O Gauge Outside Articles - Tips and Tricks for Using O Gauge Trains and O Scale Accessories on Garden Railroads

If you don't already have Lionel trains and accessories, and you want a garden railroad, please investigate Large Scale trains, like those by AristoCraft, Bachmann Big Hauler, and LGB - it really is easier to build a garden railroad with trains that are made to run outside.

But if you own and love Lionel and similar trains, you can have a working O gauge railroad outside. Several folks who are breaking new ground in this hobby have been keeping me informed, as new products, methods, and technologies become available. The following articles are currently available on the Family Garden Trains(tm) web pages:

• Introduction to "O Gauge Outside - An overview of the state of the hobby, including both the successes that have occurred and the compromises folks have had to make.

• Planning an O-Gauge-Outside Railroad - What to consider, what options have been tried, how to protect your trains, and much more.

• Fred Young's Ground-Level Arizona Railroad - A ground-level railroad that has lots of operational options and some unique ways of adapting to the Arizona summer sun.

• Evolution of the B&P Garden Railroad - A detailed series of articles by Bob and Pat Canfield, describing their progress building an elevated O-gauge railroad in the Las Vegas vicinity. Although Bob and Pat created a world-class infrastructure ("benchwork") for their railroad, they also learned some hard lessons about Atlas Nickel Silver track and using HDPE for roadbed in a hot climate. Articles include:

  • Part 1 - Designing an O Gauge Hi-Rail railroad for outdoor use

  • Part 2 - Building an HDPE Roadbed Infrastructure That Will Survive Las Vegas Summers.

  • Part 3 - Finishing Touches on an HDPE Roadbed. Little touches that make an HDPE roadbed look great.

  • Part 4 - Installing Atlas Nickel-Silver O-Gauge track on HDPE Roadbed. When three-rail flextrack is a good idea and when it isn't, and more.

  • Part 5 - HDPE Expansion in the Nevada Summer

  • Part 6 - Additional Track Repair, Storage, and Wiring for TMCC

  • Part 7 - Final Outcome and Lessons Learned

• Using Lionel's TrainMaster? Command Control Outside - Tips for using TMCC outside, including wiring suggestions and methods for providing a "ground plane" in an outdoor environment.

• Using O Gauge Gargraves Track (Outside) - Tips on when to order preformed curves and when to use "flextrack." Also, what works and what doesn't work in Arizona, where termites eat wood and desert sun softens plastic.