Family Garden Trains™ - Your First Stop for Garden Railroading Fun


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Garden Trains are big, weather-resistant model trains that you can run outside. Once you install the track, you leave it out all year 'round, (though most people bring the trains in overnight). You can surround your railroad with real ponds and plants that not only make your trains look "at home," but beautify your yard all year long as well.

Since many new Garden Trains became available in the 1980s, the hobby called Garden Railroading has been attracting both "indoor" model railroaders and families that never owned an "indoor train." All have found that a Garden Railroad is a family enterprise, with everyone finding something to enjoy and something to contribute. That's why, when we started "Family Garden Trains"™ in 1996, we put the word "Family" into the title and kept it there.

We at Family Garden Trains™ are Garden Railroaders who want to help our hobby grow, and we think that the best way to do that is to give anyone interested the information that they need the most to get started. That is why we publish that information on our web site in the form of free, original articles. Each article is written or edited by a professional writer with the beginning garden railroader in mind. To help you as much as possible:

We provide clear explanations, step-by-step instructions, and lists of resources you can consult when you need more detail about a particular subject than we can provide.
We keep our content "fresh" by adding new content and updating older articles as new products or techniques become available.
We encourage two-way communication, through a Letters to the Editor section, a Contact Page for your questions, a Mailing List signup, and a Blog. If you poke around a little, you'll also see that we have incorporated reader feedback directly into dozens of our articles, and we'll be glad to include your suggestions, additions, and corrections as well.

Information about Garden Railroading

Free: Garden Railroading Primer Articles - Everything you need to know to get started, including many planning and construction articles to give you more ideas for getting a railroad in your back yard this year. The following list shows the general breakdown of our articles, as well as a few recent or especially helpful articles. Clicking on the list will either take you that portion of our Primer page or to a table of contents for that topic particular (if available). Updated, April, 2010, with new and updated articles.

Introduction to Garden Railroading - Help getting a handle on the worlds' fastest-growing model railroading hobby, including:

Go Outside and Run Your trains - A very short list of things you need to know to get started. - Updated April, 2008
Building a Garden Railroad on a Budget - Get into garden railroading without breaking the bank.

Garden Railroad Planning Articles - Help planning the physical, operational, and aesthetic aspects of your garden railroad, including:

Which Scale Should I Model? - An explanation of your best options, depending on the kind of railroad you want to model. Updated April, 2010
Tackle Those Grades With Ease Pete Eggink's article on calculating and planning grades - April, 2010

Garden Railroad Construction Articles - Cost-effective and easy-to-use techniques for building your own garden railroad, including:

Introduction to Garden Railroad Construction - An overview of the various recommended construction methods, with guidelines to help you decide which method is best for you

Garden Railroad Plant Articles - Articles about planning, planting, and cultivating the "garden" part of your garden railroad

Landscaping Tips for Garden Railroaders - Ponds, retaining walls, and more

Installation and Lighting - Powering your trains, lighting your buildings, and more, including:

Building a Simple Power Cart - Jim Satterfield's tips on building a "power cart" to attach your power supplies and remote control receivers to your railroad quickly whenever you are ready to start running trains. New May, 2010!
External Structure Lights - Wil Davis' article on adding industrial-style lights to your buildings. April, 2010
12 Volt Street Lamps from Specialty Light Strands - Use specialty garden-supply light strands to build working street lamps for a fraction of what they cost to buy. New August, 2009
Low-Voltage LED Garden Lighting - Using LED fixtures that have been "wired" to work in 12-volt systems - more light, less power, a few drawbacks. Updated December, 2009, with many new photos.

Garden Railroad Structures - Articles about creating and improving buildings and bridges for your garden railroad, including:

Printed Buildings for Outdoor Railroads

- Use your color printer, some waterproof label material, and some concrete blocks to make a whole business district. August, 2009

O Gauge Outside - Using O gauge trains and accessories outside.

Garden Railroad Maintenance Articles - A new but growing section on how to keep your garden railroad operating properly, including:

Cleaning Your Trains' Wheels New, February, 2010
Track Cleaning 101 New, November, 2009
Refurbishing Garden Railroad Track - New, December, 2009
Storing and Schlepping Your Garden Trains - New, October, 2009

Real-World Trains and Operations - An introduction railroads in general and the kinds of operations you can consider modeling in your back yard, including:

Thirty-Inch Railroading - The trains that "did more with less," and went boldly where no one else has gone before or since. New, April, 2008
The Little River Railroad - A standard-gauge logging railroad that used incredible compromises and combinations of equipment. Includes many unique modeling possibilities.
Little River Railroad Northern Division A unique locomotive that is fully restored and running in south-central Michigan.
Rail Cars and Busses on the Little River Railroad - with more modeling ideas for your own empire. New, March, 2009

Reference Information and Things to Think About - Miscellaneous topics that are important to most garden railroaders.

Other Articles about Garden Railroading and Large Scale, including:

Basic Weathering with Powders - a "primer" for someone who wants their equipment to look more realistically "grungy" but who is nervous about getting started. - New, May, 2010!
Idiot-Friendly Digital Cameras for Photographing Trains (and other things) - with new examples and tips, and new "best buys" to consider if you still haven't taken the digital plunge yet. Updated, December, 2009, including New Recommendation list!
Garden Railroading with Toy Trains - Our first report on "Shoe-String Railroading." Whether you're pinching pennies or just want to try something different, these tiny investments can provide big fun inside and out. Recent additions include:
- Evan Morse's Shoestring Railroading Tips New, June 2009
More about Scrounging Figures - Some new off-the-wall sources for Large Scale figures that I discovered in early 2009. Even if these sources disappear soon (which they might), they'll give you some ideas for other places to look. New, March, 2009

Other Resources

Letters to the Editor Section - Answers to questions about garden trains. New questions and answers, from March, 2010!
New April, 2009! Garden Railroad Photo Gallery - beginning to sort out some of the better photos we've featured on this site in the past.

