The G&O Story (O Gauge Outdoors)

The layout and trains look great, Joe!  I’m glad you had a great turnout!!

Merry Christmas everyone!  It is pouring rain today, December 23, 2019, just as it was during the SLHRS winter show that was held the weekend of December 7 and 8.  Here are some photos from the show:

This is the Depot's front porch.  We are holding a train and cookie sale.  Note that the porch's front steps are in the process of being replaced.  This is a $4,000 project.  Thirty year old rotten redwood was taken out and replaced by concrete at the bottom of the steps.

This is a Lion Chief engine pulling a Lionel Christmas car train across Norris Falls.  This engine has been converted to battery power but it still uses the Lion Chief controller and electronics.  We have found that Lion Chief engines are some of the best running engines for shows and for operation in the rain.  The oldest Christmas car in this train dates from 1987.

We normally have elaborate snow scenes for our holiday shows.  We put out ceramic buildings for this show because they will be OK in the rain.

A few hardy visitors attended the show.  The kids are holding Lion Chief controllers and running trains on the children's layout.

This is a closeup of future O gauge engineers.  I think that the blue controller is for Thomas and the green for Percy.  The color codes are wonderful for this application.  

Here is a better view of the battery powered Lion Chief Santa engine.  Converting Lion Chief engines to battery power is fairly easy because you can connect the battery directly to the stock electronics and use the Lion Chief controller to operate the train.  

Here are more visitors during a break between cloud bursts.

These two kids are operating a sound box on the children's display.  It has buttons that blow train horns, cows mooing, dogs barking, etc.

This Lionel Lion Chief Polar Express train on the lower level of the children's display was big hit.

The display walkways were continually flooded throughout the day.  The black bars on the left are the railings for the front porch.  They will be reinstalled after more rotten redwood is replaced.  The thirty year old wood fence is scheduled for replacement in 2020.  The estimated cost to replace the 80 foot long fence is $5,000.  The walkways will eventually be replaced by pavers.  This is another very expensive project.  

This is an older conventional Lionel Christmas Story train running in the rain.  

This is an old Lionel G gauge engine that was purchased at a train show.  Its motors and gearing were replaced and an Air-wire command control system with sound installed.   It is now a good runner.

This is an all Lionel Christmas box car train.  The engine is conventional and is from about 2003.  It has a small horizontal can motor powering each truck.  

All of us at the SLHRS and G&O crew wish all of our OGR Forum friends a Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year.

NH Joe

Joe, looks like another successful season!

I thought that I would post some photos of the San Leandro Depot that I took on December 23, 2019.  NH Joe

The Depot was built by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1898 to serve the farming community of San Leandro.  It is located on Orchard Avenue in Thrasher Park.  The Depot was moved into Thrasher Park by the SLHRS in 1988 and fully restored.  A large John Armstrong designed HO layout was built inside.  Construction on the G&O garden railroad started in 2008.

This is a photo of the Depot's front.  This side was facing the Souther Pacific mainline between Oakland and San Jose.  The original Depot had a freight house next to it.  The freight house was torn down before the SLHRS acquired the building.

Here is a front view.  The SLHRS is replacing the porch front steps. 

Here is a view of the other side.

This is a view taken from across Orchard Avenue.  Note the operational train order signal.

Here is another view taken from the Orchard Avenue side of the building.  The G&O children's display is directly behind the black iron gates.  The 80 foot wood fence on the right side of the photo is scheduled for replacement in 2020.  The large light yellow building with a gray roof at the far end of the G&O is an abandoned Delmonte Foods warehouse.  The gray building at to the right of the fence is a private home.

Here is another view of the back of the Depot showing the G&O display and the Delmonte Foods warehouse.

Here is a closer view of the working train order signal.  The arms can be moved by levers inside the Depot office.  Restoring the signal to working condition and installing it was a long and challenging project.  The Delmonte Foods warehouse can be seen on the far side of the Depot.  Food processing was a big business in San Leandro for many years.  The city holds an annual Cherry Festival to celebrate its agricultural past.  

