Anybody doing traditional 3 rails outdoors/in the garden??

There are some forum members here that run O gauge outside. I have seen posts from some of them, but I don't remember who they are?

Atlas track has ties that are UV resistant which is important. I am not sure, but I think Gargraves also has some of their stainless steel rail track with UV resistant ties. Be sure to ask them about that or maybe someone else will know for sure. 

From what I have hears the switch machines can be a problem, Might be better to use manually operated switches. Perhaps others will have better information.

Definitely taking things indoors during foul weather would be a must. Other than that I don't know much else. Hopefully others can provide you with more information.

There is a current thread going about a forum member from Scotland ( I believe) that is building a large scale and an O gauge outdoor layout. I will go hunt down the thread and post a link.

He is Davy Mac (forum name), the thread is Garden and railway complete re-hash. The link is to the beginning of the thread which is now 14 pages long.

Hope it helps and good luck.

I know a couple of people who have done it. There are some caveats, namely that the equipment is not designed to be left outdoors or operated in inclement weather, and none of the O Gauge/Scale buildings (to the best of my knowledge) are UV protected. You can get UV-protective clear coats to spray on your buildings, but changes in temperature could cause warping.

The big thing with the track is thermal expansion/contraction. Using a lot of curves and allowing the track to "float" in areas helps. You can find more information at https://familygardentrains.com...ge_outside_index.htm

Ron Karlsson has built an outdoor O gauge layout using PVC "ladder" roadbed which seems to work better than the HDPE material (and is easier to find). His YouTube page is at https://www.youtube.com/user/sjbuff.

Hope this helps.

There have been a number of threads like this one you may want to check out.  Search for "Woodshire" and you'll see more posts.

I do not know what you mean by traditional 3-rail; I run 3-rail (and 2-rail and 1 and S gauge) outside like Lionel prewar and postwar and Flyer and more:

Hundreds of different more on my youtube channel or via my website: http://sncf231e.nl/

Regards

Fred

Here is a link to the G&O Story on this forum.  It is an O and G gauge garden railroad.  We run all kinds of O gauge trains on the G&O.

https://ogrforum.com/.../the-gandamp-o-story

NH Joe

I have a 3-rail outdoor system using Atlas track and a raised roadbed (about 18 inches above ground). works fine. Some  turnout switches did give problems but these are being replaced with manual switches.

The track has to be kept clean (!) and I run Lionel/MTH/Atlas etc stock and use conventional and DCS control - haven't tried TMCC/Legacy yet but would expect it work. The signal from the handheld to the TIU  seems to be good for about 20-30 feet. the track length is about 60 feet.

I live in the UK (where we run anything and everything outdoors!) but the climate is relatively mild - no deep freezing winters or scorching hot-sun summers so expansion/contraction is not a major problem but I am slowly soldering all rail joints as the Atlas connectors do work loose over time.

All stock/electrical equipment is taken in after each running session (or stored in a shed for short periods during the running season (March- October ?) . Buildings can be left out overnight if no rain is forecast (hah!)

all works very well and I can run ABA F-units plus 8-10 passenger cars!!  can't do that on my indoor loft layout....

HTH

Andrew

Hello, I have an outdoor layout , I have video series on the construction on the layout you my be interested in. My control system is the tmcc/legacy system. The system works great.  The control is a portable system where I plug into a junction box to power the layout. I'm using the Atlas silver nickel track. Most of the track is floating on the ladder line roadbed to allow for expansion and contraction.  I have eight videos thus far in my video series,  construction is still on going. Future videos are still in the works. Here is the link. Hope this provides some tips for you and others.

Ron//

https://www.youtube.com/user/sjbuff