Hardscape using cement products

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1. Edward Van Pelt’s small yard in hilly San Francisco required retrofitting by reusing the underside of walkways as new hardscape. Stacked, recycled concrete (also from on site) forms the hill on the right. Planted with pink-flowering red stonecrop (Sedum spurium ‘Dragon’s Blood’ Zones 3-9), elevated terraces resist erosion from earthquakes and four dogs. In […]

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False bleeding heart

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Nancy Norris Common names: False bleeding heart, Yellow corydalis, Yellow fumitory Latin name: Corydalis lutea Plant type: Perennial USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-8 Cultural needs: Moist, well drained, mildly acid or mildly alkaline soil; shade to part shade Plant size: 6-12″ Native to the southern Alps of Europe, yellow corydalis (kor-ID-ah-liss) sports tubular, spurred flowers on […]

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Annuals for the railroad garden

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1. A spectacular display of annual flowers edges the mainline of Ned and Phyllis Ruetz’s Rock Canyon Garden Railroad in Michigan. Don Parker 2. White sweet alyssum blooms profusely on the right of a clump of blue lobelia on Tom Speer’s Hard Rock & Dynamite Railroad in Denver. Don Parker 3. What appears to be […]

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Moving the logs on the Little River Rail Road

Moving the logs on the Little River Rail Road

Name:    Tom Grabenstein Railroad Name:    Little River Rail Road Location:    The Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee Scale:    1:20.3 Theme:    Logging Description:   The fifth video from Little River RR productions and Choo Choo Films is a tribute to the 8 and 16 mm films made by railfans and company men toward the end of logging by […]

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Get into your ground-level garden railway

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1. On either side of the Kimmels’ back-door pathway, several distinct-yet-compatible gardens lead the way to a Gulliver-like land of modeled places, serviced by freight, passenger, and excursion trains. The right side is bordered by a view-block hill of warm colored plants, red Japanese maple (Acer palmatum var., Zones 5-9), golden yew (Taxus cuspidata ‘Dwarf […]

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The Roundhouse: Episode 18

Hal Miller, Marc Horovitz, and Kent Johnson

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Now that spring has arrived, Host Hal Miller shifts the roundtable discussion to garden railroading. Two first-time guests, Garden Railways magazine editor Marc Horovitz and MRVP’s Kent Johnson, share their enthusiasm for running big (Large scale) trains in the great outdoors. Along with […]

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Pulp train in the snow

A diminutive garden scale live steam locomotive hauls a train through a snowy outdoor layout.

Name:  Eric Schade Forum User Name:  captain perry Railroad Name: Winnegance and Quebec Location: Phippsburg, Maine Scale:  1:13.7 Theme: Maine Narrow gauge Description:  My little SD Warren Engine, a 7/8″ scale modified Ruby, hauls some pulpwood on a snowy February day. This is the engine discussed in the October and December 2013 issues of Garden […]

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The Tortoise and Lizard Bash Garden Railroad

A model train running on a bridge in a garden railroad

The Tortoise & Lizard Bash Garden Railroad at a glance Name: Tortoise & Lizard Bash Railroad Size of railway: 52′ x ~20′ plus a 10′ x 15′ “L” Scale: Trains, 1:29; structures, 1:24 Gauge: Nº 1 (45 mm) Era: September 1957 Theme: Fantasy, town and country mainline, and switching Age: 15 years Motive power: Primarily […]

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The Wascana Canyon Railway

The Wascana Canyon Railway

The Wascana Canyon Railway at a glance Name: Wascana Canyon Railway, with operating rights for Canadian Pacific Railway Size of railway: About 30′ x 40′ Scale: 1:29 Gauge: Nº 1 (45 mm) Era: Past 30 years Theme: Mainline shipping of grain, containers, and petroleum Age: Six years Motive power: USA Trains SD-70, two GP 38-2s, […]

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Visit a 1970s branch line

Visit a 1970s branch line

UP/CB&Q at a glance Name: Union Pacific & CB&Q Size of railroad: 40′ x 40′ Scale: 1:29 Gauge: Nº 1 Era: 1970 Theme: Southern Nebraska branch line featuring joint UP & CB&Q operations Age: 9 years Motive power: USA Trains Alco S-4s, GP-30, GP-7, F-3 Length of mainline: 180′ Maximum gradient: 2.5% Type of track: […]

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Scratchbuild a White Tower graphics

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Bob Santos describes how to scratchbuild a White Tower restaurant in the February 2014 issue. Here, he provides extra graphics to detail your structure. Download a PDF file of signs, and full-size drawings for 1:24 scale. For full instructions, see the February 2014 issue. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most […]

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How to train trees like topiaries

trees on a hillside

Our little scale trees really make or break the scale quality of our railway gardens. Did you know you could choose from several methods of keeping trees in scale? Here are three practices, but we’ll focus on the third. One approach, planting genetically miniature* plants, ensures almost no pruning for quite a long time but […]

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