The G&O crew has had a tradition for the past ten years of running trains on New Years morning.  The crew meets at about 10 a.m., run trains for a coupe of hours, and then go to lunch.  It is a wonderful start to a New Year.  These photos were taken January 1, 2020.  NH Joe

This is the G&O crew.  From left to right:  Mark Boyd, Gino Cerelli, Lawrence Cappuccio, Nancy Lagomarsino, Glen Gillio, Jacques Verdier, and Paul Salminen.  Missing:  Myself (behind the camera), Bill Alexander, John Bouey, Jeff Zolfarelli, Nancy Norris, Alex Cruz and Tom Blinn.  We are lucky to have a great group!

This is my SP 4449 at Coupler Curve.  It is an older brass Williams model that has been converted to TMCC.  It is pulling a mix of K-Line and MTH cars.  

Another view of the Daylight at Norris Falls.

This is the end of the train. The 21 inch observation car is K-Line.

The Daylight and a G gauge SP freight are approaching Bouey Canyon.  The two SP GP7s are old Lionel G gauge models that have been converted to battery power.  They have a full sound and light package.  

This is the Daylight crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.  The actual Golden Gate Bridge is only for automobiles and trucks.  This is the second GGB on the G&O.  It will be replaced next month (Feb. 2020) with a metal GGB that will be a more accurate model.  The G gauge staging yard is below the bridge.

The rear of the Daylight.

Here is a Lionel UP Western Pacific heritage SD70ACE pulling the Golden State at Coupler Curve.

Here is a Lionel UP freight pulling a load of new automobiles at Coupler Curve.

What better way to start the New Year than to run a train that honors your grandkids?

One boy and three girls!  No, these are not not my grandkids!  Grand Dad is very proud.

The box cars are by Lionel.  Grand dad is going to go broke if his kids keep having babies.  

Super cute!

I will end with a photo of this G gauge train at Bouey Canyon.  Happy New Year and O Gauge Railroading to All!

Joe, Congratulations to the whole crew for a great layout and great trains.  Thank you for posting all the wonderful photographs!

Happy New Year to all who participate on the G&O!!

Here are a few photos of battery powered engines on the G&O.  The G&O is a little different in that we have both O gauge and G gauge battery powered engines.  

The two Lionel engines below are battery powered and have remote control using the Airwire system.  They have a full light and sound systems.  

The two G gauge engines below were made by Lionel over a decade ago.  They have been converted to battery power and remote control using the Airwire system.  The O gauge Daylight on the bridge is a Williams brass engine that was converted to TMCC.

The train on the trestle has Legacy control.  The O gauge engines on the lower level are are the same ones seen in the first photo.  

Here is another photo of the two G gauge battery powered engines.  These locomotives have a full light and sound system.  

Joe, Those are really nice engines.  When I was first reading I thought maybe all the club's engines were converted to battery.  So are some tracks setup for TMCC and Legacy, while other tracks have no power to the rails and those are for battery powered engines?

Mark Boyce posted:

Joe, Those are really nice engines.  When I was first reading I thought maybe all the club's engines were converted to battery.  So are some tracks setup for TMCC and Legacy, while other tracks have no power to the rails and those are for battery powered engines?

Mark,

Only a handful of engines are battery powered.  Members are just getting started installing batteries.  As you might guess, club members own more G gauge battery powered engines than O gauge.  The O gauge battery powered engines belong to a crew members who is heavily into radio control and electronics.  Most of us run our engines using Lionel or MTH engines straight from the box.  I have converted some of my conventional engines to TMCC using ERR (now Golden Gate) products.

I believe that the battery power will begin to be the power choice for most model railroaders in all scales in the future.  The primary problem with battery power right now is cost.  A full battery conversion with sound, lights, etc. is in the $200 to $300 range.  It is hard to rip out a perfectly working Legacy or DCS system and convert to battery.  This is why all the early conversions on the G&O have been to conventional engines.

Another problem with battery power is that there are several companies making battery systems.  The systems are not compatible in the sense that you can't use Brand A's controller to run Brand B's battery powered engines.  This is a big difference from DCC where any brand DCC controller will run any DCC engine.

 You have to pick a brand and stick with it.  These are all small companies that may or may not be around in the future.  I think that the first manufacturer who comes up with a battery powered engine and 2-rail track system will be a big winner.  NH Joe

Joe, Thank you for the very nice explanation.  That all makes sense.  Cost of batteries, conversions, incompatibility between manufacturers all need resolved in time.  I was thinking maybe some tracks had power and some didn't, which may be true on the G scale.

