LGB Kidney Plan - Raised Garden Bed

My primary idea is to build a somewhat raised garden, probably around 2 feet high, to house the railroad.  I'd build this with landscaping stones and fill it with dirt.  This would make planting and gardening easier on the back, and raise the switches and cars up for easier operation.

Here is one idea, using LGB track in CADRail.  The idea is an island railroad with a ferry interchange.  One locomotive services the island, which produces lumber, stone and fruit.  These are picked up and switched to the ferry for export.  Other commodities come in through the ferry and are unloaded at the freight house.  

The center is reserved for scenery, built on a small hill for scenic separation.

The area above the existing garden is the house, and to the right is the patio.

Curves?

What size curves are you planning on using? Looks like a managable track plan. Just be aware large scale track prices have shot up a lot in the last 5 years. Going price for new track is in the $5-8 range, used track $3-5 per foot.

Island Ferry Concept

Michael: I love the ferry concept! The LGB track is nearly bulletproof although pretty big. Most “modern” diesel locos for garden railroading are 1:29 scale but I’d consider using the LGB Porter for your little pike. Curves wouldn’t be a problem and you could build an enclosed ferry or barge for storage. 

The freight house would make switching the ferry a little cumbersome if the run-around is blocked. Outbound cars would be spotted on the main and swapped out with cars coming off the ferry “to maintain balance”. (It isn’t a problem for our models of course but adds some operational interest.)

As I said in response to you on my post, don’t wait. As we get older it important to stay active and being outdoors has to be good for our health. A plus is that I enjoy trying to “bonsai” plants to look appropriate and Mrs E like Green Lake looking well groomed. 

Curves??

If you have drawn your layout using a one foot grid then your curves have about a four foot diameter or two foot radius. That is tight for Gauge 1 (G Scale) track but is very doable. Since that is the smallest radius available from manufacturers like LGB (see table below), you will generally limited you to running small engines and rolling stock. Some of the Large Scale four axle diesels or engines with articulated drivers will negotiate R1 curves and switches but can have problems handling S curves.

Running small engines and rolling stock on a garden layout can be fun. You just have to be careful about what equipment you select. Please keep use up to date on your progress.

LGB track diameters (from the old LGB site):

R1 = 1200 mm
R2 = 1560 mm
R3 = 2390 mm
R5 = 4640 mm

Tranlated into imperial:

R1 ~47.2" dia (~2' radius)
R2 ~ 61.4" dia (~2' 6' rad)
R3 ~ 94.1" dia (~3' 11" rad)
R5 ~ 182.7" dia (~7' 7"rad)

Great concept, my thoughts

Nicely thought out for operations. The small radius curves do set up some restrictions though.

For motive power I would recommend small 4 wheel power such as the Heartland 'Mack', or 0-4-0, 0-6-0 steam outline. Heartland also has a selection of 4 wheel rolling stock that would work well. Possibly a kit-bash or scratch build would work as well. Both USA Trains and Aristo Craft also make 4 wheel locos as well, although Aristo will be on the used marketplace.

On a layout as as small and tight radiused as you propose, I would recommend sticking with hook & loop couplers for reliality. Another reliable coupling would be link & pin, although most locos and rolling stock would need to be retrofit. Other couplers may work but he reliability may suffer.

As for track, USA Trains and Aristo Craft also make track that is interchangeable with LGB. Although Aristo Craft is no longer in business, their products are still in abundance on the used marketplace.

As for appearance , Ken above is correct with the addition that the overhang  those tight curves looks ridiculous. Rolling stock should not be longer than 20 scale feet for the same reason.

Good Stuff

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the thoughts, insights and inputs1  This is exactly what I was hoping for.

@Ken & Craig - the curves are LGB 11000 - 30 degree curves.  Yes, quite tight.  I may play with bigger ones, but probably these are best for my space.  I'm planning only one small locomotive, and small rolling stock too.  The main purposes here are, 1) spend time with my lovely wife outdoors 2) have a fun outdoor railroad to share with friends when cooking out on our patio.

@Narrowgauge - thanks for the insight on the couplers.  I was wondering about that.  Does most equipment come with hook and loop?  It seems LGB does.  My plan is to stick with one manufacturer for compatibility, at least to start, probably LGB.  I have a LOT of complexity in brands and modification on my HO railroad and am NOT looking to duplicate that here.

@Neil - I like that LGB Porter!  I also like your idea of a shed to keep it in.  One question though.  I'd like to convert the locomotive to battery power and BlueRail.  I'm only going to have one locomotive, and I really like the idea of dead rail here, manual switches, and a locomotive I can run with my iPhone.  Also, visitors can do the same.  Would the Porter have room for the install?  If not, do you have any other locomotive suggestions?  Maybe a Piko 0-6-0 or Mogul?

