Trains in the Garden

Large Scale model railways are often built and run outside in the modeler's back yard or some other dedicated location. Most of the time these railroads are built within an existing garden or have a custom garden built along with them, thus lending the name "Garden Railroad." Garden Railroads usually have live plants. If the garden was built for the railroad, these plants generally are chosen for close to scale size, but if the railway simply goes through a garden, the plants are simply whatever the modeler feels like.

Garden Railroads usually use Gauge 1 tracks with a gauge of 45mm. The ties are made out of plastic or sometimes real wood, depending on the manufacturer.

Rail
There are many choices for the material of the rail:

• Brass: Most common. Relatively Strong, Moderate Cost, Must be cleaned for track power.


• Aluminum: Low cost, light weight, must be cleaned for track power.


• Nickel Silver: Easier maintenance, still must be cleaned, slightly more expensive.


• Stainless Steel: Most expensive, least maintenance.

The above listed are the most common materials, however modelers are not restricted to just them. I have seen garden railroads that utilized strap iron, wood, and plastic for the rails and other parts of the tracks.

It is also important to note that different rails have different heights. A rail that is one height will not match directly to a rail of a different height and a transition piece must be used. Rail height is measured in thousandths of an inch from the bottom of the foot to the rail-head and is stated as "Code xxx." For example, Code 332 rail is .332" high and will not match directly with Code 250 rail, which is .250" high.

Types of track
There are three options that a modeler has for the type of track he uses in his railroad. The first is to buy sections of pre-formed track from a manufacturer. This is arguably the easiest method, though it does not allow for custom curves or lengths. The second choice is flex track, which is sold in relatively long lengths of straight track to be cut and bent into the proper lengths and curve radii for the railroad. Most modelers use this option. The last choice is to hand lay the track using separate ties, spikes and rail. This is the most time consuming and often the most expensive of the three options, but results in much more realistic looking track.

Choosing the right type of track for your railroad is a moderately important aspect of designing and building a garden railroad.

The most important part of a garden railroad is the trains and when it comes to the options one has when choosing a train, one has a lot of choices.

The first thing to consider is the era and location that the railroad is modeling. Even if they aren't focusing much on prototypical running, most modelers have a general idea of the look and feel of the trains they prefer. For example, I tend to prefer narrow gauge trains that could have been run on mountain and logging railroads. Other modelers prefer mainline trains, some from the days of steam and some from the more modern diesel era. Many modelers also mix and match eras and may run a diesel train along side a steam one.

Once you have chosen what era you would like to model, you should consider the scale of the trains. Most narrow gauge trains are built in 1:22.5 or 1:20.3 scale while modern standard gauge trains are built in 1:32 scale or 1:29 scale. (More Info on Garden Scales) While mixing happens often, I have found that in most cases, a 1:32 scale train just doesn't look quite right next to a 1:20.3 scale train.

There is a wide variety of trains to choose from, enough to satisfy almost any modeler, and if there is something you want that you can't find in stores, it is always possible to build it.