June, 2018 Update from Family Garden Trains^TM

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In This Issue

Garden railroading as most people know it has passed the 50 year mark - LGB trains were introduced at the Nuremburg train show fifty years ago, in 1968. Since then a lot has happened, including major manufacturers coming and going, and even LGB changing ownership at least twice. Personally, I've been involved with Large Scale trains since the mid-1980s and have seen many trends come and go as well.

We have an article about that, and several articles about our progress (and setbacks) on our NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek railroad, which we are using as a "proof of concept" for an outdoor railroad that shouldn't require THAT much more maintenance than an indoor railroad (imagine that!). Hopefully, you can get some ideas and/or inspiration from our ongoing reports, even if you're not crazy enough to do things exactly the way we have.

But we also have some "housekeeping" issues that will affect all of our newsletter subscribers, so please read those announcements before you dig into the "good stuff."

August of this year (2018) will mark our eleventh year of producing newsletters, although they haven't exactly come out every month. In fact this one should have come out last month at least, but life gets interesting sometimes.

For one thing, we've been deluged with a bunch of fake signups to the newsletter. Frankly, I'd rather spend time working on the railroad, writing about trains, and answering reader questions than dealing with fakers. So we're making changes that should make maintaining our mailing list easier and make membership for our readers and forum members safer. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience, but if you knew what it was like at this end, you'd wonder why we didn't make these changes years ago.

In This Issue

The following content is linked to or included in this newsletter:

• Newsletter Membership Changes - We are redoing the way we do our newsletter membership and asking everyone who wants to stay on the list to resubscribe. This also will give everyone who isn't really interested in our content any more an opportunity to go away quietly.

• Discussion Group Reboot in the Works - We are also changing the way our online discussion forums work to make it easier for readers to have conversations with each other.

• Fifty Years of Modern Garden Railroading - Did you know that modern garden railroading dates back at least to 1968? Click for a quick retrospective.

• Adding Raised Roadbed to the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek RR, Part 1 - Continuing with our attempt to make the next iteration of our garden railroad "bulletproof," starting by adding 2"x6" roadbed to the top loop.

• Adding Raised Roadbed to the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek RR, Part 2 - Finishing the 2"x6" roadbed on the top layer an starting on the second layer.

• Dirtscaping the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek RR, Part 2 - Beginning to turn my platforms into actual gardens - including building placement, preliminary wiring, as well as dirt, rocks, and plants.

• Waterscaping the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek Part 1 - Installing the top two layers of the waterfall and starting on the third.

• Garden Railroading in Mid-Summer

Newsletter Signup Changes - Due to an accumulation of issues with our mailing list, we'll be making some changes to the way people subscribe this year. In part, we are responding to some new regulations that, technically, only affect our European readers. But it's time to make some announcements and some minor changes that will fix things for a lot of people.

Please Resubscribe if you Want to Keep Getting This Newsletter - This is a MUST if you are a European - there's a new law in place there. But we have reason to believe that we have signed up a number of fake accounts, and we need to purge them as we move forward. From now on, our reader list will be treated more like a membership that you have to apply for. Don't worry, it's not hard, but your application must tell us something specific about your interest in garden railroading - the fakers never get that part right.

If You Don't Want to Get Any More Newsletters, Please Ignore This Message - I will probably post reminders in the next couple of newsletters, but eventually everyone who doesn't resubscribe will be dropped from our list.

You may be on our list because you wanted to start a garden railroad, but life has forced you to change your plans. Don't feel bad - the vast majority of people who buy garden trains never break ground in their own back yard. By not resubscribing, you keep me from reminding you every month or so of things you wanted to do and never got around to.

Resubscribing is Free for Now - On another list I manage, the only way to keep scammers and spammers from robbing me of dozens of hours a week determining which signups were fake was to start charging $1 a month - scammer and spammers NEVER spend their own money.

If you re-subscribe now, your subscription is free, and it will stay free as long as you keep your present e-mail or notify me when it changes. Also, if you join the "Roundtable" discussion group now, your membership is free and will stay free as long as you participate.

To sign up for BOTH the newsletter and the Roundtable Discussion group for free, use the following link:

https://familygardentrains.com/fgt_forum_signup.htm

To sign up for JUST the newsletter, please use the following link:

https://familygardentrains.com/mail_list.htm

Discussion Group Reboot in the Works - Some years ago, we set up a discussion group forum that our readers could use to discuss garden train issues with each other. We haven't promoted it as we should, and we've had some software glitches that kept me from monitoring it as I should have. We have renamed the Forums "Roundtable" and set up some things to make it go more smoothly for readers who want to participate.

To view the Roundtable Discussion Group forums, click the following link:

https://familygardentrains.com/forums/index.php

To sign up for the Roundtable Discussion group for free (at this time), use the following link:

https://familygardentrains.com/fgt_forum_signup.htm

Fifty Years of Modern Garden Railroading - When Lehmann introduced the Lehmann Big Train (LGB) at the Nuremburg Toy Fair, the little Stainz locomotive conquered hearts all over the world and revived interest in running model trains outside. Fifty years later, many things about the hobby have changed, some things have changed then gone back again, and some things that should have changed by now haven't. Here's a perspective from someone who's been involved with Large Scale trains since the early 1980s.

Click on the following link to go to the article: https://familygardentrains.com/blog_like_content/18_05_blogs/50_years_on.htm

Adding Raised Roadbed to the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek RR, Part 1 - Our test runs established that the gravel we poured around the track tended to work its way under the track and make things uneven. Since these layers wouldn't be easy to reach from every angle, I decided to add a 2x6 lumber roadbed under the track to make the right-of-way as bullet-proof as possible. Unfortunately, we got stopped by a bunch of bad weather about a third of the way through that relatively simple project. Still, if you're thinking about what it would take to cut 2"x"6" lumber for your own railroad, our photo journal should give you some encouragement.