Mark Boyce posted:

Joe, Thank you for the very nice explanation.  That all makes sense.  Cost of batteries, conversions, incompatibility between manufacturers all need resolved in time.  I was thinking maybe some tracks had power and some didn't, which may be true on the G scale.

Mark,

 All the tracks are powered - both G and O gauge.  This allows us to run battery and Legacy/DCS engines on the same track at the same time.  This is especially nice when we operate over the mountain line with pushers.  The lead engines are Legacy/DCS and the pushers at the rear are battery powered.  It takes two crew members to coordinate running the train.  The O gauge track power is normally 22 volts all the time.

The G gauge tracks are powered with straight DC using a Bridgewerks transformer.  The output of the transformer is usually set at 20 plus volts all the time.    The transformer's power is sent through the Crest Revolution track power regulation system before it goes to the track.  This unit allows us to regulate the track power using a handheld device.  This allows a conventional G gauge engine to be controlled in both directions and blow the horn, etc.  This is not the Crest Revolution battery system that sends a radio signal directly to the engine.  

We also have engines using the Crest Revolution battery system.  This controls engines with a radio signal directly to the engine.  This allows us to run battery powered and conventional DC engines on the same track at the same time with total control of both.  The battery powered engines are insulated from the track.  They keep doing their thing no matter what the track voltage is including crashing into the back of a stopped conventional engine.    NH Joe

2 Feb 2020 - There always seems to be unique challenges with garden railroading.  The fence blew down between the G&O and our neighbors today.  The wind is still blowing very hard.  The fence is 30 years old and was budgeted for replacement later this year.  It will be sooner instead of later.  NH Joe

Today, Sunday April 19, 2020, I am going to chronicle the evolution of the G&O's Golden Gate Bridge.  All eastbound O gauge trains leaving Depot Yard need to cross Bouey Canyon.  Bouey Canyon is named for John Bouey.   John is a Vietnam veteran and a Navy Sea Bee.  He constructed all of the first bridges crossing the canyon including Golden Gate Bridge # 1 (GGB-1).

This is John:

This photo was taken in June 2011 showing the area that GGB-1 will occupy.  The arch bridge is a model of the Bixby Bridge on the CA coast south of Monterey.  It was built by John out of redwood.  It carries the O gauge coast and mountain lines across the canyon.  You have probably seen this bridge many times in automobile advertisements.  Bouey Canyon is about 5 feet deep.    

This is the same view as above after GGB-1 has been put in place.  This photo was taken on December 31, 2011.  John built GGB-1 out of redwood.  The Bixby Bridge can be seen in the background.  The bottom yard is G gauge.  The upper yard that is under construction is the O gauge Depot Yard.  Note the rocks at the east end of the bridge.  The main line hasn't been built at this time.  

This is the west bound City of San Francisco crossing the bridge and entering Depot Yard on October 28, 2012.  Note that the bridge is single tracked at this time.  It will eventually be double tracked.  

This is a train crossing GGB-1 on July 4, 2015.  The bridge is now double tracked.  

This Daylight train has just left the bridge on January 1, 2014.  It is passing the junction where the coast and mountain lines connect.

Another train leaving the bridge on January 1, 2016.

GGB-1 served the G&O well for nearly 5 years.  Unfortunately, we found that we built the first GGB-1 to narrow.  Articulated engines like Big Boys and Cab Forwards would swipe trains on the adjacent track as they entered and exited the bridge.  This was becoming a serious operational hazard, especially during train shows.  The G&O crew decided to replace GGB-1 with GGB-2 in 2016.

The crew is removing GGB-1 on July 27, 2016

The Bixby Bridge can be seen again after GGB-1 has been removed.  

These are photos of GGB-2 under construction on May 4, 2016.  This bridge was built in place out of plywood and redwood beams.  

GGB-2 is very strong.  GGB-2 was built by Craig Matoza, Mark Boyd and Jacques Verdier.  Mark (left) and Craig are standing on the bridge.

Here is a photo of the completed GGB-2 taken in 2019.  It has a much wider deck than GGB-1.

