October, 2019 Update from Family Garden Trains^TM

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Update for October, 2019

Okay, I'm late with the newsletter again, but I had so many folks sign up since my last newsletter it took days, literally, to get them all into the system.

By the way, this newsletter only goes out to people who specifically requested it by clicking a box on the contact page or by using the Signup page. If you're getting it and you don't want it, please just use the unsubscribe link at the top of this page to let me know - no hard feelings. I'm mentioning this here because there were so many signups that the law of percentages dictates that at least a couple were accidental.

Also, please let me know if you're getting two copies of this newsletter. In a few cases, attempting to fix a database problem generated a duplicate "membership."

Back to the content, for most of October, I was trying to finish up a construction project and getting ready for our annual Christmas-themed open railroad.

Of course the construction had to happen first, or at least most of it. At this time, the inground pond is installed, the waterfall is complete, and the eastern extension to my raised-platform railroad is structurally finished (dirtscaping and roadbed installation will come later). As I had planned all along, it is about 14" lower than the "middle" platform of the railroad, and large enough to hold a little town, etc.

Again, my overall plan is to add another extension on the opposite side. Both parts will be broad enough for 10'-diameter track arcs, so I can run my longer equipment, and longer trains in general. The train on that level will run over the waterfall and through the train shed. Picture another hole in the wall of the shed at the left, and a "bridge to nowhere" crossing the waterfall at the right.

Why have I been focusing so much attention on what is happening in my back yard for the last several newsletters? Because this raised-platform approach has given me a backyard railroad that is almost maintenance-free, freeing up many hours a season for more fun stuff, like running trains. And, though it went through several redesigns as I was building it, I think the lessons I've learned will help me make the hobby more fun and less work for other folks.

Back to the present, the extension won't hold 10'-diameter track loops by itself, but it will hold 4- and/or 5-foot diameter track loops. And for the open railroad, that part will be dedicated to kid-friendly trains.

Since this event is largely targeted to kids, I've often had a lot of Thomas and Friends trains running. This year, I plan to have a Hogwarts Express train running as well. I'll be using the Lionel G-gauge battery-powered toy that is really too small for a "serious" railroad, but which the kids will love seeing and running.

In the photo above (and the title photo) that train is running on the middle platform, which is way more finished than the new platform, but out of reach of the kids. Once I have some rudimentary scenery installed on the lower level, it will take up its home there, for one day at least.

By the way, the ones Lionel makes now, labeled "Ready to Play" do NOT run on G gauge track. The train in the photos is an older version that did, set # 7-11080.

Plus castles. I'm working on some castles for the train to go around by trashbashing plastic Fischer Price castles. Stay tuned.

In This Issue

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

• The Real Hogwarts Express - A real steam locomotive pulls the Hogwarts Express in the movies. Learn about its history, modeling options, and more.

• Framing the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek RR, Part 7 - Building the framework for the next addition to the railroad, an 11'x6' platform that will eventually support part of the "big" right-of-way.

• Decking the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek Part 2 - Installing 2"x6" decking, vinyl sheeting, edging, and corrugated steel panels. All ready for dirtscaping, which won't happen until next year, though we will run trains on it at our Nov. 16, 2019 open railroad.

• Christmas Train Day - An invitation to our Christmas-themed open railroad, Nov. 16, 2019

• Test Your Trains Early - Don't wait until Christmas Eve or until the grandkids come over to get your trains out of the box.

• Don't Pay for (or Sell) Resources We Provide Our Readers for Free - A "dumb like a fox" eBay seller starts selling our graphics online.

• Garden Railroading in November - A few reminders about plant care, etc. for the season.

• Christmas Train Day - An invitation to our Christmas-themed open railroad, Nov. 16, 2019

The Real Hogwarts Express - From our Halloween Trains page. On a recent trip to Universal studios, we met up with two genuine Great Western Railways Hall class locomotives - decommissioned by 1965 - that had been cleaned up and repainted for Hogwarts Express. This article digs into the history of the Hall locomotives, including why they were chosen for the movies, and opportunities to model them. Probably more than you ever wanted to know, but I had a great time learning this stuff.

To jump to the article, click the following link:

https://halloweentrains.com/primer/hogwarts/hogwarts_express.htm

Framing the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek RR - Part 7 - Installing posts, joists, framing, and decking for the eastern expansion of the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek. Although this installation was complicated by having to fit into an existing framework, the methods used could work for any raised-platform railroad.

Later there will hopefully be a western expansion at the same level so a wide-radius track loop will go all the way around the existing railroad. But for now there will be room to squeeze another train in before our Nov. 16, 2019 open railroad.

Click on the following link to see our progress of early October, 2019.

https://familygardentrains.com/newbost/19_27_framing/19_27_framing_part_7.htm

Decking the NEW New Boston and Donnels Creek Part 2 - Getting the next part of the railroad ready to install trains. Includes installing 2"x6" decking, vinyl sheeting, edges to hold back the gravel, and corrugated steel panels to camouflage the gap between the middle and lower platform. It's not done, but it will give us another place to set up trains for our next Christmas-themed open railroad.

