Garden railways - combining toy trains with landscape gardening design - includes examples of gardeners' designs

Flower & Garden Magazine, Dec-Jan, 1993 by Marc Horovitz

Garden Railroading Combines two of America's favorite pastimes - model railroading and gardening. A well-crafted garden railway creates an atmosphere of realism far beyond what is possible with a traditional indoor layout. Indoors, the illusion of reality is created through the use of artificial materials - mountains are made of plaster, rivers are made of plastic resin, etc. Outdoors, however, the mountains are made of dirt and stone, and rivers run with water.

The outdoor setting is not without its drawbacks, though. Washouts can cause problems, snow can stop trains, and trees and branches can fall on the track. But compared to the joys of having a model railroad at your doorstep that constantly grows and changes with the seasons, the weather, and even the time of day, these nuisances seem a small price to pay. Most people even consider it part of the fun.

Garden railroading is probably the fastest growing aspect of the model train hobby today. It is not new, however; in Britain the pastime dates back more than a century. In the United States it achieved some popularity in the 1920s and '30s. The garden railway at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona dates to the 1920s. It can be seen in operation every year while the fair is in progress.

However, the hobby of garden railroading had all but died out by the end of World War II. During the 1950s and '60s the U.S. market was dominated by the Lionel Train Company, whose trains were strictly intended for indoor use.

Ironically, the first real treatise on garden railroading - R.E. Tustin's Garden Railways - was published in 1949, during the twilight of interest. Today it remains probably the best single source of nuts-and-bolts information on the hobby. It is also the first book to set down in writing the principles of combining the railway with an appropriately scaled garden.

The current resurgence in popularity of garden railroading is due in large part to the advent in 1969 of the colorful LGB (Lehmann Grossbahn) trains from Germany. LGB specifically designed its rugged trains with outdoor use in mind, encapsulating the more fragile and motor parts to keep dirt out. As the manufacturer began introducing more American-style trains, garden railways began to spring up all over the country.

GETTING STARTED

Outdoor model trains require a fairly level, secure location. The track can be added to an existing garden, or the railway and garden can be designed simultaneously. In general, beginners should keep their outdoor railway simple. A traditional indoor railway may have many loops of track, dozens of engines, and hundreds of pieces of rolling stock. Outdoors, where we contend with the elements, a single-track mainline usually suffices, with sidings at stations, industries, and points of interest, and perhaps a branch line to an outlying terminal. To get started, a single locomotive and three or four pieces of rolling stock - freight or passenger cars - are all you really need.

A wide range of ready-to-install track is available commercially, and this approach is probably best for the novice. When you have gained some experience, you might want to consider building your own.

Commercial track is available in short, straight or curved lengths - called sectional track - or in longer sections that you can bend to suit your own needs. Sectional track is good for some applications, but, because it is rigid, can be very limiting. If your railway is not to be permanent, sectional track can be easily picked up and put down at will. For a permanent railway, though, consider using flexible track, which can be bent to any desired curvature.

In designing the plan of your track, use the widest-radius curves your space will allow. A 6-foot radius might be considered a minimum (although sectional track will take you down to 2-foot radius), and 10 to 15 feet will give your railway a more realistic look. Tailor your rolling stock to your curves; very long engines and cars just don't look right negotiating tight curves.

When planning a grade, try not to make it steeper than about 3 percent (3 inches of rise over 100 inches of horizontal travel). Steep grades are unrealistic, and they will severely limit your train length.

LAYING TRACK

Of the many ways to install track, one of the simplest - and to my mind, the best - is to float the track in ballast the way a real railroad does.

The ballast you use is important, because it will support your track, hold it in place, facilitate drainage and prevent permanent damage caused by freezing and thawing. Don't use round stones like pea gravel; they will slide around and won't really grip the ties. A heavy rain will wash them away. Crushed stone that has a "tooth" to it will lock with the stones around it and make a firm bed for the track to sit on. Crusher fines from a rock yard or chicken grit from a feed store are two good materials for ballast.

Dig a shallow trench, say 2 to 3 inches deep, along the route the track will follow. Fill it with ballast to just below ground level. Set the track in place, making sure it is straight and level. When it is just where you want it, backfill with more ballast up to the top of the ties, which should be flush with the sorrounding ground. There is no need to line the trench with plastic, which might impede drainage.