Click on the following link to see our status as of March 30, 2018

http://familygardentrains.com/newbost/18_03_roadbed/18_03_roadbed_1.htm

Adding Raised Roadbed to the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek, Part 2 - Trimming the corners off the roadbed on the upper layer and cutting the pieces that will support the curves on the middle layer. We need to get the upper two tiers of the pond installed before we totally complete this step, so the article doesn't show the finished product. You'll see it later as part of other articles.

Click on the following link to see our status as of May 5, 2018

https://familygardentrains.com/newbost/18_05_roadbed/18_05_roadbed_2.htm

Dirtscaping the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek RR, Part 2. - Adding barriers to keep the rocks, dirt, and plants where they're supposed to go, placing platforms and running wiring for buildings, adding rocks, dirt, and plants to the upper level of the railroad.

Click on the following link to see our status as of June 1, 2018.

https://familygardentrains.com/newbost/18_05_dirtscaping_part_two/18_05_dirtscaping_part_2.htm

Waterscaping the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek Part 1 - Getting the top two layers of the waterfall on solid footing and getting the third layer framed. After we finish decking and dirtscaping the third layer, we will probably add a washbasin or something for the water to flow into, then add a pump to get the waterfall flowing. No big pond until next year at least - too many other projects.

Click on the link below to see our progress as of June 13, 2018.

https://familygardentrains.com/newbost/18_06_waterscaping_part_1/18_06_waterscaping_part1.htm

Garden Railroading in Mid-Summer

• Plant Maintenance - It will soon be time to "deadhead" any plants that bloom in early summer, including including yarrows and larger sedums.

  If you have "normal" thyme, you might want to "harvest" some by cutting it while it is still in flower, then tying it in bunches and hanging it upside down until it dries. Watch for bees; thyme attracts some very tiny species you almost never see otherwise. Try not to cut back beyond the last green part of the plants. It's also time to pull the crabgrass, nutgrass, and goldenrod that somehow gets seeded into your railroad every year.

  As you work your way around your railroad, be sure to take a dandelion puller/knife with you so you're not tempted to break off any dandelions or thistles at the ground - they WILL return with stronger roots that ever.

  This is not a good time to trim evergreens; wait until cooler weather if you can.

• Irrigation - After several summer droughts in the last few years, I've been making a point of monitoring the plants on my garden railroad. Fortunately most of them, like my ubiquitous sedums, are pretty drought-resistant. And having weed growth and insect migrations slow down in the dry summer months is a benefit, not a curse. But sometimes, you have to get the hose out. One way to tell when is when evergreen groundcovers start looking as gray as they do in the winter. Another way to tell is that certain deciduous plants, trees, and shrubs will be pointing their leaves almost straight up, as though they're conserving moisture and hoping to trap any rainfall at all. Here are a few caveats:
  • Watering your entire garden railroad indiscriminately (say with a lawn sprinkler) will increase weed growth, so that should be done sparingly.
  • Watering evergreen trees with hard water may keep them alive in the short term, but too much hard water can harm them in the long run. In true droughts, there are always cases of folks "killing with kindness" when it comes to conifers and hard water.
  • Watering in the late evening will make the moisture last longer. However you should avoid evening waterings during the "wetter" months of the year, as it can compound mold or other problems.
  • Make certain you don't leave any open containers that can collect your irrigation water and give mosquitoes a place to breed.
  • Even if you don't water your garden railroad much during the summer, consider giving it a soaking the morning of any day in which you plan to have company. It will "perk up" and green up your plants and make the whole garden look that much more attractive.

• Planning an Open House - If you're thinking about a late summer or early autumn open house for your garden railroad, now is the time to start planning. My club, the Miami Valley Garden Railway Society (in southwest and west-central Ohio) often has some around the end of August or early September. I'll probably have one in November if not sooner, so stay tuned. Some tips on planning your own open railroad are in the following article:
  http://familygardentrains.com/primer/openhaus.htm

• Landscaping Opportunities - Although you're not supposed to plant trees in August, many stores start reducing prices on landscaping trees in late summer. Generally, if I get anything like that at the sales, I leave it in the pot in a shaded area and make sure the soil in the pot stays moist until I have time to trim it up and get it into the ground in the fall. (Some folks dig a hole and drop the whole pot into the ground, which has the additional advantage of stabilizing the soil temperature.)

• Water Feature Care - Make certain that the "waterfalls" that aerate your pond are running properly. This includes cleaning out the filter as often as necessary to maintain a strong flow. If you're going to be gone for a time during hot weather, consider putting your pond pump on a timer so it only runs during the afternoon, when the fish need it most, but it doesn't run so much that it clogs up and stops running period.

  If you need to treat the pond to get rid of that stringy dark algae, be careful to read the label - some brands kill water hyacinth and other plants (Pond Care Algae-Fix's present formula works without killing my plants). If you do treat your pond for algae, be doubly careful to make certain your pond is getting aerated - otherwise the dying algae creates an unhealthy environment for your fish.

• When It's Too Hot to Play Outside - If it's too hot to run trains, you might think about planning an indoor "test-track" somewhere that you can use in the "dog days" of summer as well as the cold days of winter. It probably is time to start prioritizing your list of what you plan to get accomplished before the leaves fall. Unless you live where the leaves don't fall, then you may need that indoor "test track" right now.

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 March, 2018, click on the following link:

http://familygardentrains.com/fgt_newsletter/18_03_newsletter_gr.htm

To read more, or to look at recommended Garden Railroading and Big Indoor Train products, please click on the index pages below.