November, 2018 Update from Family Garden Trains^TM

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Update for November, 2018

If you haven't gotten an e-mail newsletter since June, that's because we haven't sent one. Sorry, we've been busy trying to get the next phase of our own garden railroad done (or at least to a good stopping point) before really bad weather sets in.

One reason I've been working so hard on my own railroad is that I think the approach I am using will benefit many of our readers. By raising the entire railroad - not just the roadbed - and only putting dirt where I actually want plants, I'm establishing an outdoor railroad that has a very stable roadbed and should require virtually no weeding. Plus, putting a tiny train shed on one end of the railroad means I won't have to schlep trains and power supplies out every time I want to run short trains for visitors.

All of this - admittedly - is a lot more work up front than the approaches generally recommended by other folks. And the railroad isn't very big yet. On the other hand, I've spent something like five minutes weeding in all of 2018, and none of that time was on my hands and knees.

If you've been following our progress on Facebook, you'll see that at any time, we're farther along in the "real world" than the articles in the newsletters convey. And the articles about our progress may seem a little overly-detailed and slow-moving. But every time I think about some short cut I could take, some reader thanks me for giving him so much to think about or some tip that will help him or her in a similar situation.

At some point in the future, I hope to publish the plans I SHOULD have used (versus all the things I hashed together on the fly) and simple, straightforward directions for anyone who wants to do this sort of thing in a well-planned, orderly fashion. But in the meantime, I've also discovered that most readers appreciate that I report my mistakes and changes of direction along with any successes. I guess they figure that "if this guy can do it, I can."

We're also planning for our first "annual" Christmas Train Day, an open railroad with Christmas trains, lights, and songs, as well as snacks. We did this every year from 2007 until we moved in 2016, and want to start the tradition again.

In This Issue

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

• Christmas Train Day Scheduled: Nov. 10, 2018 - our railroad will be decorated for Christmas and open for visitors, with trains for the kids to run and more.

• Adding a Train Shed Part 1 - When I started planning a deck to stand on when putting trains on the track, I realized that it made more sense to build the shed I was planning on this year, than to try to do the thing in two stages. In this article, I build up and add to the existing framework in preparation for adding the walls and roof.

• Adding a Train Shed Part 2 - Adding rafters to the frame of the in-progress train shed.

• Waterscaping Part 2 - Getting this year's waterscaping project done (for now at least). At least now I don't have to keep telling visitors "this is where the waterfall is going to go."

• Adding a Train Shed Part 3 - Adding fascia, sheathing, and end trim to the in-progress train shed.

• Adding a Train Shed Part 4 - Getting underlayment and drip edging on the roof.

• Adding a Train Shed Part 5 - Planning the doors, walls, and windows of our garden train shed.

• Adding a Train Shed Part 6 - Installing the board and batten siding on our train shed, installing the windows, installing the trim, testing the "tunnel entrances," and more.

• Newsletter and Forum Signup Updates Updates on our attempts to update the subscription and forum signup processes.

• Garden Railroading in Late Autumn/Early Winter

• Indoor Activities - In case you get stuck inside by bad weather.

Christmas Train Day Scheduled: Nov. 10, 2018

I wouldn't make an overnight trip out of it - we're just getting started after all. But put "Enon, Ohio" into your GPS and decide if you're close enough to stop by between 1:00PM and 5:00PM.

It's going to be cold, so you might take that into account while you're deciding when to stop by.

Or if you want to come over and help before the big day, or come early to help ON the big day. Help is good. :-)

For directions or more information, please contact us using the following link:

http://familygardentrains.com/contact.htm

Newsletter and Forum Signup Updates - In our June newsletter, we asked people who want to keep getting this newsletter to resubscribe - our way of making sure the newsletter is only going to people who actually want to receive it. We also provided an update on signing up for the discussion forum. Well, we got a LOT of responses, too many to keep up with properly. Folks who reapplied to receive the newsletter will get a special version that tells them they're on the new list. But we haven't had time to add people to the discussion forum yet. That depends on a manual process, because otherwise I get thousands of fake signups a month. When the weather drives me indoors for good, I'll get back to that. When I catch up with the first wave of re-signups, I'll republish the new sign-information for old readers.

In the meantime, if you signed up since July 1, you're already in the new system.