My garden railroad, the New Boston and Donnels Creek - with many new photos and links. including:

April, 2010: Landscaping Rehab and Idiot Tools - A "grocery list" of things I did to fix or update garden and landscaping problems that affected our railroad's appearance, functionality, and even safety. It may give you some ideas. It also serves as a reminder to do things right the first time. New April, 2010!
Special Features
- Trees and Trains - The Holden Express - a Photo-Journal from Family Garden Trains(tm) A detailed record of our visit to a unique professional garden railroad in Kirtland, Ohio (near Cleveland) in mid-July, 2007. Lots and lots of photos you can click on for a bigger view. This railroad closed September 23, but the photos are still online, because they are seriously inspiring.
Blog-Like Articles - An attempt to keep in touch, including:
- New March, 2010 The Holmes Identity, or How Not to Unsubscribe - Our newsletters get more popular every month - some months we spend more time adding subscribers than almost anything else. And the few folks who've had to unsubscribe for one reason or another have had no trouble figuring out our "unsubscribe" link. Except for a handful of folks who think they need to exercise some "nuclear option" for getting off the list, when all they had to do was ask (nicely or not).
- New December, 2009! Christmas-Themed Open House on the NB&DC RailRoad - The Race family's second Christmas-themed open house included more lights, more trains, more music, and better snacks. Even if you didn't get there, we think you'll enjoy the report, the many ideas, and the many photographs.
- New December, 2009! Family Garden Trains™ 2009 Bargain of the Year - Our friends at Colorado Model Structures keep coming up with new ways to tempt us to make room for more buildings. This year's new offerings include a barn that actually looks like a lot of barns in the Midwest (picture it white with a green or silver roof), as well as other great new products worth considering. These models don't snap together like the expensive ones, and they need to be painted, but once they're properly painted and assembled, they will give you a tremendous return on your investment.
- New December, 2009! Check Your Phone Bill Yesterday! - Once again I stray from my sites' hobby focus to get on my hobby-horse, this time about phone scams that your phone company knows all about and has done next to nothing to protect you from. This blog-like-article probably contains a lot more information than you ever wanted to know, but it also has some practical tips for preventing and dealing with the problem.
Free Large Scale Signs and Graphics for use on your own railroads. Includes brick paper and other texture sheets, business signs, pre-scaled, printable building fronts, and curtains and shades for dressing up your buildings.
Finding a Garden Railroad Club Information to help you find likeminded folks in your area.
New July, 2009! How (and Why) to Write "How To" Hobby Articles - Our "business site," Breakthrough Communications™, has posted a series of articles to help you give back to your favorite hobbies by sharing what you've learned.

Search Family Garden Trains™ and related pages.

Garden Train Buyer's Guides - Descriptions of the products you will find most useful when you are starting out, with links to multiple suppliers when available.

Garden Train Store - A "virtual" storefront that provides pictures and descriptions of the products you are mostly likely to find useful when you are beginning and expanding your railroad. Links to multiple suppliers are included when available.

Best Choices for Beginning Garden Railroaders - A one-page catalog designed to save you time and money by helping you locate the most useful (and generally the most affordable) products for when you're first starting out.

Garden Trains for Kids - What do you buy someone who's not ready for big expensive models but wants something of his or her own to run? Several solid, weather-resistant trains with superior play value are suggested.

Starter Set Catalog - A description and catalog of several quality train sets that you can use to start your Garden Railroad.

Big Christmas Trains™ Catalog - A description and catalog of Christmas Trains for Large Scale and Christmas Village users.

www.HalloweenTrains.com - A whole new page devoted to spooky railroad collectible fun. Start your collection now.

Trains and Villages for Every Season - Describes On30 (indoor) display trains for St. Patricks' Day, July 4, Halloween, and more!

Big Trains Store™ - On30 is a fast-growing hobby that can use resources from O gauge railroads, collectible villages, and even from Large Scale - In fact many Garden Railroaders have On30 trains they run inside during cold weather. The Big Trains Store™ buyers' guide describes On30 and O gauge model trains for building indoor railroads.

Classic Train Songs - An index to a small but growing library of popular songs about trains. New format and features, 2010!

Train Movies and Railroad Videos - Several of our readers have been shopping for movies about trains, feature movies that feature trains, and so on. This page is new, but growing. New, April, 2010!

Other Resources - The following club links will help you learn what other people in southwest Ohio are doing with trains outside.
The Miami Valley Garden Railway Society (Greater Dayton Area, Ohio) New format and features, January, 2008,
Big-Trains List - The original garden railroading mailing list. New link, February, 2008,
The Columbus (Ohio) Garden Railway Society
Greater Cincinnati Garden Railway Society
Carillon Park Rail and Steam Society.

What Members of the Large Scale Community are saying about Family Garden Trains

To read more, or to look at recommended products, you may click on the index pages below.

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Note: Family Garden Trains™, Garden Train Store™, Big Christmas Trains™, Big Indoor Trains™, Big Train Store™ and Trains-N-Towns™ are trademarks of Breakthrough Communications™ (www.btcomm.com). All information, data, text, and illustrations on this web site are Copyright (c) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 by Paul D. Race. Reuse or republication without prior written permission is specifically forbidden.

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