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August, 2017 Update from Family Garden Trains<sup><small>TM</small></sup>.  This is a photo of my future railroad, starting to take shape.  The rolling stock is set out to give you a sense of scale. Click to see a bigger photo. Garden Railroading Primer Articles: All about getting a Garden Railroad up and running wellGarden Train Store: Index to train, track, and other products for Garden Railroading
Large Scale Starter Sets: Begin with a train you'll be proud to runBest Choices for Beginning Garden Railroaders: a short list of things you're most likely to need when starting out
Large Scale Track order FormSturdy buildings for your garden railroad.
Large Scale Christmas Trains: Trains with a holiday theme for garden or professional display railroads.Free Large Scale Signs and Graphics: Bring your railroad to life with street signs, business signs, and railroad signs
Garden Railroading Books, Magazines, and Videos: Where to go to learn even more
Collectible Trains and Villages: On30 Trains and accessories designed by Thomas Kinkade and others

Written by Paul D. Race for Family Garden TrainsTM


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August, 2017 Update from Family Garden TrainsTM

Note: This is the web version of a newsletter from the Family Garden TrainsTM web site, which publishes information about running big model trains in your garden as a family activity.

If you are not subscribed to the Family Garden Trains newsletter, and you would like to subscribe, please join our Mailing List, and specify that you want to receive e-mail updates.

Also, if you would like to subscribe to our free newsletter for indoor railroads and seasonal display villages, please join the "Trains-N-TownsTM mailing list. You can subscribe to either, both, or neither, and we will just be glad to be of service, no matter what you decide.

Fine Print: If you are receiving our e-mail updates and you no longer wish to subscribe, please e-mail me with a "Please Unsubscribe" message (worded any way you wish), and we will graciously remove you from our list.

In This Issue

If you've been subscribed to this newsletter for a while, you know I'm in the middle of trying to build a garden railroad that incorporates my "lessons learned" from the New Boston and Donnels Creek railroad that we started in 1999, expanded significantly in 2003, re-furbed several times, and left behind, more or less, when we moved in 2016.

Of course a determination not to make the same mistakes I made the first time almost inevitably leads to making all new mistakes. But some features I was determined to incorporate this time around included:

  • 100% raised railroad, so no more operating, re-railroading, switching, or weeding on my hands and knees.

  • Mostly raised scenery - buildings and details are easier to take in if you're not just looking at roofs and the top of your little people's heads.

  • Vertical interest, a trick I learned from Paul Busse and observing his railroads.

  • The ability to see the railroad from at least three sides, encouraging people to move around and discover new things, rather than being able to see everything there is to see from one position.

  • All right-of-way within 18" from the edge for ease of track cleaning, maintenance, and re-railing.

  • 100% lumber roadbed to provide stability and prevent weeds from growing up through the track.

  • Dirt only where it is needed to grow plants, not everywhere (which contributed to serious weed and animal infestation problems before).

  • A sound, central, enclosed electrical service, so schlepping power supplies out to the railroad for every session was no longer necessary, and lighting and pump lines could be controlled from a central location.

  • Simplified distribution of electrical power to the tracks and lighting circuits to the buildings and streetlamps.

  • On-site, weather-protected storage of short trains, so I could leave some pieces ready to go instead of schlepping trains in and out if we got unexpected company.

Okay, that was quite a grocery list. If you live in a place where even weeds won't grow without irrigation, some of my approach will seem like irrelevant overkill. But, frankly, I'm trying to invent a new kind of garden railroading - one that works in the Heartland, is easy to maintain, and which will stay usable after years of service even in our relatively damp climate. For me, the shortest distance to all of those points is a railroad in which, not just the track, but everything is raised, using materials that are guaranteed for life in this sort of application.

Some folks have already made fun of my "train table outside" approach. But I've already had a "train table outside" in a sense. The first New Boston and Donnels Creek was built near the property boundary and everything was staged so that you enjoyed the railroad best from the middle of the yard looking toward the fenceline, the same way many indoor model railroads are set up to be viewed looking from the center of the room toward the walls. (Even if you can move around and see different parts, you can't get around the "backside" of the railroad.) Yes, it was sixty-foot long, and you had to move from one end to another to see the whole thing, but it was still a glorified train table in its own way.

This one will be a literal "train table," or at least it will start out that way, but my overall plan should make it far more "interactive" than the original New Boston and Donnels Creek ever was.

And if it works out, I think it will be a good example for a lot of other folks to follow (though this one was a little more complicated than I'd usually recommend for a first garden railroad).

