Garden Railways

This page is a collection of resources for those who are interested in garden railways using 45mm (Gauge 1) tracks. For larger scales that are rideable, please see Estate Railways. Take a look at our Thursday Choirboy's CP - King's Bridge Subdivision or some other garden railways. More information on garden railways can be found on any search engine (such as Google or RailSearch).

Garden railroading is definitely NOT scale modelling. But that does not mean that it is not a lot of fun!. Garden railroaders accept tradeoffs from the prototype. These are due mostly to physical and economic limitations. One example is the wide use of talgo couplers instead of the standard draft box type which limit the minimum radius for switches and curves. The least expensive and most readily available track is built to European style and tie spacing. Often you will find a mix of 1:22.5, 1:24 and 1:29 scale cars running in the same train. Scenery is of mixed scales as well. But things can be optimized for running or for invoking scenes (sometimes whimsical) and everything is in the spirit of fun. Rivet counters and nit-pickers can leave their loupes and scales at home.

Gauges and Scales

Garden railways can use a variety of gauges (width between rails) for the track. These gauges are: 3.5",
2.5" [#3], 1.75" or 45mm [#1], and 1.25" or 32mm [O]. By far the most common scale is #1 (or 'G') gauge.

Using #1 gauge (ie 45mm wide) track there is a variety of scales or proportions in use. 1:32 scales well for standard gauge, 1:22.5 for metre gauge, 1:20.3 for 3 ft gauge. Another approach is to look at which scale each manufacturer uses:

Power Sources

The main sources of power for garden railways are clockwork, live engine, track-power and on-board batteries.

Clockwork power is one of the oldest methods and is very reliable. Obtaining a working mechanism is difficult!

Live engines, either steam, hydrostatic, or motor-generator offer the most realistic operation and any-weather use. The down side is cost and the difficulty of 'real' engine maintenance and operation.

Track-supplied electrical power is the most commonly used method as this is how most manufacturers market their product. The wiring issues are familiar to model railway enthusiasts experienced in other scales (read that as 'lots of supplies and advice available'). The down side is that the outdoors environment makes maintenance a real task. Track connections must be solid and tracks must be cleaned on a regular basis. Heavy underground wiring must be run to each block of track. The equipment can only be run in favorable weather. Important heads-up here: A few layouts have been struck by lightning which traveled through the controller into house wiring. Take proper precautions.

On-board battery power allows freedom from track and weather conditions but requires regular battery recharging. NiMH batteries come in various configurations that can fit inside almost any engine shell (eg. AA size are nominally 1.2 volt, 1600 mAH. A pack of 12 gives a run-time of over two hours running time and can easily be fitted into a NW2 switcher). Alternate locations for the batteries are tenders and trailer cars. NiCad packs are also readily available but suffer from the recharge cycle memory problem. Gel cells are inexpensive but are bulky, heavy and must be kept charged to a certain voltage at rest or permanent damage can occur. NOTE: NiMH batteries require a specialized charger.

Train Control

Cab control is the oldest form of multiple train control. It uses track blocking or sectioning into smaller units with mechanical methods of transformer power connection. Cab control is very unrealistic, and requires track-supplied power.

DCC control is a better solution as control is through electronic signals applied to a constant current source in the track. No mechanical sectioning is needed except for reversing loops. The Controller inputs are processed into packets of information addressed to specific engines. All information is merged together prior to sending. DCC control only works with track supplied power. Real railways only used rail to hold the wheels off the ties ;-] And to see what kind of issues you will need to deal with check out Wiring For DCC in the Garden.

Radio control allows flexibility in how the trains are operated as well as providing walk-around capability for the train crew. However there are several design criteria that must be considered:

A possible solution is the use of Radio Control Car/Boat technology where the direction channel is used to control horn and bell. The speed channel is used with either a 5 amp. capacity digital control or a mechanical control. All components can then be found at the R/C shop but will need assembly. First timers need an experienced R/C techie! Ready-to-run solutions are offered by the following:

On-board power coupled with on-board control gives you maximum operating flexibility and realism. If your garden railway is set up for operations rather than simply 'running' this is very important. But you will have to look very hard for suppliers and installers. This is not yet a plug-and-play operation!

On-board sound can be by controlled by radio or dcc. Standard sound units are available from Dallee Electronics, Phoenix Sound and SoundTraxx (Sierra).

Engines and Cars

Although many choose to run any engine that catches their fancy, others select a specific era and a geographical area to determine the engines they run. Steam through the Rockies, logging railways, and modern heavy freight haulers are all popular themes. The choice is one of backyard toys or modeling a railway. The fun is yours!!

Rolling stock is commercially available in a wide variety of AAR car types, road names and eras but there are some major realism to be considered. Building your own cars is another option but has another major issue, the lack of reasonably priced trucks.

Interurbans and streetcars need specialized supplies. Some of these can be found at Light Rail Products.

Right-Of-Way Planning

Most garden railways have at least one loop for continuous operation and a minimum of switching opportunities. Passing sidings are a must if bidirectional operation with several trains is anticipated. A wye or a turntable (if steam is modeled) can be used to keep engines moving. Facing and trailing spurs add variety and interesting switching moves. A small yard can be used to store extra cars and provide a source or destination for industrial traffic.