Rolling Stock

BTW . . . I LOVE the LGB German themed 4-wheel rolling stock.  This one got me interested, because I love their hefeweizen beer.  I'm strongly considering all German themed engines and cars, which is easy with LGB.  In fact, instead of produce, one of the industries should be Hops!

Hook & Loops

The one thing that is "standard" about large scale is that hook and loops come with everything! If it was me, I'd look at 2 axle boxcars, and maybe a live steam Porter for those causes where you want to do just a little bit more than watch the train go around. 

Live Steam

Well now, I'd never considered it, but Live Steam is intriguing!  I found a Bowande Porter, butane powered, live steam 0-4-0 for about $800 (US Dollars) on eBay.  After buying an electric locomotive and retrofitting it with Blue Rail, this is about the same price.

Running live steam would certainly give the outdoor railroad a different flavor.  I know NOTHING about live steam.  I have many questions, among them:

1. How long will an engine run?
2. How do you control the locomotive?  Start, stop, etc?
3. Is there an actual steam whistle?
4. How do you fuel it and where do you get the fuel?
5. How hard is it to control the speed?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

BlueRail & Live Steam

If you haven’t gotten Garden Railroad magazine then now is the time to pick up a copy. There are lots of good ideas and I enjoy corresponding with Marc and Kevin when I have specific questions. 

Live steam is a lot of fun. My first engine was a Mamod and then a Ruby followed by a Ruby kit. I hope to actually build a live steamer when the track gets down and I can play again. Each runs about 15-20 minutes before needing water. There are valves that allow you to add water while under steam but the real limitation is installation of the RC equipment. This is like adding DR to a steam engine so the cost goes up BUT running steam is not the same experience and just enjoying it move is often enough - especially on a little line as you have proposed. 

BlueRail has a high power board that should easily fit in either engine. You may need to get creative about where to hide things and the limiting factor for running is battery life. Make it easy to plug in or swap out. If I get my little Forney kit built it will definitely go this route. 

Exciting times! Hope to see some pics soon. 

@Neil

I'll go find a copy of Garden Railroad!  I think they have it at Books A Million near me.  

The Ruby looks cool, but I didn't see any prices.  How much do those engines cost?  The Aristo-Craft engines look nice, with radio control, but it looks like they're out of production.  That doesn't bode so well with the Ni-Cad batteries running the controls.  If something breaks . . . 

I'm kind of back in the BlueRail camp, but time will tell.  Maybe I'll need TWO engines.  LOL

Here's a modification of the track plan.  I took your advice, and made the station separate from the runaround, so it won't block switching moves.  I also widened the left side so more room for plants and a hill.  I switched one industry to a brewery, and included a station for the locals.  I'm really starting to like this design.

Two engines

Check with the CFO but I find that the price of our toys pales in comparison to those the misses enjoys. So, two engines? There can never be too many engines! (Lol) Seriously. Get one and some shorty cars and see if you enjoy this scale. I love the big stuff and am going bigger 1:13.7 or 7/8” scale!

Live Steam

The live steam bug is hard to not get bit by. I have on my wish list a live steam shay either in 45mm gauge or 7.5" gauge. I'm thinking 7.5" would be a lot more entertaining and enjoyable!

If you're really interested in getting some helpful advice on large scale, I'd suggest you join largescalecentral.com

There is a lot of hobbyists with a lot of knowledge, and that forum is geared specifically to the large scale stuff. I don't want to put MRH down, but the level of expertise in large scale is just a drop in the bucket compared to over at LSC. Check it out. 

Rubys can be found for around $500. They are a great little starter engine, but they have some problems. The kits (if you can find them) produce a nice engine for even cheaper. The big problem with the Rubys is that they go super fast. If you couple a heavy load, they slow down a bit. I think a few people have made retrofit kits to get the cylinder size different so they run a little slower. 

I agree with Neil, your layout design is perfect for a 7/8th size layout. It would be nice to see an article on MRH about 7/8th's but I don't see the audience here. 7/8th's is nice because you can run down to your local hardware store for parts. LHS takes on a new meaning in this scale...

I love your Railroads

I love your Railroads premise. The rock quarry got me to thinking of a small rock fall in one of the corners that your railroad could pass through as a small tunnel. The rock fall could extend to ground level giving visual interest, a reason for your quarry to exists, and a neat place to plant succulents. 

Chris