Paul's Clinic Schedule for the 2013 National Garden Railway Convention

The clinic schedule for the 2013 National Garden Railway Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio stabilized in late April. So we published this page to "get the word out" as soon as possible, in case any of our readers were still "on the fence" about whether to come. The clinic line-up of presenters included experts in garden railroad plants and trees, live steam, railroad electronics, and building structures from wood and concrete. There were also three speakers (including Paul) who addressed the broader issues of starting a garden railroad. Paul focused, as always, on effective planning and getting the best "bang for the buck" from every investment.

Paul had a 1-hour overview presentation planned for Thursday and three more detailed and hands-on presentations on Saturday. On that day, we had the same room for three hours in a row. Our plan, over the three hour period, was to outline the most critical design considerations. At first we planned to show an actual rail-raising in front of the audience. We've done that outside in other venues with great response. But when we saw the space we would be using, we realized that we couldn't do it here.

These are the clinics we presented or helped with on Thursday and Saturday, June 6 and 8 (We had an open railroad Friday morning June 7 so we didn't sign up for any clinics on that day). Although these are in the past, we're leaving the discriptions up to show the kind of information we are used to presenting in such venues.

Destination (Clinic Topic)	Departure Time	Other Stops (Related Articles so you can read up ahead of time)
Nancy Norris' Vegetation for the Garden Railroad (esp. conifers - we plan to be onhand to help with the demonstration part)	2:00PM-3:00PM Room C	Inexpensive and Low-Maintenance Plants for Garden Railroads Trees for Your Trains - Choosing and Cultivating Dwarf Conifers
Introduction to Garden Railroading On a Budget FamilyGardenTrain.com’s lead editor helps families plan and build big backyard fun - even families that don’t have unlimited funds and time. Learn what you’re getting into, which early investments will have a big payoff later, which “shortcuts” will cause big headaches later, and how to have big outdoor train fun even while your “ultimate” garden railroad is still under development.	4:00PM-5:00PM Room B	Building a Garden Railroad on a Budget

These are the clinics we have proposed presenting on Saturday, June 8:

Destination (Clinic Topic)	Departure Time	Other Stops (Related Articles so you can read up ahead of time)
(Budget-Friendly) Garden Railroad Design and Construction How to plan the ultimate “train garden,” but build it in stages, so you can learn as you go. Budgeting includes spending money first on things you need first, rather than spending so much money on “nice-to-haves” that you have to skimp on critical infrastructure and wind up with a less impressive railroad in the long run. This session addresses scoping, initial choices, designing for interest and reliability, and “bulletproof” construction methods that even beginners can master quickly.	2:00PM-3:00PM Room A	Building a Garden Railroad on a Budget Planning Your Garden Railroad for High Reliability Introduction to Garden Railroad Construction Building A Simple Raised Railroad
(Budget-Friendly) Landscaping and Water Features Landscaping and water features not only help your trains look their best – they provide enjoyment even on days when you can’t run trains. You’ve probably figured out that the pond should come before the trains. But did you know that for most people, the “mountains” need to come after the track? Even more important, it doesn’t cost any more to landscape, “waterscape,” or plant for the long term than it does for the short term. But it does require planning.	3:00PM-4:00PM Room A	Landscaping Hints for Garden Railroads Retaining Walls and Backfill Water Features and Garden Railroads.
(Budget Friendly) Structures and Accesories Most garden railroaders eventually want their trains to look like they are serving a purpose – calling for industries, communities, and passengers. But pricing “store-bought” buildings, bridges and figures may drive you back to HO. This session offers an hour of tips, tricks, and demonstrations that will help you save “real” money on all three and make your railroad unique at the same time.	4:00PM-5:00PM Room A	Painting Plastic Structures Trashbashing 101 Building a Simple Foam Viaduct Trestles 101 Choosing Figures for your Garden Railroad

Other Recommended Clinics

I especially recommended Nancy Norris' clinics on plants - she's an author who makes a point of recommending the best plants for each reason, and who has a lot of tips on care. (To see Paul's review of Nancy's recent book of miniature plants click here. In fact I plan to help her with her conifer clinic on Thursday at 2:00.

We also recommended Tom and Mary Lavely's "Constructing Buildings with Concrete" presentations. If you don't even know what jigstones are, check out George Shreyer's great article on them here. They're a great way to get started building unique structures you won't feel bad about leaving out all year. And once you've made a few, you'll discover that your initial investment does pay for itself.

For folks who were interested in live steam, we recommended Marc Horovitz's presentation. Marc's the editor of Garden Railways, and he's spent the last several years researching this topic and writing about it in a recent book. Now, I understand that it has sold completely out. Congrats, Marc.

Sadly, you couldn't get to everybody's clinics because they overlaped. But I also recommended Cindy Johnson's presentation. Cindy is the chief spokesperson for Paul Busse, whose magnificent garden railroads have graced arboretums, botannical gardens, and many other public places all over the country for decades. We have published our own review of one of Paul Busse's railroads. But, of course Cindy has lots of insight into what it takes to design and implement these miniature wonderlands.

Conclusion

If you got to the convention, I know you had a great time. If not, at least this might reassure you that garden railroading is not only alive and well, but is growing, in numbers and options. And this article didn't even touch on the vendor hall and the tours of many inspiring garden railroads. The Cincinnati-Dayton-Columbus region has three of the most active clubs in the country, with many gifted members - to me it's the "fertile crescent" of the hobby. We hope you had a chance to visit our miniature worlds!

Keep in Touch

We want to hear from you:

• If you wish to have Paul (or somebody Paul recommends) speak at a gathering, provide a demonstration, or provide a clinic for your business or organization, please contact us and we'll work out the details.

• If you wish to be notified of upcoming Family Garden Train-sponsored events, please sign up for our newsletter. Remember to tell us what part of the country you live in (at least) so we can try to notify you of things going on in your area.

In addition, please let us know about your ongoing projects. Ask questions, suggest article ideas, whatever you think will help you or your fellow railroaders. In the meantime, enjoy your trains, and especially enjoy any time you have with your family in the coming weeks,

Paul Race

FamilyGardenTrains.com

To read more, or to look at recommended Garden Railroading and Display Railroad products, you may click on the index pages below.