Remember that in 'G' gauge engines are about 24" long and cars are about 18" long. So a 6 car plus van (aka caboose) train (quite long for garden railways) will require 13 feet or more in a passing siding. Also radii less than five feet will limit some engines. Standard switches use a four foot radius circle so the larger engines may have to stay on the main and not 'take the siding'. Parallel tracks are normally spaced 6.25 inches or more apart.

Roadbed Construction

Actual roadbed construction replicates real railways much more than tabletop modeling ever did. The environment must always be considered. Drainage and track expansion are real issues. Any wood used must survive moisture and not be too tempting to chipmunks and squirrels.

One early decision to make is roadbed height. Ground level is the easiest to construct but can cause problems for switchmen and 'gandy dancers' as they mature (but do men ever mature?). Trains appear more realistic if they are nearer eye level. If live-steam is anticipated, elevated rail is also important for correct observation of running gear. Heights can be knee, waist or chest level. Elevation can be done using landscaping and terracing or with post/rail unit construction. One requires time, money and an artistic touch. The other is utilitarian but much more flexible.

Ballasting forms a real purpose on garden railways. For ground level track a trench 4 to 5 inches wide and 3 to 4 inches deep is dug and this sub-roadbed is filled with stone. Gray fines (1/4 inch and smaller crushed rock) work well as it compacts with moisture and holds ties well. It can be broken up again with a pick. NOTE: Avoid using crushed granite, pea gravel, lava rock, aquarium sand, chicken grit and kitty litter for the sub-roadbed. The trench should be filled with ballast, then tamped down, leveled and wetted. Allow time for settling then level and wet again. Now lay the track.

An alternative to trenching is to lay the ballast on the ground and have the track slightly higher. Be careful to avoid blocking existing natural drainage -- an excuse for scenic culverts, trestles and bridges. Decorative (visible but not functional) ballast can be of any type that gives the colour and texture you want. Variants go from black cinder to snow white, depending on railway and geography.

Trackwork

Ready-to-run trackwork can be purchased in a variety of formats. But beware, some makes have a European look (rails bolted to ties rather than spiked) and there is a difference in tie spacing for narrow gauge trackwork and standard gauge. Switches can also be purchased ready-to-run but they often use very sharp curves giving a toy-like look. Most commercial track is very tall and out of proportion. Use Code 250 rail (ie .250") or smaller for proper rail weight scaling. Larger rails offer reliable running but look very toylike.

Handmade track using aluminum or brass rail and ties from cedar, redwood, oak or other material can take the rigors of weather. Jigs can be fabricated and track sections made in the winter or early spring. An excellent article on handlaying track can be found at Track Construction. Some variants of track construction add a 2"x4" wood sub-base to make it easier to keep ties in place and for track leveling. This requires overthick ties so that ballast can conceal the sub-base. Another variant would be to have two 1/2" stringers placed under the ties at the rails. This allows for longer spikes or nails and gives the stability without the bulk of a 2x4.

Hand made switches can be built with #4 frogs for spurs and yards and #6 frogs or larger for passing sidings. Spikes can be large scale modeling spikes or shoe tacks or small nails. Iron is preferred as it rusts into position forming a stronger bond with the wood. Some firms such as Llagas Creek Railways [dealer: BigBoyzTrains] offer kits and various components for those who prefer to lay their own. An excellent article on handlaying switches can be found at Switch Construction.

Note: Jigs can make track and switch construction much easier. HandLaidTrack.com offers various jigs in many scales for the determined constructor.

Structures

Lineside structures include stations, warehouses, mills, loading docks, sheds, offices, signal cabins, crossbucks etc. There is some good news/bad news here. The good news is that the scale size makes construction easy enough for most modelers. The bad news is that weather must be considered as well as frequent movement to a secure area (unless you want the structures to go the way of garden gnomes, frogs and lawn jockeys). Monthly magazines feature articles regularly and 'O' scale diagrams can be scaled upwards easily. BrewerPlans has some nice structure plans.

One structure, the loading dock, is generic and needed on almost every layout. Consider building several of them. The general prototype dimension is 3ft high from track (to align with boxcar floor) by 12ft (or more) by 20ft (or more). Simple docks can look like sundecks on steroids (planking on pillar and post). More rugged designs used plank cribbing, stone, brick, block or concrete sidewalls, infilled with dirt or crushed stone. Concrete surfaces were used at some freight exchange facilities. Constructing a loading dock or two is a great way to get started in scratch building.

Another common structure is the small shed, used to store tools, equipment and supplies or as a spot to take a break out of the weather. Sheds could be as small as five by five feet, had a small window, and made with vertical batten. These are also good first projects for scratch building. They can be located almost anywhere on the railway, either near a freight house, a passenger station or even out in the middle of nowhere as shelter for a track repair crew. Think of them as the predecessor of the garden shed.

Off-line structures include homes, offices, churches and other urban structures that support a community. Depending on your goals of modeling, you will have from zero to dozens.