The following content is linked to or included in this newsletter:

Click to go to articleFraming the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek RR, Part 1

Once I started dropping posts in the holes and screwing things together, I didn't want to stop before I had the basic frame built (for one thing, the wood warps less once it's fastened in place). Now the folks driving down the street past our house (we're on a corner lot) probably wonder if I'm building an elaborate chicken coop, but that's fine with me. I still need to make a few more lumber runs and do a lot more cutting and sawing, but having the basic frame in place should make the next bits a lot easier.

Click on the following link to see our status as of August 10, 2017

Click to go to articleFallen Flags of Garden Railroading: Delton Locomotive Works

For nearly 20 years after LGB reinvigorated the garden railroading hobby, there were still no Large Scale models of US-style trains. Having started Kalamazoo Toy Trains, which more-or-less WERE toys, Bob Schuster went on to build detailed scale models of historical American narrow gauge trains. His initial trains were expensive limited-edition brass locomotives, but he brought on Phil Jensen to make some cars for them to pull. From that beginning came a number of products that went on to directly influence at least five other Large Scale train manufacturers, and which are still well-respected today.

Click on the following link to see our article about Delton Locomotive Works.

Click on the following link to see our introductory article about the "fallen flags" of garden railroading.

Pardon Us If We LIke to Keep Things Simple

In the last year or so, I've noticed that many of web resources have become nearly unusable, because the content is interrupted every few paragraphs by ads for unrelated products, and every few seconds some new drop-down or pop-up hides the screen. In some cases, I can't even see the content unless I enter an e-mail address first. Or when I find and hit the "X" to close the pop-up or drop-down, it takes me to the advertisers's site anyway. Does that bug you as much as it bugs me?

Since we went online, we have neve had popups or drop-downs. We have never even had advertising for unrelated topics, because our goal was to promote this hobby, as well as manufacturers who who support it. This seriously limits the number and kind of ads we posts, and our readers seem to appreciate it.

But the cost of keeping our sites online has been going up. At the same time huge sites that, frankly, don't need the money and don't provide you with the kind of information we provide, have been taking a bigger and bigger proportion of our advertising revenue.

So here's how you can show your appreciation for having free, informative articles on a no-hassle site, without it costing you anything at all: if you learn about a product you like from one of our sites, and eventually decide to buy it, please come back through our site to get to the vendor. Please don't click on it just because it suddenly starts showing up in the margin of your Facebook page or somewhere. Trust me, it wouldn't there if you hadn't learned about it from us. Unless, of course, you think Facebook needs your support more than we do.

Coming back through our site to click through to whatever you're planning to buy:

  • Lets our advertisers know who to support
  • In some cases, it gives us a few cents on the dollar; and
  • It lets us know what people are interested in.
In case you were wondering, we DON'T see your information, so we won't be deluging you with followup e-mails.

Thanks again for your continued support!

Garden Railroading in Early Autumn

In so-called temperate zones, September is often the best time of year to operate a garden railroad. Weed growth slows, algae growth in the pond slows, temperatures become reasonable, and generally the weather is a little more predictable. That said, it's also time to start preparing for cooler weather.

Deadheading and Weeding - By the end of September, it's safe to cut off or deadhead most perennial flowers. Some plants like Yarrow, will actually look better in the late fall if you cut them back to within a few inches of the ground by September first - they'll start growing back and filling in.

Weeding-wise, don't let crabgrass, nutgrass, or goldenrod go to seed, or you'll be extra sorry next year. If your railroad experiences an invasion of grasses, you may be able to use "Grass Killer" spray, but try a little at time to make certain you're not going to hurt any plants you want to keep. This is hardly ever a problem, really, but I'm paranoid around plants with grass-like leaves like Grape Hyacinth and Sea Pinks.

Autumn Open Railroads - Many garden railroaders in the so-called temperate zones have Open Railroads in September. Check with regional clubs to see if they have any scheduled. Visiting other people's railroads will give you many great ideas, and you might come away with a few "starts" of plants you may find helpful.

Our article on Finding a Garden Railroad Club may help you find folks in your area with similar interests:

Planting in September - Virtually all plants that are commonly used in garden railroads can be planted in the fall, and many of them go cheap at closeout prices. If you can "kid them along" until heavy frost (which mostly involves compensating for any periods of low rainfall) most of them will establish to some extent over the winter and have a "head start" next spring. This is especially true for thymes, sedums, and many other perennials.