This is a photo of O gauge trains crossing GGB-2 and the Bixby Bridge.  The American Freedom train on the Bixby Bridge belongs to Mark Boyd.  There is a G gauge engine in the yard.

This is a Canadian train leaving GGB-2 and approaching the junction with the mountain line.  

Although GGB-2 solved the G&O crew's operational problem with a wider deck, the crew never liked how it looked when compared to the real GGB.  Therefore, it was never finished.  For example, you can see the white poles holding the suspension cables in the above photo and the suspension wires to from the cables to the deck were never installed.  Therefore, the crew decided to replace GGB-2 with GGB-3.  This time the crew wanted a metal bridge that would more closely represent the real GGB.  We commissioned Ray Ghio who owns a metal fabrication shop in Stockton, CA to build GGB-3 in late 2019.

The photo below taken on January 1. 2020 shows one of the last trains to run across GGB-2.  You can clearly see that the suspension wires from the cables to the bridge deck were never installed in this photo.  

In the meantime, the G&O crew removed GGB-2.  These photos were taken February 26, 2020.

This a photo of GGB-3 before is was powder coat painted.  The bridge is all steel and is welded together.  It is not an accurate model of the real GGB but it is a good representation.  The crew made sure that the deck was wide enough so that trains would not side swipe each other.  

Here is the bridge being delivered on February 26, 2020.  Ray Ghio is driving his truck.  This bridge weighs about 150 pounds.

On Feb. 27 the crew had to do a lot of digging and sawing into the G gauge yard to make a place for the new bridge .  It did not exactly fit the space that its two predecessors occupied.  The G&O crew installed GGB-3 on February 28, 2020.

The next day, February 29, 2020, (2020 was a leap year) the crew ran some test tracks across the bridge and ran some trains.  It started to rain in early March and rained on and off for two weeks so we did not get beyond the test phase.  On March 16 the SF Bay Area was totally shutdown by the coronavirus crisis.

There is much work still to be done to complete this bridge.  Unlike the previous bridges this one is wired for lights.

I plan to complete the G&O's GGB story after the restrictions are lifted.  The entire G&O crew is looking forward to getting back to work and to running some trains.  The first official train across the bridge will be a SP Daylight pulled by a GS-4.

The entire G&O crew hopes that you, your family, and friends are well and safe during this difficult time.  NH Joe

Joe, Thank you for the story and all the great photographs!  We will look forward to seeing the conclusion of the GGB3 story

Love the update. 

GGB-3... Third time's a charm!

I was at the San Leandro Depot and G&O yesterday, Tuesday, May 19, 2020 for the first time since the club shut down on March 16.  I am the club's treasurer and I had to pickup my mail and some dues checks.  The G&O crew is going to have a lot of work to do when Alameda County (SF Bay Area) reopens.  It might be next week but we don't know.  Here are photos of some of the crew's  projects.  Based on past experience, it will take the crew at least a month to fix all of these problems.  NH Joe

Joe, Thank you for the photographs!!  It doesn't take long for an unused right of way to get overgrown.  Here, things are just starting to grow during the last two weeks.  Our last frost was a week ago.

20 June 2020 - The fence separating the G&O from our neighbors was replaced last Tuesday, June 16.  This old fence had been installed in 1989 shortly after the Depot was moved to the site in December 1988.  The old fence lasted 32 years but was on its last legs.  

Here are photos of the old fence taken this past February after a wind storm.

The photos below are of the new fence under construction and the finished fence.  The club is hopeful that the new fence will last for another 30 years.   

On December 30, 2014 a tree fell on the East end of the G&O.  Although the damage was repaired, the display was never right.  The track was never level after the tree fell no matter what we did to fix it.  Therefore, the G&O crew has decided to take the advantage of the down time caused by Covid-19 to rebuild the entire East end of the display.  The first step is to remove the track.  The next step will be to level the display and then replace the track.  NH Joe

The next two photos were taken in early January, 2015.

The photos below were taken July 4, 2020.

Good job making use of the time available!  Thank you for the report, Joe!!

October 2020:

The G&O crew has been making slow progress rebuilding the display.  A group of crew members wearing masks and being careful to work in different parts of the display get together on Wednesday mornings to work.

