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September, 2014 Update from Family Garden TrainsTM
Note: This is the web version of a newsletter from the Family Garden TrainsTM web site, which publishes information about running big model trains in your garden as a family activity.
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In this Issue
Some people get upset when they see Christmas trees in the store before Thanksgiving, but for some Christmas things, it pays to plan way ahead. For example, every year we have a Christmas-themed open railroad on the New Boston and Donnels Creek. And every year, we are way behind on something and need to get caught up. This year, it's mostly weeding and trimming - I spent too much time traveling for business this summer to keep up with it. Also, all of the garden train projects I had in the works at the start of the summer are they're still "in the works." On the other hand, having a job is better than not having a job, so I'm done complaining now.
I'm getting more signups than ever for this newsletter, so that's a good sign that interest in the hobby is growing again. We lost about five percent of our readers in 2008, but now we have half again what we had back then. This year it's growing faster than ever as well.
The flip side to renewed interest in the hobby is that stocks of most new train sets are still a little thin. I know it seems mercenary when I start posting links to our "buyers' guides" this time every year. But count on it, in a few weeks, I will start getting inundated with angry e-mails from people who waited a week too long to order the only train that would do for Christmas this year, blaming me because it took them several months to get around to ordering something I first recommended in July or August. A few even track down my home phone number and place angry phone calls.
Silly story alert: The first time this happened, it was early on Christmas Eve, 2005. It so happened that I knew of a hobby shop in the caller's city that actually had the train the reader wanted at a good price, and I knew the store would be open until 4:00. I wasn't going to be making a dime; I was just trying to be nice. But the caller told me the she didn't have time to drive there and back. According to the caller, I had personally ruined her family's Christmas by not somehow getting a specific train set to her front door (six hundred miles from my house) on a few minutes' notice on Christmas Eve! Yes, I know I wasn't responsible for her "ruined" Christmas, and that was an extreme case, but she's not the only person whose Christmas I ostensibly ruined by not somehow forcing them to place an order while the train they wanted was still in stock. As we used to say while I was working my way through college at Radio Shack back in the 1970s, "We can't make them here."
If I didn't love trains and Christmas, and - oddly enough - people so much, this sort of thing could turn me into quite the Grinch. So there you have it. This year the good news is that if you want a train for Christmas, you have some great choices if you choose early.
This is the second month that our new discusion forum has been active. It's already received thousands of hits, but most folks who signed up have never logged in and commented on anything. If you've signed up, please log in and say something about one of the topics, so I can be sure you're really "on board." Plus, many of you know more than I do about a lot of things, so I want to give you all a chance to contribute.
In the meantime, I've stopped adding reader questions to the "letters to the editor" page and started putting the questions and answers on the relevant forum pages. That way, other folks with the same question can see the answer. And members who have their own suggestion may add it to mine.
Finally, I want thank our contributor Tom Knight, for another great plant care article - one I wish I'd seen twenty years ago, but which will certainly ease the maintenance burden of anyone starting now.
Topics discussed in this update include:
I wish I had seen this article about fifteen years ago - it would have saved me countless hours of climbing over my railroad trying to reach my dwarf and miniature trees to trim them just right. Taking a tip from professional nurseries, Tom plants his little trees, pot and all into bigger pots. Benefits include ability to better control growth, shape, and nutrition.
To see the Pot-In-Pot article, please click the following link
 Christmas Train Day, 2014
Mark Your Calendars! - Our seventh annual Christmas-themed open railroad on our own New Boston and Donnels Creek is currently scheduled for November 16 this year (2014) (near Springfield, Ohio). We're hoping for more trains and other great activities for the whole family. Check back for details, as well as information on other Christmas-themed open railroads in the area.
Click on the following link to see the page of information we have so far:
Don't Wait Too Long to Order Trains for Christmas
As ajunct to my hobby sites, I maintain separate "Buyers' Guides" to help folks track down or at least see reviews of trains they can use. This year, the most obvious news is the lack of AristoCraft trains for Large Scale modelers and the lack of On30 train sets for indoor modelers. But even the trains that have appeared to fill the gaps seem to be a "mile wide and an inch deep." That is to say, that I have more trains than ever listed on several of the "buyers' guide" pages, but MANY of those sets are "onsies and twosies," that is, I expect them to be sold out long before Thanksgiving.
