hello everyone! Well we finally decided on a house to move to in Ohio. The previous owners left a large (20x20 is my guess, its pretty big!) woodchip/mulch filled area that used to be a play area for their grandkids. My mom wants to make a garden out of it. Being me I brought up the subject of a garden railroad. :tb-cool: She agreed to it but I had a few questions. As of right now I have: A LGB 2-4-0 lettered for the D&RGW, 2 LGB D&RGW coachs, and a narrow gauge reefer (Not shure who makes it, either bachmann, USA trains, or aristocraft, i'll have to check). I want to make somthing based of a D&RGW narrow gauge line in colorado. The track plan will kinda be based off the colorado railroad museum and the georgetown loop. My questions are: 1. What should I go for radius wise? all my current curves are whatever LGB ships with there starter sets. I don't ever intend to run bachmann's K-27's or any large engines. Only small steamers and switcher diesils. 2. battery or track power? over a debate here. 3. any advice? thanks jimmy
Geep_fan, I'm not a LGB expert, but I do know alll LGB starter sets will run o a 4ft diameter radius. I'm not sure of the proper LGB terminology for curve ratings but just know it's pretty close to 4ft diameter. You have more than enough room to go with a 5ft diameter but don't have to if thats all you are runnig is small stuff and short trains. You will find alot of people on here can help you out, Keith in the G scale section actually belongs to the Colorado RR Museum, so he can help you out on scenery and such, he has his own sectio going on here. There is a advantage to having battery power, you never have to clean tracks again, but you will be limited to run time and will need a dedicated battery car such as a box car with leads coming from it and then you need a battery chaging station. It is alot of work keeping track clean outside for transformer power, the best track for this application is stainless steel but very expensive. Brass isok outside, just needs to be cleaned oftten. I'm sure others here in the G scale section will kick in there own opinions and what worked for them to help you decide which way to go. good luck with the new project and would loove to see it on trainboard as you progress.
thanks everyone! well i took a satilight image of the colorado railroad museum and came up with this. I usually am simple and this shows it. there are a total of 10 switches (one being a 3-way). whadda think?
Right on Geep_fan! I'm noodling my own first garden layout too. It's a blast researching and dreaming all this up! re EMD's note on the limited run time on battery. Anyone know of some benchmarks on the running time with different battery configurations? Nothing crazy, like 5 cars behind a little loco. Are we talking a few hours, a few minutes? I'm familiar with the Li-polymer battery packs that power electric RC planes and cars. even small packs seem to deliver plenty of juice for these things to go like heck. I think my design goal for running time would be "until the wife asks me to do something" which translates to like 30 minutes. :tb-wink: Al in LA
I have seen some garden railroad setups run for a good hour and a half on batterys. however i have also seen some that last for 10-15 minutes. it depends on the battery limits, motor draw, etc.
6 foot minimum radius for you is what I would suggest. This lets you use medium and small sized engines. R1 or 4 foot radius is what LGB Sets come with. EMDTrainman has a thread on here with the LGB R conversion to standard US Radius. As for battery, I cannot help you there as I do not, nor ever plan to run battery power. Finally the last bit of advice I have is have fun. It's your layout and other then first time setup advice or installation advice (as it must be done right or you can cause mass layout damage) do things the way you would like to theme wise, etc. We're all here to help you set up and plan, but what theme you do, how you do it or what era you use is soley up to you and we'll all support you for it.
As was mentioned, I've got a thread going on my small garden layout. See it here: Construction started - TrainBoard.com Currently, mine is overrun by weeds! I haven't had the chance to get out and do anything on my layout. Plus, it's been raining quite a bit lately, so it's also quite muddy! I'm running a 4 foot radius, or 8 foot Diameter curve. Lets me run medium diesel power. A pair of Aristo Craft GP40's and a USA Trains NW-2 switch engine. And barely manage to run a couple of larger 6 axle locomotives: A USA Trains SD70MAC, and a USATrains ALCo PA. Photos of all equipment can be seen in above thread. Don't know about battery, as I'm running track power with Digitrax DCC. Only complaint I've got, is I don't have as much room as I'd like to have! Would enlarge my curves if I had the extra space!
