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, September, 2009, 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 September, 2009
• 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:
  • 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. New, 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:
  • 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. Five new articles, August, 2008
  • Little River Railroad Northern Division A unique and underdocumented locomotive that is fully restored and running in south-central Michigan. New, October, 2008
  • 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:
  • 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
    • New Life for a Battery-Powered Bachmann Ten-Wheeler 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

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