Have you recently built your first Garden Railway?

[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

[Tom Lapointe]

 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.    (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! ).  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).  



 

[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.