well i drew up a new track plan to better fit the space and to save money. new plan I removed the station track and the 2nd spur at "no auga" We went back to the house to look at it today and found the owners removed the mulch and its just gravel now. It also turned out to be a tad bit smaller then I thought it was too, which led to the plan modifacations. We should be moved in by mid september so expect progress pictures by mid october. Since all my track is already 4ft radius and since I am limited on space I think I'll stick with 4ft radius. What kind of engines/cars can I run with 4 ft radius? narrow and standard gauge. (I'm going to have some standard gauge stuff to run with the narrow gauge.) Now back to DCC Vs Battery. 1. I don't want to buy another DCC system (I already have 3 :tb-embarrassed so to run the layout I would have to run wires from the Bus line of my HO layout (controlled by an NCE powercab Pro) to the G scale layout. We are already going to run extension cords and wires inside PVC pipe to reach an out building so I can stick some heavy duty wire in there too. 2. Knowing me I won't be playing with G scale everyday of the week or even once or twice a month. as i hate being outside when its really cold, or really hot. So I dunno if its worth it to wire everything. 3. Is it difficult to install battery power into engines? the tender of my 2-4-0 is GIANT inside and is 100% empty. I have done a few HO decoder installs. I'm not the best solder in the world but I can do it! 4. Will the NCE power cab Pro tolorate both the HO and the G Scale without blowing circuts? 5. how would I control the engines on DCC when I'm outside? I was thinking a box ontop a pole with the controll wires going into it. Inside the box is a plug for the DCC throttle which I will just bring out with me When I want to run. And a few other questions. 1. Drainage: It rains ALOT where we're moving. Should I install some extra drainage or modify the terrain to keep the track from washing out. the real trains are always getting washouts around there. 2. My mom wants to take the wooden area, put a fire pit in the middle and grow a garden in a circle, followed by some benches and a porch swing. In other words turn it into a garden. Part of that involves stepping on or over the tracks. My plan is to build a set of steps on the side towards the house, to make it easy for guests, and then pour some cement around the tracks (cut out flangeways) so people can walk over the tracks. Has anyone done this sucessfully? 3. I only ever intend to own 2 or 3 G scale engines and like 10 or 15 cars. However, getting the stuff betweeen the garden and the garage might be difficult two cars at a time. Is there a proven "carrying case" design for G scale? I have seen some in Ho where you drive an entire train on, close the end, and carry the whole train. 4. is mantinance in a garden bad? my mom wants to make the garden around the tracks and she kinda wants a bush tunnel for my trains (she saw one on TV and likes them.) Weeds cannot grow as the gravel and tarp under it. she is going to embed pots into the gravel. if we leave mother nature to itself will it cause damage to the tracks? I don't mind trimming plants away from the tracks but not having to replace track because of plants. thanks everyone!
Welcome Welcome Geep_fan,,,,,,, I can only address a couple of your questions......and some may be answerd by looking at the thread I have here titled, "first outdoor layout" You should put some drainage under the track.....I used several reference books on the subject of garden rail roads, and used their techneques.......ie, a trench under where the track will be, filled with some med/fine gravel, then crushed fines on top of that for the base road bed. (there are pictures on my thread)...... I have had mine in for a month, and even with these techniques, I will need to adjust some areas of the roadbed due to wash outs. (we have had a ton of rain this summer). I did not put landscape mat down, but did use preen......but there will always be some weed growth........and that is what roundup is for!! And, yes, weeds can and do grow in the gravel, given enough time........I already have to weed crabgrass from some parts of the roadbed........only after a few weeks!!!! My layout is more of a "garden with a train running thru it" rather than a "train layout" so there are already a lot of garden plants in it...... the weeding and care isnt bad......and its fun to do when a train is running around! As for steps over the track, I have, and will put a few more in, a couple steppers (stones) where one could walk or step over the track......but I also make sure people are aware they are NOT to step on the tracks.!!! But again, I wont be having people walk around inside my layout/garden, only around the outer perimiter. As for carrying the cars........what I will be doing when time permits, is to make several wooden trays that will hold 4-6 cars......and some special trays to carry the engines I have, one at a time. The cars will still just be placed on the tracks...but the engine trays will have track on them which I will be able to place at the end of a siding, and hook up the tracks to power, and drive them off. The diesels I have are not really a problem placing on the tracks, but the steamer is a pain,......thus the drive off platform. I wont be able to send pictures of that for a while.....with a daughter getting married in less than a month, my train-play time has come to a screetching halt!!!! Good luck with the layout, send pictures when u can, and keep us informed!!! Hope this has helped. Darryl
Alrighty, I have to say this. Four foot DIAMETER. Diameter is the distance across the full circle, radius is the distance from the side of the circle to the center. Next, you really want at least 5 foot diameter, LGB R2("medium radius"). That'll let you run anything up to a Bachmann 2-8-0 or an LGB 2-6-0. Skip the three way switches. More complication is a bad idea outside. Fitting that much track in 20x20 will be VERY tight and will appear overcrowded. Fit more in opposite corners and less along the sides. 10 switches is a lot for an outdoor railroad. Mine currently has ONE, and that's despite having quite a few trains to run. After a while you just won't feel like carrying enough cars and engines outside to make it runnable. The CRRM is a place to STORE trains. Unless you plan on leaving trains outside, there is no point in having massive sidings to park trains. It's just more of a pain to take in and out of the house. At this point, buy Train-Li-USA R2 switches if you go R2. I saw them in person on Saturday and their switches are exceptionally durable. And if you want, I can attempt a track plan for your space--just let me know and I'll see where I can go with it.
I would not run the DCC wires in the same conduit with any 120-volt wiring. The house wiring being that close to the DCC wires could cause some interference with the DCC signal. The worse thing that could happen is if some how the wires became damaged, and they can in conduit and they connect, your DCC will now have 120 volts, which will toast every thing including possibly you. Gary
That would be very correct. I'd post pictures of why you shouldn't do that, but for the electronics lovers, their very graphic and saddening. I spent 4 good years helping my friend do his layout and we didn't know then to not do that. Torched all the wiring. So bad the fire department had to show up to put his garage out. The DCC's wires should be in their own seperate pipe and that pipe needs to be clearly marked on itself and on a wiring diagram of your layout. That can be simply a drawing on paper. but make sure you know which pipe has what, and where those pipes are.
