my own railroad. [Note: All unfinished wood should be painted/stained before leaving […]

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