Every year, starting in early November, I get deluged with messages asking where folks can buy trains that were available in September. I've even had folks track down my phone number and call me in anger because something I recommended in July is no longer available anywhere to speak of by December 15. I hate seeing folks disappointed, and I hate having to tell them all the same thing (they should have ordered earlier). And I really hate angry phone calls. So this posting is "pre-emptive," so to speak.
Here's a quick recap of where "Big Train" markets stand as of September, 2014:
 Large Scale Trains in Railroad Names - Bachmann "Big Hauler" train sets are still available, although they have obviously cut back on ordering new sets, and their most popular current set seems to have sold out since June of this year. Starter sets from Piko and LGB are available, although I expect the LGB set to go very fast - in fact, one I posted in June is already sold out.
To see our best currently-available recommendations, click the following link:
 Large Scale Trains in Christmas Colors - These are perfect for big displays in bank lobbies, etc. And they are "jaw-dropping" around the tree. A couple of the most popular Bachmann Christmas-themed Large Scale sets are available. But the best (and probably most fleeting) news is that as of this writing, two LGB Christmas sets are available. I expect them to go VERY FAST. A Bachmann "Lil Big Hauler" Kids train decorated for Christmas might be the best solution for folks who want a real train around the tree, but whose kids still have "pokey fingers." I expect them to go fast, too, just not as fast as the LGBs. The Piko Christmas set that is available this year has a very nice paint job as well, and seems reasonably solid.
To see the Large Scale trains that are decorated for Christmas, click the following link:
 O Gauge Trains in Railroad Names - Lionel has issued a number of new trains and has reissued several existing sets with a different locomotive or different cars. This year, trains pulled by F (streamlined) units and freight diesels are also available. I expect the diesel trains to sell quickly - they always do. Several of the other sets are getting "thin" as well. If you were thinking about getting a Lionel set or adding to a Lionel railroad this year, don't wait too long.
To see the Lionel trains that are painted for PRR, NYC, UP, and other "real-world" railroads, click the following link:
 O Gauge Trains in Christmas Colors - This year, Lionel has more trains decorated for Christmas than they have ever offered at one time. Again, some of the units are already in short supply. And I expect others, like the Peanuts-themed train, to sell out quickly. Big and sturdy.
 On30 Trains in Christmas Colors - Hawthorne Trains used to order specially painted On30 train sets from Bachmann to sell in "collections." They featured art from folks like Thomas Kinkade and Al Agnew, as well as cultural icons like Coca Cola and "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Several of these classic collections are still available new, although I don't think any new sets have been ordered since 2010. So once they sell out, they are gone forever.
These come one piece at a time, except in some cases you can order a "super saver set" in which the first three "issues" come in the first shipment, and after that, the subsequent pieces come one at a time. To see which collections are still available, click the following link:
 On30 Trains in Railroad Names
- These are almost non-existant this year. If you haven't got into On30, this is not the year to start. On the other hand, if you have an On30 railroad, several individual locomotives, cars, and self-propelled units are available. Click the link below and scroll down to see the links for those products.
In so-called temperate zones, Autumn is the time when leaves start becoming a problem and annuals start freezing off to the ground. On pretty days, it's still a great time to operate a garden railroad, but that is easier if you stay caught up.
Once frost is approaching, you might as well cut down any plants that freeze off to the ground anyway, such as Hosta, Baptisa, Sweet Woodruff, and Coreopsis. Consider cutting back (not down) plants that don't freeze back entirely, such as thyme, sedum, finger geranium (cranesbill), and lavender. Leave a few inches with foilage if you can (that may be impossible with thyme you've let get too long), but trimming them back now (or later in the winter) will help their growth next spring to be more compact and healthy-looking. Yes, it is possible to throw any patch of thyme into fatal or near-fatal shock by overtrimming, but in the case of overgrown "vulgaris" (common) thyme, you may have to weigh that risk against the likelihood of having 12-inch plants with only 3 inches of foilage at the end by next spring. A small hedge-trimmer can help with this; then I "rake" the clippings out with my fingers.