Click on the following link to see our status as of late October, 2019.

https://familygardentrains.com/newbost/19_10_06_Decking/19_10_6_decking_part_2.htm

Christmas Train Day - In 2008, we started decorating our garden railroad for Christmas and holding an "open railroad" in November. We missed a couple years because of the move, but now we're doing it again with the new railroad. We run Christmas-themed trains, we set out train sets for the kids to run, we have Christmas music playing, popcorn popping, and other treats and fun.

We started calling it "Christmas Train Day" a few years ago, because our non-railroader friends had no idea what we meant by an "open railroad." This year, we will be holding the event on Nov. 16, rain or snow or shine.

If you live a reasonable distance from Springfield Ohio, and would like more information, please contact us through the following link:

http://familygardentrains.com/contact.htm

Test Your Trains Early

Here's a tip I try to share every year at this time: If you only have one train, and you're going to set it up for Christmas, test it before Thanksgiving. Every year, starting in early December, I get deluged with e-mails from anxious, upset folks whose train set doesn't work when they set it around the tree. Trust me, the train manufacturers' repair departments are already working overtime by Thanksgiving, so sending your train off and getting it back in time for Christmas is "off the table."

Nobody with a cherished old heirloom wants to hear that the only way they'll have a train around the tree by this year's Christmas is to buy a new one, but that happens.

Because I write articles and do clinics, etc., I have backups, and backups for my backups, but even I get caught up unexpectedly, when a specific train I was counting on suddenly decides not to behave. Again, it is often reparable, but not in time to use as I had planned.

If you find you need to replace your trains, or if you think you want to get a new Large Scale train before the tree goes up, you should know that Bachmann seems to have cut way back on their entry-level starter sets, though Piko and LGB starter sets are still available.

To see our best currently-available recommendations, click the following link:

http://garden-train-store.com/begin/ls_starters.htm

Don't Pay for (or Sell) Resources We Provide Our Readers for Free - This month, I had an interesting "discussion" with a fellow who was printing our building front photos on cardboard and selling them on eBay. He claimed his daughter found them on a "public domain" site.

Recreating the search she had performed, the first Yahoo search page for "O Scale Building Fronts" had about sixty images from FamilyGardenTrains.com and from our sister site BigIndoorTrains.com - all of which if you click on them take you to a page that has the full-sized images and a copyright notice.

She had kept looking, apparently, until she found a 3rd-world scam page that claimed authorship of the SAME photos and said they were public domain. Apparently the fact that the first sixty images were from obviously legitimate sites that claimed copyright didn't count. One scam site that claimed the photos were in public domain was all it took for her father to start selling prints of them as his own property. When I contacted him about it he didn't apologize.

He did take the products down (for now at least). He called them "your" photos (yes he used quotes to imply that I hadn't really established ownership). I didn't ask him why he assumed that one site that was obviously a scam site owned the SAME photos that had copyright statements attached everywhere else.

As a point of reference, here is the first page you find when you do the same search. Red circles identify building photos that I created that link back to one of my sites. The building photo they "borrowed" is a clone of the one you can partially see in the bottom row. It's identical to the title graphic that you see above it except for the text, and it's obviously a composite of several graphics you see further up the page.

On the search page, it appears several more times linking back to my site and about six pages down appears linking back to the scam site that says it's public domain. In other words, they had to look very hard to find a site that stole it first so they could pretend they were caught unawares.

During our online 'discussion,' he also told me he was cheezed that I would "take him to task over a few dollars." Sheesh!

The Large Scale versions for you to print off for your own use are here:

https://familygardentrains.com/resource/buildings/building_fronts.htm

The O and S Scale versions for you to print off for your own use are here:

https://bigindoortrains.com/indoor_resources/0_s_scale_building_fronts/0_s_scale_building_fronts.htm

None of these are for you to print off and sell on eBay. In case you wondered. :-)

In addition, we have published many, many more printable resources for printing store fronts, making tinplate-inspired model buildings, and even making your own doors and windows for cardboard Christmas ("putz") houses. If you are looking for something specific, please contact us - we may already have it posted somewhere or have photos we haven't had time to publish yet.

Garden Railroading in November

If you've seen the little "live trees" that grocery stores and garden departments sell this time of year, and you've wondered if you could use them in your garden railroad after Christmas, please visit our sister site Family Christmas Online(tm) for the article "What About Living Christmas Trees?" Click the following link to be taken to that page:

http://familychristmasonline.com/trees/real_live_trees.htm/real_live_trees.htm"

On my previous railroad, I gradually accumulated many dwarf and miniature conifers, including conifers that are basically ground-cover, like Dwarf Procumbens. This way, my railroad stayed fairly green all winter long. If I get visitors on a pretty day in February, my garden railroad doesn't have that "high plains desert" look it used to have in the winter. So as much as I like the look of Laceleaf Japanese Maple, etc., there's a lot to be said for evergreens.

Speaking of which, this is also a good time to cut back your miniature trees so their spring growth next year won't make them "oversized." Our article "Tree for Your Trains" will tell you how to get the best appearance from your trees with the minimum of damage. Click the following link for more information:

http://familygardentrains.com/primer/plants/conifers/conifers.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 September, 2019, click on the following link:

https://familygardentrains.com/fgt_newsletter/19_09_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.