Since many new Garden Trains became available in the 1980s, the hobby called Garden Railroading has been attracting both "indoor" model railroaders and families that never owned an "indoor train." All have found that a Garden Railroad is a family enterprise, with everyone finding something to enjoy and something to contribute.

Note about O Gauge versus O Scale - By the way, I say O gauge when referring to the trains because not all trains that run on O gauge track (1.25" between the rails) are the same scale. O scale refers to a particular proportion (1:48) between a model and the "real thing." For example, an O scale building should be 1/48th the size of the real ...

For viewing purposes, consider the places where people will be sitting to view the trains, and assume that the average rail height at that point should be 28" or higher. Yes, you may have seen impressive ground-level railroads using Large Scale equipment. But many of those trains have 4-6 times the bulk of your O-gauge trains.

The "Big Five" manufacturers of garden railway equipment are AristoCraft, Bachmann, LGB, USA Trains, and MTH. The Bachmann starter sets represent excellent value, even if they may be a little old-timey for your taste. The other companies make trains that are more solid, and the costs reflect that to some extent.

Like AristoCraft and USA Trains, the MTH 1:32 trains modeled full-sized mainline trains that ran on rails 56.5" apart. Because the manufacturers chose to model in 1:32, MTH's garden trains were about 10% smaller than AristoCraft and USA Trains, and the …

The Family Garden Trains article, "Which Scale Should I Model?" contains more information than you ever wanted to know about which manufacturers support which scales (and why). But the short version is that you can get into Narrow Gauge modeling (like the old Rio Grande) relatively cheaply with Bachmann 1:22.5 starter sets.

If you like trains or gardens, or both, garden railroading is an exciting hobby with many different ways to have fun. If you already know something about trains or gardens, or both, you may already have a "head start." But you should also know that you may need additional skills to get the most enjoyment out of your new hobby.

After 35+ years' involvement in the hobby, meeting hundreds of hobbyists, and observing countless railroads in all stages of construction, operation, and neglect, I have decided that the most important step you can take in beginning a permanent garden railroad is to create a long-lasting infrastructure that allows you to run your trains ...

Garden Railroading on a Shoe-String - Starting a fun and reliable outdoor railroad without spending a bundle. O Gauge Outside - Using O gauge trains and accessories outside Garden Railroad Maintenance Articles; Real-World Trains and Operations - An introduction railroads in general and the kinds of operations you can consider modeling in your ...

Turnouts are the "weak link" in most model railroads, for several reasons. Outdoors, they can be even more problematic than they are indoors, though. Mechanical and Conductivity Issues - Trains are more likely to derail on turnouts than anywhere else. Locomotives are more likely to experience a break in current on turnouts than anywhere else.