A catalog of useful plants for railroad gardens

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What appear to be small apple trees in bloom are really Mexican false heather, a.k.a. elfin herb (Cuphea hyssopifolia, Zones 8-11). These are easy to grow in full to partial sun and average soil and watering. They flower almost continually with white, pink, red, or purple blossoms, outdoors year round in the south or over-wintered […]

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Enginehouse drawings in 1:29 scale

Enginehouse drawings in 1:29 scale

  Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. Please note: […]

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Sand house drawings in 1:29 scale

Sand house drawings in 1:29 scale

Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. Please note: This […]

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Animate your outdoor railway

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1. Since 1928, Spruce Falls Power & Paper Company in northern Ontario has provided all the paper for The New York Times, which affectionately calls it “Uncle Spruce.” Jim and Julie Barber model real places from their past and present by building concrete-sided buildings. Protected inside, a smoke machine helps to model a high-pressure weather […]

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A wood pellet fired Ruby

A wood pellet fired Ruby

Name: Eric Schade Forum User Name: captain perry Railroad Name: Visiting the Down East Light Railway Location: East Boothbay, Maine Scale: 1:13.7 (7/8 inch =1 foot) Description: Wood pellet fired modified Ruby I made a new boiler for this Ruby kit so it could burn solid fuel. She has a water pump working off the […]

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Make stronger scale retaining walls

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Here’s a delicate looking woodworking project that’s tough enough to resist even being accidentally stomped on. Almost everyone has a section of a 2 x 6 stored on their property. You’ll also need a table saw for ripping the narrow boards required, or you can use thin wooden stakes from a garden center or collect […]

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Branchline station drawings in 1:29 scale

Branchline station drawings in 1:29 scale

Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. NOTE: This file […]

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Logging train on the W&Q

Homemade garden-scale live steam logging locomotive passes near a figure posed at a train depot.

Name:  Eric Schade Forum User Name: captain perry Railroad Name:  Winnegance & Quebec Location: Phippsburg, Maine Scale: 1:20.3 Theme:  Maine narrow gauge (logging today) Description: Follow along as my little scratch built logging engine “Tobias” takes a loop around the Winnegance and Quebec Railway. This engine is not a “BARGS” but is similar. It started […]

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Bucket coaling station drawings in 1:29 scale

Bucket coaling station drawings in 1:29 scale

Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. Please note: This […]

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How to model fallen rock

rocky scene on garden railway

When gravity, earthquakes, or water pull the rug out from under a cliff face, its strata and fracture lines burst open. Solid slopes suddenly turn fluid. Rocks bounce and roll, creating talus, which settles in a pile at the foot of the cliff—possibly damming a waterway. Garage-size boulders split from slopes and tumble to the […]

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