Cary’s been in touch again – and I’m so glad he has, bcasue you all know how much I like to see your updates.
His last post, is here (scroll down).
“Hi Al,
I thought I would provide an update on my garden railroad project here in Crestwood, Kentucky. I had hoped to lay track this summer but didn’t make it that far.
I brought in 7 tons of gravel and did get the track bed in place. I’m going to let it settle and pack during the winter and hopefully have a good base for my track come spring 2018.
Once I started putting the track bed in place I realized I had some more digging and adjustments to get the grades right.
Here’s a short video that shows how things are coming together.
Thanks again for sending the posts, its great seeing what everyone is up to!
Cary”
Latest ebay cheat sheet is here
A huge thanks to Cary – hope you enjoyed it.
Please keep ’em coming.
And don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide if you want to dive in and have some fun with your own layout.
Best
Al
Cary’s garden railroad is quite an inspiration. Please keep the updates coming and looking forward to next years progress.
Cary B New Market Maryland
This I could see being an extremely satisfying project. Especially working out in the yard as such. The woods setting is nice, trees could be giant redwoods.
Rich
How does Cary plan to keep the critters (deer etc.) from destroying the track and buildings? If I lived near him I would help if he let me run my trains there once in a while.
Awesome outdoor model railroad! Can’t wait to see the finished product. Cheers! NJ Mark PS Happy Thanksgiving
I like this but question when the leaves of those trees start falling. I KNOW how the problems can be with cleaning that up …. I ave ONE tree for our yard and its a pain …..never mind what he has ….. This looks great tho …..
Looks like it’s going to be a great garden railroad. Love the setting. Keep us updated on your work in the spring.
Jack in PA
Very nice G scale layout. I wish I had the property to do such a project.
I absolutely LOVE garden scale and am envious of anyone with the resources to build a well thought out layout. Looking forward to seeing updates of this project!
Thanks for everyone’s comments! Yes I’ll have a nice, shaded area to enjoy my train layout but I understand it comes with some challenges and restrictions. First of all I plan to only run my trains in the summer months. I’ve been working on the site for about 5 years now and have found it takes a full day in the spring to clean-up the leaves, branches and twigs, after that the site stays clean through-out the summer with minimal cleanup. Deer and other critters are a concern. My structures are built solid with removable roofs for inspection and repair. I’m trying to keep people and other small accessories close to buildings and preferably under the edge of the roof to prevent them from being stepped on. Track shifting, damage from animals, tress falling during a wind storm, tree sap on my track, can I get plant life to grow in all this shade??? etc..etc.. yes many concerns. I think I will enjoy coming out every spring, cleaning the site and track, bringing out new stuff I built during the winter, adding new landscaping and by the time the hot months come around being able to sit back, relax, watch the trains go around and plan new builds for the winter.
Take care all!
Cary
Great garden to be !!! I am over here in Indiana Im building one but making the track elevated on steel supports that look like bridges so I can mow under it .
What steps are needed to view this and other video’s? This is a fantastic site for model trains. Regards.
Hi, great site for your layout! I have a suggestion I hope you will think on. Convert to cold track, and battery power. There are great radio control units out there that almost eliminate track cleaning and other issues at reasonable cost. One of my neighbors runs G scale on battery quite successfully, with much reduced maintenance.
PAUL, Los Osos, CA.
Great ideas, Cary, totally impressive. I bet your Garden Layout gets sound approval from your viewers.
Regards, Tom (USA)
There are several options available for critter repellent dependent on species. I suggest going to a reputable garden store near you to get some advice on that. There are some that have urine from predators mixed in that stinks to high heaven but it did keep out some unwanted pests out of my vegetable garden. Also, maybe some lightweight tarps will help with overwintering tree sap and such.
Norm in York, PA
A beautiful prospective grand layout. The potential grandeur will be obvious given the rolling stock size amidst the totally natural setting of the outdoors. You’e done a marvelous job thus far. And the buildings you’ve already made a grade A.
The video wets the appetite. I would have loved to have you provide a audio track giving detail as to the streaming video and photos. This would provide imaginative clarity to what the future holds… Thanks for sharing — Arnie — Staten Island, NY
Thank you for sharing this with all of us. I for one can’t wait to see more pictures of this amazing layout. I’ve always wanted to have my own G scale and you are off to a fantastic start. Good luck with your project and enjoy your self. I have a question do you dig a small trench and fill it with stone or put the stone down on top of the earth and how deep is the trench or stone is layed on top of the earth? Thanks again for sharing this with us. I’ll be looking forward to seeing more pictures.
Chuck
Love your plan looks so inviting. I have a unrelated question, what ship is in the pic? I was a navy man and love the ww2 ships. I live in the mountains in AZ. I have some property and would like to do a G. I have a N scale and working on a HO. Yours looks so cool, you got me thinking. Thanks Tom in Payson AZ
Thanks again for all the kind comments, it is so great to share my project with people who appreciate the progress and enjoy imagining what it might look like some day as I do. To answer some questions….. I dug a trench about 4″ wide and about 6″ deep. I bought a special shovel at Lowes called a trenching shovel which is narrow and has more of an angle than a regular shovel to make it easier to get the dirt out, wonderful tool. I then lined the trench with landscape fabric, filled with my gravel and walked over it to pack it down. After the first good rain, it settled and I added more. The ship is a destroyer, sorry i can’t remember the name or class, it is WWII era. Thanks again everyone! Cary