Índex per June 2018 a Garden Railways

Since the late 1970s I have been a member of a British organization, the 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers Association. They are garden railroaders much like us in the US. The hobby there is approached differently than it is here. For one thing, most of their narrow-gauge railways are two-foot gauge (or thereabout), while ours are mostly three foot. Those differences, however, are not the subject of this editorial, just a point of reference. Within the past few years, a subgroup within the 16mm Association has taken a greater interest in their own history, primarily commercial and semi-commercial, through what is being called the 16mm Heritage Locomotive Owners and Operators Association. This got me thinking about the history of garden railroading in the US, at least since 1968. That’s when LGB,…

Assembling a video timeline I’m using a video of Jim Cunningham’s Cumbres & Toltec 1939 railroad to show video timeline creation in postproduction editing. In my software, the timeline is along the bottom of the window. I circled it in yellow in the photo shown. This is where all the components come together. From the Titles Library I have created a title for Jim’s railroad when we show our video to the visitors at the Children’s Museum. Video and still images are drawn from the Media Libraries and are assembled along the timeline. I can move them easily into sequence. I like to start with a wide shot to help orient the viewer, then intersperse closeups to identify people and details. Closeups help keep our video from becoming a moving…

Frog Mountain Railroad DENNIS AND ELLEN BASS This railroad has been running since 2011, with yearly additions. The double-track mainline is track powered in a raised dog-bone trackplan that has buildings, mountains, tunnels, and trestles. Radio control is used in engines and at the track, allowing multiple trains to be run. Both diesel and steam locomotives will be running. A smaller Dogwood Loop runs with the “30 gallon tunnel,” as presented in the February 2016 issue of Garden Railways magazine. Stop by, as there is lots to see. Mo’s Short Line Railroad CAREN AND MAURICE SNOOK This is a turn-of-the-century railroad featuring scratchbuilt buildings in the town of Snookum’s Holler. Bachmann and Aristo-Craft steam locomotives, an Eggliner, and a trolley run on more than 500 feet of track comprising five…

LIKE MANY GARDEN RAILROADERS, I started out in other scales. For my sixth Christmas, Santa delivered an American Flyer electric-train set. I was hooked! As a young teenager, I collected HO trains and would, from time to time, set them up on the living-room floor. Eventually, as an adult, I built a house that included a room dedicated to model trains. This room soon became filled with an operating HO railroad empire. Around 1988, a family vacation to Durango, Colorado, introduced me to the Colorado narrowgauge trains. Soon after I saw a largescale Bachmann 4-6-0 lettered for the Rio Grande Southern in a local hobby shop, so I bought that locomotive, a circle of track, a power source, and an LGB D&RGW yellow combine and coach. Out went the HO…

In the first section of this article (April issue) I described how I got into 3D printing, the software I use, and how I designed and 3D printed the parts. In this concluding section, I’ll add some 3D-printed accessories to the project, then assemble and finish the car. Dome accessories Prior to assembling the dome, two more components were needed: roof vents and sectional seam battens. The size of the roof vents was estimated from Champagne prototype images (photos 1 and 12). As you can see in photo 9 (in the last issue, reprinted below), the seam between the sections is quite evident. I concluded that there was no easy way to fill in the seams that would maintain the roof texture/appearance I wanted but not show in the final…

Here are some pointers to help you make your landscape and plants as attractive and impressive as your track, trains, and structures. Whatever the emphasis you put on the garden part of your railroad, wouldn’t you like knowing the results of your work will be worth the effort? Understanding a few basics about plant needs and soil conditions is a good starting place toward achieving the results you want. Start with a clean slate It saves headaches later to make sure the garden site is clean of weeds before planting. The fastest way to achieve this is with a herbicide. Roundup (glyphosate) is the least toxic product and will kill all green plants on which it is sprayed. After the first application, wait a week and spot treat any weeds…

Friction is the primary impediment to free-rolling wheels. Newtonian physics states that “an object at rest tends to stay at rest,” also called the law of inertia. If an object isn’t moving, it will want to stay not moving until something tries to move it. In this issue I’m going to discuss what it takes to keep our trains’ wheels moving, and some things we can do to make them roll easier in specific situations. There are three types of friction: static, sliding, and rolling (figure 1). Static friction (sometimes called “stiction”) is the force that must be overcome before a stationary object will begin to move. In the case of our trains, it’s the amount of pull the locomotive must exert on the train to get the wheels to…

What's your operator position on the SJR&P Railway? Note: These reports are shortened to fit this column but readers will find each report in its entirety at GardenRailways.com, keyword: Operations. 1. Holding Company Stan and Deb Ames Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Zone 5 We began construction of the SJR&P Railway in April 1988. As soon as a simple up-and-over figure-eight was built, we got hooked on large scale. Our first expansion added a second loop, two passing sidings, and a simple yard, which allowed operations to commence. Each expansion was constructed to enhance operations. Our goal is to provide an operating experience that follows key aspects of narrow gauge-prototype operations that are both challenging and enjoyable, ensuring that the operators have fun. 2. Superintendent Stan Ames My job is to oversee railroad operations.…

Those who are contemplating joining the world of small-scale live steam are often surprised by the price of a new locomotive. It may be useful to look at what drives the cost of live steam and what options exist to reduce those costs when first entering the hobby. Live-steam locomotives are more complex that electrically powered models. That complexity takes the form of working steam cylinders, boilers, gas tanks, and the associated piping. Valve gear must function as it does on a full-size locomotive and must be made precisely to work properly in miniature. Boilers and gas tanks must be pressure tested. A large amount of manual labor is required to assemble a locomotive, and a number of manufacturers undertake this in places that have lower labor costs. Another cost…