The first project has been to repair and replace the irrigation system.  This has taken a long time because we never seem to have the right part and we have to make multiple trips to Home Depot.  This is especially frustrating because the G&O has two big boxes stuffed with various irrigation fittings, PVC parts, tools, etc., but never the right one.  This seems to happen with every project that I work on.  

Our second task has been to replant the display.  Nancy Norris and Nancy Lagomarsino are doing a great job refreshing the garden.  

Two weekends ago, vandals climbed over the fence and tore up a portion of the G gauge track and damaged the G&O's scratch built truss bridge spanning Bouey Canyon.  The also bent an O gauge bridge.

The damage could have been much worse.  The crew believes that it wasn't worse because the vandals were probably high on weed and/or something else.  The crew found several marijuana butts scattered around the display.  Since this happened, security cameras have been installed and the club is going to raise the fence height from 6 to 8 feet.

Here are some recent photos of the G&O:

This is the East End of the O gauge yard.  It was torn out to be re-leveled.  This is where the tree fell on the display in December 2014.

This is the G gauge Howe truss bridge that was damaged by vandals.  It has been removed for repairs.  It will also be revarnished to preserve the wood.  

The G gauge track shown below was wrecked by vandals and will be replaced.

The photo below shows where the Howe truss was removed from the display.  The crew is going to repaint the Bixby arch bridge before the Howe truss is put back in front of it.  

The next photo shows two of three park benches that were donated to the G&O by the Kermit Paul estate.  Kermit passed away a couple of years ago.  The crew will restore the benches and place them around the display.  Right now the benches are being used to store cactus planting soil.

Kermit was one of the best known model railroaders in the SF Bay Area and in the NMRA.  He was a Master Model Railroader.  His HO layout was featured in many of the well known model railroad magazines.  He also had a very large garden model railroad.  

Sorry you to hear you had more damage on top on an already daunting project.  Looks like you are making great strides towards long term success though.  Best of luck,

JHZ563

I too am greatly saddened to learn of your latest misfortune; especially since it was vandalism.  A higher fence and cameras would be good.  In the end, I know your group will be making things better than before.

Since the start of construction in 2008, the G&O has always planned to have a paved walkway surrounding the display.  This goal was achieved during the first two weeks of January 2021.  Pavers were professionally laid between January 4 and 14.

This is a very big deal!  It took 10 years for the club to raise the money for this project.  The crew always felt that it was necessary to have this done by a paving company because the club members had neither the talent, tools, or the youth to cut and lay a ton of paving stones.

Guests and crew members will no longer be walking in water and mud during rainy train shows.  (Yes, the G&O does run both O and G gauge trains in the rain.)  The walkway has been raised 6 to 9 inches.  This gives everyone a much better view of the display.  It also allows children better access to touch the trains but that is risk that is  taken when operating a public display.

The paver color is shown in the last photo.  We feel that it goes well with overall color of the San Leandro Depot.

Here are some before and after photos.   NH Joe

No more muddy feet! 

I noticed that I haven't posted anything since January 2021.  It is now July 2021.  The reconstruction of the G&O is slowly continuing.  As with all organizations, progress has been slowed by the continuing Covid pandemic.  

Here are some recent photos of the display.  

Very nice progress, Joe!

The wooden Norris Falls Bridge is being replaced with a metal bridge made of a product called Flex-C track.  Flex-C track is a flexible metal conduit that is used in building construction to build curved walls and arches.  It is made of galvanized steel.  This makes it good for outdoor use.  The Flex-C track is being laid upside down and it has been painted black.  The O gauge track has not been installed on the bridge yet.  NH Joe

On December 18, 2021, the SLHRS and G&O held the first open house in two years.  All visitors and club members had to wear masks.  The main O gauge display was and is under construction.  It was not operational for this show.  The main G gauge display and the children's display were operational.  

This was not the G&O's best holiday effort.  However, we were lucky to get this much done.   We had 300 + visitors.  All of them said that they had a good time.  That is all that counts.  

The G&O crew wishes everyone on the forum a very Happy Holiday and a fabulous train experience in 2022.  Here are a few photos of the show.  NH Joe

Looks great Joe.

Merry Christmas!

