Garden Railways

IT GOES CONTRARY to the trend: a railroad actually living on after its primary creator and builder passes away. All the same, that’s what’s happening with the Woodland Railway. See the story on page 34 written by our Garden Railway Basics columnist Kevin Strong. The railroad, built largely by Kevin’s dad, Jim, is being kept alive by his mother, Ruth, and a group of folks who have been involved in its running and maintenance for years. It says a lot that these folks want to continue with this endeavor. While the trains are fun, I have a hunch the camaraderie and friendships are really what keep everyone working on the railroad. Long may it run! IF THERE WAS ever a hobby well suited for the COVID-19 world we’re living in right now, it’s…

Engines & rolling stock Accucraft, 33260 Central Ave., Union City, CA 94587, announces a 1:19 scale Quarry Hunslet (32mm gauge only). This live-steam engine will be available in four paint schemes: red, black, Penrhyn Lined black, and blue. Price: $1,600. Website: accucraft.com Egghaulers has released boxcars to accompany Aristo-Craft and Bachmann Eggliners. The boxcars shown are the Special 1840 (left) and the Lady Bug, but they’re available in other colors. The 3-D printed units are priced at $39.95, less wheels and coupler. Kadee and USA Trains couplers as well as USA Trains plastic wheels are available for an additional cost. See them at egghaulers.com. LGB (Märklin), P.O. Box 2649, Lake Ozark, MO 65049, has announced two F7A units (20581, 20583) and an unpowered B unit (20582) in the Santa Fe war-bonnet paint scheme.…

Kevin O'Connor passed away on May 30, 2020, in Sacramento, Calif., age 80. Born Eugene O’Connor in Long Island on September 8, 1939, he later gave himself the middle name of Kevin, which is the name by which his friends knew him. Kevin’s working life was spent in the military. He retired as a Commander in the Coast Guard after 39 years of service. Twenty of those years were spent in the engine rooms of steam ships, which the Coast Guard used into the 1960s. It was there that he learned about steam engines as they were used in real life. Kevin’s primary hobby while in the service was flying R/C aircraft. After retiring, he discovered live-steam locomotives and at once became an active member of that hobby. Creative thinking and experimentation was…

WE'VE KEPT CLOSE TO HOME since quarantine and social distancing guidelines have been issued. Club meetings have been canceled; events and open houses have been put on hold. Our hearts go out to anyone affected by COVID-19. Time at home has spawned creative moments, though. I’ve refurbished structures, maintained locomotives and rolling stock, and looked for ways to communicate and share with friends and family. Several video platforms have emerged for meetings, including Zoom, FaceTime, Microsoft Teams, and virtual classrooms on Google, PC, and Android products. FaceTime can record conversations, and one can edit them with movie software, and share them. The first rule is “ask permission” before you hit the record button. With permission, I recorded conversations with three friends while I learned how recordings are made on FaceTime. My friends used…

TWO GENERATIONS Steven Polchinski of Tecumseh, Mich., sent this photo of his Bachmann Shay passing over a pond on a truss bridge with a long train of mixed freight on the Limestone Valley Railroad. “The bridge and pond were added a few years ago as part of an expansion to the layout my father and I have worked on since I was a kid,” Steven said. EARLY EVENING Santa Fe Dash-8 diesel no. 839 flashes at dusk across the Genesee River trestle with a set of streamlined passenger cars on Bob Conge’s 1:20.3 Crowhaven Line in upstate New York. The locomotive is a track-powered MTH Trains model with PS2. The cars are also MTH products. RIO GRANDE BY THE SEA William Longley-Cook’s On30 garden railway in North Yorkshire, UK, is a bit unconventional for outside,…

“HOW MUCH IS THIS WORTH?” is a simple enough question. I wish it had an easy answer. There is no Kelley Blue Book value for large scale trains like there is for vehicles. There are also variables that will affect the value: condition, modifications to the model, and your motivations for selling. First, you need to know what you have in your collection – where you bought it, who built it, what’s in it, etc. I wrote about the benefits of documenting your collection in the Summer 2020 issue. Sadly, the task of selling collections is often left to survivors who don’t have that information. Make sure a copy of your model train information is included with your estate planning paperwork. Find a value Let’s start by finding a baseline value for what…