Adding a Train Shed Part 1 - What started out as a simple addition of a deck to stand on when putting trains on the track got a little more ambitious when I realized that JUST installing the deck this year would require more work next year. So we framed out what we planned to be a train shed attached to the railroad, so I can easily put trains on the track at a moment's notice instead of schlepping them out from the garage.

Click on the photo to see our status as of July 9, 2018.

Adding a Train Shed Part 2 - Adding rafters to the frame of the in-progress train shed. Now it's starting to look like it might actually be a structure and not just a crazy collection of posts.

The way we got the rafters and ridge board up wouldn't work for everybody, but it worked for us, and hopefully will help other folks to "think outside the box" - literally in this case.

Click on the photo to see our progress as of July 14, 2018.

Waterscaping Part 2 - Getting this year's waterscaping project done (for now at least). Installing and dirtscaping the third level of the waterfall. Installing pump and filter, adding an extra container and modifying the ones we already had installed to keep the water running smoothly. And lots of other tweaking. Includes tips about introducing fish and plants, as well as other information about water features in general that you may find helpful.

Click on the photo to see our status as of August 5, 2018.

Adding a Train Shed Part 3 - Adding fascia, sheathing, and end trim to the in-progress train shed.

I thought about bringing in helpers for this part, but a reader commented on how helpful it was to see how one person could do this sort of thing by himself, so I just kept plugging away.

Click on the photo to see our progress as of September 13, 2018

Adding a Train Shed, Part 4 - Getting underlayment and drip edging on the roof. Now there's some protection from the rain, as long as it isn't coming sideways, as it tends do do this time of year.

Click on the photo to see our status in late September, 2018

Adding a Train Shed Part 5 - Planning the doors, walls, and windows of our garden train shed.

Includes installing the door, painting the windowframes, and adding crosspieces to support the vertical siding boards.

Click on the photo to see our progress as of mid-October, 2018.

Adding a Train Shed Part 6 - Installing the board and batten siding on our train shed, installing the windows, installing the trim, testing the "tunnel entrances," and more.

Click on the photo to see our progress as of late October, 2018.

Garden Railroading in Late Autumn/Early Winter

• Weed growth slows, so it's a good time to use the time you'd ordinarily spend weeding to do that big job you've been putting off.

• Finsh cutting back any perennials that freeze off at the ground anyway. This way your railroad will still maintain a nice appearance in case you get a good day for running late in the year. But goldenrod, ragweed, thistle, or dandelions can still appear, so keep your dandelion digging tool near the garden for a few more weeks.

• Many perenials that don't freeze back to the ground like thyme could use a trim so that all the new foilage in the spring isn't a foot away from the root. Others like Blue Spruce Sedum just need to be cut back so their winter growth is even and attractive.

• If you plant any new shrubs or perennials, make certain that you monitor the condition of each plant and that it has enough water until several frosts have come.

• Start planning to get any spring-blooming bulbs into the ground. Crocus and Grape Hyacinth provide great early spring color in plants that are small enough to keep from overwhelming your trains. This year, bulbs for Tete-A-Tete Daffodils, a miniature variety that has generally only been available in pots, are available at Lowes and other stores.

  Click the following link for more ideas about fall-planting bulbs:

  http://familygardentrains.com/primer/plants/spring_color/spring_color.htm

• Consider putting a net over your pond to keep out the leaves, and start thinking about how you will allow CO2 buildup to escape from the pond this winter, so it doesn't kill your fish. On my old railroad, I usually used a little aquarium air pump (covered by a building for protection) and a bubbler - this forced enough air through the water to drive out the excess CO2. This year, my "pond" is temporary, and very few fish have survived the raccoons and neighbors' cats. So I may just bring the survivors into the garage until the spring. If I get a pond into the ground next year, I'll go back to the air pump approach.

• If you have "shallow-water" plants in containers on shelves, you probably want to cut the plants back and drop the containers into deep water for the winter.

  Click the following link for more information about water features in general:

  http://familygardentrains.com/primer/water/water.htm

Indoor Activities

http://familygardentrains.com/primer/structures/painting/structure_painting.htm

Finally, if you're thinking about any extensions or changes to your railroad, this is a good time to start drawing up plans and calculating budgets. Our article on Building a Garden Railroad on a Budget should give you some ideas about how to budget your next expansion.

http://familygardentrains.com/primer/budget.htm

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 June, 2018, click on the following link:

http://familygardentrains.com/fgt_newsletter/18_06_newsletter_gr.htm

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