Prior to forever Covid, if I can recall back that far, the G&O crew met every New Year's day to run trains.  We missed last year for the obvious reason.  This year two of us met to run G gauge trains and then go to lunch.  The G&O O gauge lines are still under construction.  Here are some photos of today's run (01 Jan 2022).  Happy New Year to All.  NH Joe

Here comes Santa.

Santa's Train.

Say Hello to Santa.

Santa's Caboose.

Santa's Train in a Bottle.

Santa'a Music Box.

One of my favorite cars.

The other G gauge train.

Me on the left and Paul.  Paul takes the cold weather better than I do.  Of course, he is 15 years younger than I am.  

Happy Holidays from Lionel G gauge.

Christmas is great again!

That’s great you and Paul got to do the New Year run today!!

The rebuild of the O gauge part of the G&O continues.  We ran trains for the first time in 2 years on the Mountain Line.  It took two days to get the Lionel Legacy system reconnected and working.  Here is a video clip of the first train.  The train is pulled by a 3rd Rail brass BNSF diesel that was converted to TMCC and 3 Golden Gate SP passenger cars.  I really like the BNSF colors next to the plants.  

This is the first video that I have added to this post.  I hope that it works out.  

Here are a couple of photos of the same train pulled by an EMD demonstration FP45.  I like demonstration diesels because they can be assigned to nearly any train and look authentic.  This diesel is a MTH PS-1 engine that was converted to TMCC.

Getting any trains running is a significant milestone.  The next steps are to get Depot Yard and the Coast Line operational.  NH Joe

Glad to see trains running again!

The San Leandro Historical Railway Society held its second train show this year.  The show's theme was Dinosaurs at the Depot.  We are almost getting back to a post Covid schedule.  Here are photos of the show.

Below - A Lionel drag race engine.  This is one of my favorite train show engines because of its colorful paint scheme.

This is the first run of a new G gauge MTH Big Boy.  The engine is running in conventional mode.  

Below - Yes, we have volcanoes in San Leandro.  

Below - We had beautiful weather and a nice crowd.

This is the first run of a Menards diesel pulling a Pacific Fruit Express train.  The Menards ATSF F unit is really a nice looking and operating engine.

Below - The Pacific Fruit Express at Norris Fall.  

Norris Falls was especially beautiful.  Dinosaurs chased the gold miners and grizzly bears out of the area.

Below - This guy was spotted in the bushes.

Below - The MTH G gauge Big Boy.  It is a very big model!

Below - A USA Trains diesel.  

Below - A Lionel SD AC6000.  This engine was made of Lionel's 100th anniversary in 2000.  It is a great puller and one of my favorites.

Below - A Lionel NYC GP7 with a pullmore motor easily handles this train on the mountain grade.

Below - The Menards War Bonnet is a winner!

Wow! That’s some amazing scenery. So realistic! I’m Just Kidding! I know it’s real. These garden RRs are really growing on me. Looks like a nice turn out too. Thanks for sharing!

All the photographs look great!  Nice to see warm weather!

The G&O held its annual Memorial Day train run on 30 May 2022.  Here are a few photos.  NH Joe

The San Leandro Historical Railway Society summer train show was held 4 June 2022.  Mask mandates had just been reinstated in Alameda County.  Here are a few photos.  NH Joe

Norris Falls below:

The gold miners, deer, bears, and wolves are back!

A MTH FP45 that was converted to TMCC pulls a Lionel Route 66 auto train.  

Depot yard.  This scene isn't finished.

Radiator Springs.

A couple of G gauge road switchers approach Radiator Springs.

Sadly wildfires have become a yearly occurrence in CA.  A helicopter and fire crews fight a large fire.

A G gauge train passes the wildfire.

The children's layout had a Disney theme.

Thomas was running on the children's display.  

The Lionel Route 66 train is passing the forest fire.

G gauge buildings at Radiator Springs.

A Lionel 3 truck Shay was pulling a log train on the mountain line.  

Look at that fire smoke.  (It is Halloween smoke using a fog machine.)  Every kid loves a train.

Another view of the log train.

The SLHRS held its Halloween show on October 29, 2022 (Saturday evening).  The G&O had some new and unusual lighting for this show.  NH Joe