| What's a garden railway? |
It's an outdoor model train layout.
For some of us, that means a layout complete with buildings and people and tiny plants,
perhaps meant to be a scale model of a specific fullsize railroad.
For others of us, it's a track going through a full-size garden. |
| How big are the trains? |
The most popular scale for garden railways is G-scale, which is approximately 1:24
(varying from 1:19 to 1:32, actually). Some of our members are interested in O-scale
(1:48), and run their Lionel trains outdoors. |
| What happens when it rains? |
Everything on the layout gets wet, and therefore clean.
Many G-scale locomotives and cars are built to be waterproof, so trains can be run
when it's raining or snowing. O-scale trains are not designed to get wet. Most of us
store our trains indoors when we're not running them but leave track, buildings, and,
of course, plants outdoors. |
| Do you bring it all indoors for the winter? |
No. The track and many buildings stay outside all year round. Some of the
more fragile buildings might be stored inside during the winter months. To see
some winter layout photos, click here.
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| Doesn't the track rust? |
No. The track is made of brass, stainless steel, or aluminum. |
| What makes the trains go? |
Most of us have electric trains. Some run steam-powered engines; we've even run some
very old wind-up toy engines in our layouts. |
| What are all those tiny plants, and where do you get them? |
We use low-growing thymes and Scotch moss to mimic grass; small-leaved sedums
look like shrubs. We trim boxwoods to look like deciduous trees; dwarf Alberta spruce
can be trimmed to look like a conifer forest.
We are finding quite a few plants in local nurseries these days. Around the country, there
are nurseries that specialize in plants that are appropriate for garden railways. Many
plants appropriate for rock gardens are small enough for us to use. |
| Can you ride on the trains? |
No. The smallest model train that you can ride on is 1:18 scale, and that
size train requires a 40-foot radius track. That's a bit large for most of our
back yards! |
| How many garden railways are in the Pittsburgh area? |
We're aware of over two dozen outdoor layouts in the greater Pittsburgh tri-state area.
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