Although the crabgrass, nutgrass, and many other noxious weeds are beginning to go dormant, I still pull them if I have a chance.
 A Good Time to Plant and Trim Conifers - By early October it's safe to plant just about any conifer and to trim the ones you already have planted. Our article "Trees for Your Trains" will give you some guidance and help you avoid mistakes and "shortcuts" that may cause problems in the long run. Clicking on the following link will take you there.
 Planting for Spring Color - Even if you ordinarily avoid flowers on your railroad, there's nothing wrong with having a cheery patch of blossoms in the early spring, when you're not running trains anyway. In fact, it's delightful.
By mid-October it's safe to plant most spring-blooming bulbs like daffodils, tulips, and hyacinth. For bright-and-early spring color that doesn't cause visual problems later in the summer, I like Grape Hyacinth, Crocus, and miniature Daffodils like the "Tete-a-Tete" variety they sell in pots each spring. The foilage on the first two stays small, and the foilage on the Daffodils can usually be cut back by Memorial day, if not much sooner, without harming the plant. Click on the following link for an article about planting for spring color.
Water Features In October - As frosts approach, you need to start getting your water plants ready for winter. I like to use non-rusting scissors to clip off and discard any remaining leaves from my water lilies (if you can't reach them all, that's okay, get what you can). Most pond plants that protrude above the water should be trimmed back to the water line (although you may own a plant or two that are exceptions - refer to your supplier for specifics). If you have "shallow-water" plants in containers on shelves, you probably want to drop the containers into deep water for the winter - just remember to fish them out and put them back where they belong next spring.
If you live where seasons change, make reasonable efforts to protect your pond from falling leaves. You can buy pond nets that catch most leaves (although they let those little maple "helicopters" through). One year when I didn't have a pond net, I bought a few yards of black polyester fabric petticoat netting (tulle) from JoAnne's fabric, doubled it over, and staked it down. That even kept out the little maple "helicopters," although it did only last one winter.
If your pond is too big to stretch a net across, net out the leaves you can reach and take comfort in the fact that the larger the pond, the less damage to the water chemistry will be done by any leaves that get through. If your pond, like mine, is small enough to easily spread a net across, then by all means do so.
How long do you leave the net on? Some folks leave it on only until all the leaves in their yard have fallen and are raked. But my neighbors don't rake, and dry leaves that have blown like tumbleweeds from a half a mile away are still hitting the water and sticking like flies to flypaper as late as April. Still, I generally get "excited" about spring and take my pond netting off in March. The point is to reduce the amount of plant material that decays in the pond as much as you reasonably can, without diminishing your enjoyment.
Start Planning your Winter Railroad Activities - There are many good ways to keep your hobby alive during cold weather. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
- Plan to set up a holiday train display in your home, or go together with friends to set one up in a public place like a church fellowship hall or nursing home lobby.
- Plan a cold-weather "open house" for your garden railroad. A few Christmas lights in the conifers on your railroad, any kind of train running, and a boom box playing Christmas carols will bring a whole lot of Christmas to your corner of the world.
- Make a list of indoor projects you can do that will help your railroad overall.
In July, we announced a new discussion forum for folks who want to share projects, float ideas, ask and answer questions, etc. relating to garden trains. Quite a few people signed up, but then hardly anybody posted anything. Don't be shy. Again, our experience is that new forums (like long coal trains) take a while to gain real momentum. But once things get going, we think you'll be glad you got onboard early.
In the meantime, I'm using the forums instead of "Letters to the Editor" to publish our answers to reader questions. This way other folks can chime in if they have something to add or they think I've said something wrong, and we all learn together.
To sign up for the discussion forums, please click the following link:
To check the forums out without signing up, please click the following link:
Keep in Touch
Finally, please let us know about your ongoing projects. Ask questions, send corrections, suggest article ideas, send photos, 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 view the newsletter for July, 2014, click on the following link:
To read more, or to look at recommended Garden Railroading and Big Indoor Train products, please click on the index pages below.
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Pot-In-Pot Planting - Making Things Easier
Garden Railroading Discussion Forum Reminder
