My Backyard Garden Railway! New pics for 2021.

Very nice

I like it!

Here are some more photos from some running today.  A Williams E8 3 rail pulling a CZ K-Line scale length passenger set with 2 rail scale wheels and couplers. A VIA Rail set I  custom painted some time back with a 2 Rail old Atlas dummy F7 A unit and a powered Williams F7B pulling MTH passenger cars. The Williams units are amazing pulling such long trains with only 1 engine up a slight grade to the lawn. I need to take a good run at it for the grade. Looking forward to spending more time relaxing outside running trains through the yard.

WOW!  Great job!  O scale garden railroading remains very popular in the UK and has been for mamy many years.  A good friend of mine, the late Eddie Chambers (RIP) told me he had set up his Lionel O gauge, using GarGrave track in his mother's flower bed before he converted to HO.  He was a huge Katy fan and modeled the M-K-T on a shelf layout in his folk's garage.  This was about the same time I met him in 1961, when I lived in Farmers Branch, TX at the time, a few miles north of Dallas on I-35E. 

Great job Gord. I like the use of indoor/outdoor grass mat as covering.

EXCELLENT setup and cute helper! :-)

Here are some videos running trains this weekend. The Canadian Pacific Canadian train 2 powered engines Sunset 3rd Rail set 3 rail. C&O K-Line Locomotive and caboose with a variety of B&O and C&O cars. Rio Grande I custom painted the F9 A unit an old 1970's Atlas model removing the gears and motor and adding LED lights and speaker in a cardboard mailing tube to improve the sound. I used Tamiya spray paints misting on different yellow orange shades of paint till I got it close enough to the B unit. Use pin striping for the 5 stripes really hard to lay them straight and get the nose curves right and created the decals on my computer printing on a laser printer on waterslide decal paper.  Ran wires to the LionChief FT RG B unit was able to just plug into the board for the sound. Some of the freight cars I custom painted as well. 

The BC Electric railway was a short line railway in the south west corner of British Columbia. It provided Interurban service through the valley and local freight. It later was renamed to BC Hydro Railway and much of the railway still remains now known as SRY Rail Link; Southern Railway of British Columbia. There are still many of the same engines and cabooses still in daily use from the early BC Hydro days of the 1960's. I have been wanting to build the special caboose and add some engines as I recall them and still see them operating. The Canadian Toy Train Association just released a model of the BC Hydro MP 15 engine a custom run through MTH. This in addition to several custom run freight cars they had done in the past for BC Electric makes for a nice train in need of a caboose. The cabooses were a custom design for the railway 7 were built again most still in service. Used for carrying crew at the end of a train for switching industries along the line. 

So to build the caboose I used Styrene sheets and strips, cut to size and windows. For the roof I used Vertical blind material that has a curve about the right shape for the roof. I had to build a jig to accurately make the angle cuts to match the unique cupola design.  The BC Hydro logos are from Microscale HO engine decal sheets.  I also repainted an old Lionel SW900 shell and old wood sided caboose from a resin kit. I took them for a ride on the garden railway.  Click on photos for a larger image.

Some photos running the Rio Grande and C&O trains. 

Running some 2 rail scale trains.

The Sunset 3rd Rail produced Canadian Pacific Canadian train.

You have some very nice trains running through the woods, thanks for sharing.

kj356: The Canadian Pacific's Canadian was indeed, a Train Deluxe, if ever there was one.

In my mind's eyes, I envision it in Century 21, operating as a cruise train across Canada with original Budd equipment.

Thanks for sharing your photos and video clips of your trains.  Thought it time to bring your thread back to life in 2021.

Joe

Do you have any problems with maintaining the track outdoors? (corrosion, weather, ect. ) I'd LOVE to build a layout outside!! But I live in Wisconsin!!

Dewman51, I live in NE PA,  and we do have significant snow in the winter. That said, as per some instructions for simple outdoor layouts that I found online, I laid out my initial track plan, marked it and removed the track. I then trenched down about 4 inches, filled it with fine gravel for drainage, and then laid the track back in place. Once down, I ballasted the track with fine gravel. I placed flagstone blocks, partially buried near the tracks for station and building support. It’s been about five years now, and in the spring, I just reconnect track feeders, clean the track with alcohol and a light emory cloth and again with a clean cloth. It’s just like real railroad maintenance!

My layout in the backyard is plywood sheets painted as shown and then fake grass on top. It is stacked on painted wood blocks and logs around the backyard. It is Atlas track connections stay together well has survived the winter a tiny bit of snow and lots of rain. Just sweep off the track and then occasionally need to run a track eraser over it then wipe with a clean cloth. Track works well.

Really nice outdoor layout, kj356, and nice collection of cars and locos. I hesitate to try my O gauge here in the Northeast. Winters can be harsh.

Video of BCH train. Just finished painting this Lionel SD38 and pulled the motors and board from the MTH MP15 (for another engine) The Lionel engine is a very strong puller.

@Artie-DL&W posted:

Dewman51, I live in NE PA,  and we do have significant snow in the winter. That said, as per some instructions for simple outdoor layouts that I found online, I laid out my initial track plan, marked it and removed the track. I then trenched down about 4 inches, filled it with fine gravel for drainage, and then laid the track back in place. Once down, I ballasted the track with fine gravel. I placed flagstone blocks, partially buried near the tracks for station and building support. It’s been about five years now, and in the spring, I just reconnect track feeders, clean the track with alcohol and a light emory cloth and again with a clean cloth. It’s just like real railroad maintenance!

Very impressive!

Thanks, Arnold. My wife likes to garden, and so we can both work outside together.

Kj356, I did not intend to intrude on your posts, so my apologies. Your layout is truly beautiful.

Nice !!!!

Artie no problem good to see your layout! Looks good! Always nice to sit outside and run trains! Thanks for comments folks.

Back to painting up another train to run! Looking forward to more warm days and running and showing more trains!

In the photos above I show the yellow with red striped engines I painted for BC Hydro and the custom caboose.

I was thinking with the ice storms bringing down power lines in winter, and wind storms taking out power lines it would be good to have an emergency response train to quickly repair power lines. There are rail lines throughout B.C., in real life B.C. Hydro looks after power and power lines throughout the province. The BC Rail line runs a 1000 miles from south to north and CP and CN lines cover west to east. And the power lines and most cities are near the rail lines. So here is my fantasy creation of a B.C. Hydro emergency power line repair train.

The 3 powered engines represent most of the main types of engines that the railway has and can provide head end power for the passenger cars, a crew needs somewhere to travel and live in so I custom painted a diner and sleeper car for the crew, a flat car with power poles, gondola with cable reels of wire, some flat cars with trucks; carrying backhoe and tractor for lifting poles, trucks to carry poles and cable rolls, trucks to drill holes with screw drills and bucket trucks, some flagger trucks and trailers with warning lights, signs and cones, a emergency first aid response truck and caboose. I have a tank car I plan to paint up to carry fuel for the trucks and trains. Had  lots of fun building this fantasy train!

The BC work crew train is AWESOME.

Really nice! Scale length trains

Nice layout running amongst the trees. We’ll done.