For more information about thymes and sedums, see the Family Garden Trains article on "Groundcover 101":

For more ideas about perennials in general, see our article on "The Secret Life of Perennials":

Trimming Trees and Shrubbery - If you have any trees or bushes that need trimmed, get started as soon as things start to cool down. Flowering woody shrubs such as forsythia, lilac, or viburnum should be trimmed as soon as the flowers go off in the spring, so trimming them now will mean fewer flowers next spring, but if you have to trim them now, it shouldn't hurt the plant.

Click to see our article on dwarf conifersPay special attention to any dwarf conifers (such as Dwarf Alberta Spruce) that have grown up against each other or up against a wall. The warm, moist environment such crowding creates is especially inviting to spider mites and other tree-destroying vermin. Yes, it's hard to trim a Dwarf Alberta Spruce evenly all the way around the tree when it's in the ground, but if you can get it done this fall, the tree will be ready to take advantage of late winter and early spring rains. Do NOT just trim the tree branches back wholesale, like the nurseries do. By consistently clipping off the branches that are longer and leaving the branches that are shorter, you can both "thin out" the excess growth and give the tree a narrower profile at the same time. Whatever you do, don't leave any partial branches that have no healthy growth left - those will die and rot out, making an inviting entry for a whole nuther set of tree parasites later.

For more information on trimming dwarf conifers, refer to the following link:

If you're just starting out and have no idea what to plant, check out our article "Inexpensive and Low-Maintenance Plants for Garden Railroads":

Water Features In September - Maintain good water flow, especially as long as temperatures get over 75F during the day. Algae problems will start tapering off with the return of cooler weather. As leaves on water lilies and other pond plants start looking "sick," clip off and dispose of the ones you can reach. The pond and the rest of the plant will stay healthier.

Start thinking about how you will protect your pond from leaves this fall. Nets made for this purpose are available at pond supply places. And when they're properly installed, they aren't even that noticeable. Don't put the net on until after you've taken care of your pond plants for the winter, though.

Yellow Jacket Alert - Keep your eyes open. If you see yellow jackets or other paper wasps "hanging out" in any particular part of your garden, there may be more, maybe thousands more, within a foot or two of where you see them. Move buildings cautiously - they may have uninvited guests. I have "uninvited" more than one family by tossing the building in the pond and leaving it there for a while, but my buildings are built to withstand harsh weather, so that might not work out so well for yours.

You can find more information about yellow jackets and other safety issues in our article on Gardening Safety Tips:

Indoor Activities - In my part of the country, September is often the best time of the year to run trains, but if you do get rained into the house or otherwise stuck inside, this is a good time to start thinking about winter projects. If you don't have a "test" track (say around the upper wall of your basement) where you can run trains this winter, this may be a good time to start planning one. Are there any kits you'd like to order so you have them on hand once it's too cold to work outside?

Christmas List Hints - Also, if bad weather drives you indoors, this might be a good time to start putting together your Christmas list. Our Garden Train StoreTM and Big Christmas TrainsTM buyer's guides list the best choices for beginning garden railroads or Christmas train fun.

Keep in Touch

Finally, please let us know about your ongoing projects. Ask questions, send corrections, suggest article ideas, send photos, whatever you think will help you or your fellow railroaders. In the meantime, enjoy your trains, and especially enjoy any time you have with your family in the coming weeks,

Paul Race

FamilyGardenTrains.com

To view the newsletter for July, 2017, click on the following link:

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Click to see new and vintage-style Lionel trains.
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Garden Railroading Primer Articles: All about getting a Garden Railroad up and running well Big Indoor Trains Primer Articles: All about setting up and displaying indoor display trains and towns. Garden Train Store: Index to train, track, and other products for Garden RailroadingBig Christmas Trains: Directory of Large Scale and O Scale trains with holiday themes
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Learn important guitar chords quickly, to jump start your ability to play along on any song. With a few tools and an hour or two of work, you can make your guitar, banjo, or mandolin much more responsive.  Instruments with movable bridges can have better-than-new intonation as well. Resources for learning Folk Music and instruments quickly Check out our article on finding good used guitars.
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Look to Riverboat Music buyers' guide for descriptions of musical instruments by people who play musical instruments. Learn 5-string banjo at your own speed, with many examples and user-friendly explanations. Explains the various kinds of banjos and what each is good for. Learn more about our newsletter for roots-based and acoustic music. Folks with Bb or Eb instruments can contribute to worship services, but the WAY they do depends on the way the worship leader approaches the music. A page devoted to some of Paul's own music endeavors.