Have you recently built your first Garden Railway?

Started by Bucksco, July 13, 2010, 04:53:33 PM

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Bucksco

Have you recently built your first Garden Railroad? If so Bachmann would like to interview you. Let us know if you would like to talk to us about your experience.

ryeguyisme

mine is but a brief summer memory, wasn't the greatest but it got me outside that summer, it was mostly sand

buzz

Mine is being demolished it had an unfortunate shake up by nature.
Earthquake!!
Buildings are being repaired track assessed for re use.
It was only a simple line an oval of track and a few sidings
It will be again.
Bachmann could help by providing a revised range of the large scale buildings like it used to make perhaps this time in a UV stable plastic,
and please make a decent out door track or at least a decent indoor track with solid rails.
Perhaps genuine large scale plasticville in UV stable plastic a big ask I know.
My garden railway provided hours of entertainment and will again one day.
I feel Bachmann's large scale is let down by lousy track and a lack of at least the basic RR structures.
A shame when some of the trains are very well done and getting better
regards John
A model railway can be completed but its never finished

Tom Lapointe

#3
 Hi Jack,

    I wouldn't necessarily call it "recent"  (my mainline was completed @ 6 ~ 7 years ago), but my "Watuppa Railway" is an ongoing construction project.  My project for this year is to add more industries to allow train-order-style switching (producing industry > consuming industry); I'm hoping to complete a long-planned logging branch sometime this summer to justify all the logging equipment on the roster.  :D  (Already have an LGB / Pola sawmill to deliver the logs to, just have determine a location for it outside).   A mine tipple is already in place, to get it's own  mine railroad, probably one of the new "Prospector" sets running on it's own dedicated track with an auto-reversing circuit controlling it.  A scratchbuilt steel mill is in the early planning stages as well.

    Most of the time, I am running Bachmann Spectrum & Accucraft 1:20.3 narrow-gauge prototypes; the vast majority of my locomotives are Bachmann.   ;)  Control is via DCC (NCE Powerhouse Pro 10-amp system).  I also have 3 Accucraft live-steam locos, 2 Shays & a "Ruby" 2-4-2 with tender, all fitted for RC operation.  My oldest Accucraft Shay (the 3-cylinder version) has electrically-insulated drivers, so it often operates simultaneously with the Bachmann locos running under DCC control.  Occasionally, I will switch "era", prototype & scale (freelance 1:20.3 narrow-gauge to 1950's-era New Haven RR 1:29th scale, running a USA trains NH "Merchant's Limited" streamliner pulled by Alco PA's, & an Aristo RS-3 powered NH wayfreight such as ran locally back when I was a kid).  ;)

Here's a few pictures:











Here's also links to a couple of my YouTube videos of the railroad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXljrPCP8V8



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGdQvp43XIQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP5ByDdg_CM

- A few other unique things about my railroad; it's in a city environment (older neighborhood; railroad is very visible to the neighbors - & enjoyed by them! 8) ).  The entire railroad is built elevated @ 2 feet off the ground (both for live-steam operation, & I've also a severe knee injury @ 6 years ago - kneeling is not fun  :-\ for me.  It's a modest-sized garden railroad, mainline run is @ 160 feet (takes a Shay typically @ 5 minutes to make a full loop), total amount of trackage is @ 250 ~ 300 feet.   The first video (the one with the Mallet in it) is the most recent, shows the railroad pretty close to as it looks currently.

                                                                                      Tom

PS - Mr. B knows me as well. ;)  (We've met at the Amhearst Railway Show in Springfield MA & the York TCA meet).   :D



 






Ken



   Jack

   Pickup a copy of "A Garden Railway Adventure" by Nicolas Trudgian, for a fantastic
look at his  garden railway. Makes you want to visit England just to see it in person<G>.
  Pricey but worth every penny!.

  Alantic Editions Limited
   83 Parkanur Avenue
    Southend-on-Sea
     Essex  SS1 3JA

   ISBN  978 -1-902827-20-9

   Ken Clark
    GWN

Bucksco

Thanks everybody. We're looking over the replies we've received and will be contacting some of you soon.