The “high cube” (high cubic capacity) boxcar evolved in the 1960s and was originally developed to handle parts for the automotive industry. It has since gone on to other uses, such as paper, lumber, plywood, and general merchandise. At lengths of up to 86' and a height from the rail of over 16', high-cube cars are both longer and taller than normal freight cars. As such, they are restricted to routes that can handle them. Because of their extreme height, they often have white bands painted on their ends, just below the roof line, calling attention to that fact as an additional safety measure. American Mainline (AML) has brought out a model of a Gunderson 50' high-cube car in 1:29 scale. It is available in 14 different road names as…

Eggliners, the powered vehicles first produced by Aristo-Craft from a pair of observation-car ends, and now being made by Bachmann from the original tooling, were surprisingly successful products. Egghaulers.com is now manufacturing a line of similarly shaped freight cars to go along with the original Eggliners. Sent for review was a wheel car ($41.95), a Lady Bug gondola ($39.95), and a gondola kit ($23.03, or $25.95 for custom colors). Wheels and your choice of couplers are extra and can be added to your order at checkout. Our review samples were provided with USA Trains wheelsets and knuckle couplers. Each of the cars is 3D printed in colored PLA (polylactic acid) plastic. They are not painted. The basic car is a flatcar, with stakes or gondola sides added. The wheel car,…

Photography I read your editorial on photography in the April issue of Garden Railways and wanted to share a photo with you that I took of my station on the Bagley Mountain Division of the Maine Central Railroad (at right). I took this photo with a point-and-shoot digital camera, a Fuji XP waterproof job (I do a lot of canoeing and kayaking). Many people think it is a photo of a real station. It is a slightly modified (with signage) Pola model. I’ve named my railroad the Bagley Mountain Division of the Maine Central (MEC) because I grew up on a farm that the MEC ran through when I was a kid. I was influenced by the name of the Mountain Division of the Maine Central Railroad, which runs through…

Operations on model railroads simulate the type of full-size railroading that gets work done—moving cargo and passengers. “Ops” in the garden railway extend the social appeal of your yard, giving folks a fun activity. This introduction outlines various railway jobs, such as engineer, dispatcher, and yardmaster. Guests graduate from passive spectators to interactive workers while playing on the same team. Some of us are retrofitting our existing railways to enable ops sessions. Stan and Deb Ames, along with a crew of dozens of operators, have refined the art of railroad operations for 30 years (photo 1). I’m indebted to Stan for helping me put together this story by defining job positions on their SJR&P Railway in Massachusetts. The crew tells their stories in the Regional reports. You can read extended…

For related resources, visit www.GardenRailways.com Perennial Common name: Begonia Latin name: Begonia sp. USDA Hardiness Zones: 10-11; grown as an annual in lower zones Cultural needs: Moist, well drained, neutral or slightly acidic soil; part shade Plant size: 18" x 18" Most begonias are true perennials, living for years as houseplants or in tropical gardens. Usually we see them growing in garden beds as annuals planted in the spring and allowed to be composted in the fall. Wax begonias have the smallest leaves and flowers. Angel-wing types have broader leaves. Within this group are the Dragon Wing begonias hybridized by Burpee. Pictured is Dragon Wing Red, planted on Stan and Debbie Ames’ SJR&P. Not only is it a showstopper, the flowers call attention like a landmark to an area with a…

IN OCTOBER OF 2014, I was on a field research trip (a.k.a. rail fanning) along the CP Paynesville Sub. My goal was to photograph weathered rolling stock. While passing through the town of Brooten, Minnesota, I saw a hopper car that had one side covered in graffiti (photo 1). I knew I had to model this car. I also knew I would have to make my own graffiti decal, which I discovered was not as tough as it seemed. Making and applying the decal I started by downloading a free photoediting program for Windows-based computers called Paint.net (www.getpaint.net—photo 2). The program may seem complex, but there are lots of YouTube video tutorials to teach and guide you. I imported my photograph of the car into the program, then erased everything…

This article, the second in this series, features two tank cars. Both are based on Russian prototypes, as was the flatcar shown in the April issue. Don’t let the Russian heritage bother you. The only real difference between these and American cars are the couplers and, in some cases, the lack of brakes. The cars are based on home-built designs. Each tank car was of a different design, which, perhaps, is one reason I favor them so much. These cars use the same basic flatcar frames, as presented in the first article. One frame, however, uses a 3/8" I-beam as a side sill instead of the 1/4" x 3/8" rectangular-tube sills on the other car. The cars are a little different in length but this makes no difference in the…

In the last issue I reviewed MyLocoSound’s new steamsound board. The diesel version of their “MyLocoSound Blue” is now available. This is a standalone sound system with a mix of digital and analog sounds. It’s designed to work in traditional track-powered installations as well as with third-party battery R/C systems. Since it’s designed to be a more budget friendly sound system than the higher end, all-digital systems, it is not DCC-compatible. To that end, it does a credible job. The board is physically identical to the company’s steam board, with the same screw-terminal connections for motor, speaker, external battery power, and sound functions (more on this later). It is 21/4" long by 13/8" wide, so you should have little trouble fitting it into almost any size diesel critter. There’s also…

My D&RGW San Juan passenger train needed an all-season excursion bar car to complete the consist, especially for the busy summer runs. Passengers were complaining that they were thirsty and hungry after a long trip on the line. Management thought long and hard about how to provide the requested service and still make a buck. The answer was to take a four-door baggage car and modify it with safety door railings and two fully stocked refreshment bars, with bartenders, a trash can, and park benches. All the items required came out of on-hand assets or the junk box. Numerous prototype railroads provided similar cars. The basic car LGB never made a four door, closed-vestibule baggage car. Somewhere along the line, two LGB closed-vestibule combine cars were kitbashed (by a previous…