Upland Garden Railway Society - About Garden Railroading

The most difficult part of Garden Railroading is getting started.
Every garden railway needs a track plan, era, and theme to model after. There is no wrong combination.
Remember, this is a hobby. There's no hurry. Half the fun is the process of designing and building.
Keep GARDEN in garden railroading. Focus attention on a iniature landscape with a railroad running through it. The entire railway should never be visible from any one vantage point.
Use the widest radius curves possible. It adds realism and lets you use a greater number of rolling stock.
An outdoor garden railway is never finished. There are always structures to be built, landscape to be cared for, new track to be laid and rolling stock to be modified and/or repaired.
Your justification for the financial commitment is the many hours of pleasure in planning and building.
Special features add interest and character to your garden railway. These features include; tunnels, trestles, bridges, waterfalls, streams, ponds, stone walls, fences, sound modules, lighting, etc.
There is nothing wrong with various scales using the same gauge track.
Time will corrode rail joints, use jumper wires or rail clamps for best electrical connections.
If the above sounds like a lot of extra work, use radio controlled trains, and let the rails corrode!
In building your road bed remember, brass rail will expand and contract and the ground constantly moves.
In the long-run plastic outlasts wood. Weatherproofing is a constant battle with wood. Wooden structures should be on a foundation - cement slab or Styrofoam to avoid dry rot and termites.
Wood models typically will last two years untouched, glued plastic kits last about five years, and concrete buildings can last longer than you.
Rebuilding and revisions are mostly directed at making things simpler and stronger than they were.
Use silicone sealer on the inside of your outdoor buildings. It seals out water and adds strength.
When ready to repaint old weathered plastic buildings use Armor-All instead! They'll look new.
Never throw away extra parts; wire, plastic, screws, etc. You ever know when you'll need them again.
Your railway has two lives, one in the daytime and one at night. Don't forget to use lighting; for buildings (inside and out), signs, signals, rolling stock, lamp posts, switch stand lamps, etc.
The smaller and finer the details, the greater the chance they will be broken or lost due to wind, rain, leaves, fallen branches, accidental traffic (cats, dogs, humans), etc.
My preference to signal placement has always learned toward ascetics rather than prototypical installations. Place signals were the operator and visitors can see them.
Electrical problems are fewer if lines are above ground rather than under ground. Use power poles.
Always use conductive paste on outdoor electrical connections, rail joints, light bulbs, etc.
Buy a volt meter to check track voltage and other electrical items.
Have short jumper wires with clamps for quick connections until repairs can be made. Good to have when having an open house. That's when shorts occur!
Buy a transformer with more power than you think you'll ever need. Later you'll thank me.
Kit bashing is an extension of your imagination, skills and research. Try it you'll like it.
Remember our hobby is more of an art form than a science.
Model paints don't hold up to the effects of weather, exterior latex house paints do.
In designing your railway use as little grade as possible.
Add "audio animation" where possible; in stations, churches, barns, rolling stock, engines, etc.
American realism begins with steel wheels and KaDee couplers.
Added weight to you locomotives equals added pulling power.
Put a video camera on a flat car. It will show you the details you missed.
A good product warranty is worth paying a higher price. It is like receiving an insurance policy.
Never pay retail! There is always someone who will save you money!
Ask questions! Everyone is willing to share experiences and knowledge of the hobby.
Subscribe to G-scale magazines, buy garden railway videos, and go to model-train shows, conventions, and garden railway society meetings. You'll get lots of ideas and meet new friends.
Promote your hobby, join a garden railway society. Join more than one! Attend meetings!
Share your experiences (good and bad) write articles, take pictures, send them to G-Scale magazines.