October, 2021 Update from Family Garden Trains^TM

If you are not subscribed to the Family Garden Trains newsletter, and you would like to subscribe, please join our Mailing List, and specify that you want to receive e-mail updates.

Also, if you would like to subscribe to our free newsletter for indoor railroads and seasonal display villages, please join the "Trains-N-Towns^TM mailing list. You can subscribe to either, both, or neither, and we will just be glad to be of service, no matter what you decide.

Fine Print: If you are receiving our e-mail updates and you no longer wish to subscribe, please e-mail me with a "Please Unsubscribe" message (worded any way you wish), and we will graciously remove you from our list.

Update for October, 2021

I try to get something meaningful done on the railroad every summer. This year, I didn't build any new platforms, but I installed "permanent" 2"x6" roadbed to support several sidings, a passing siding, and three loops of track. I also build two tunnels, built multiple small "mountains," installed portals on the tunnels, planted fourteen dwarf or miniature evergreens, and moved countless sedum starts to the new "mountains" where they have already started filling in and "softening" the rough edges.

To be honest, one of my transplants died - a Hetz Midget Arborvitae. But it was on its "last legs" when I moved it, so I was just trying to give it another chance. The rest - including another Hetz Midget - are either "holding their own" or doing better than I expected. As long as they hang on until it gets really cold, they're likely to come back even stronger in the spring.

Halloween Open RR - We hosted a meeting for our club in August, but then held an open railroad in early October, in conjunction with a club event. Before that event, I dug out a Bachmann set that was in my "parts box" and painted it in Halloween colors. I filled little HLW hoppers on another train with putka pods - they look like tiny pumpkins - and ran that as well.

Sorting Passenger Cars - While I was deciding which of my battered passenger sets to repaint, I started documenting the differences among several brands - most of which have been discontinued. So there's a new article to help folks figure out the best ways to navigate the used passenger car market.

Nature is Gaining Ground - I've been watering my transplanted trees and sedums nearly every day that it hasn't rained. To be honest, it has helped the weeds grow, too. But it is amazing how well some of the sedums have filled in around the trees and rocks already.

As an example, each of the sedums in the photo to the right started out just three months ago as a single rootless stem poked in between the rocks. For a closer look, you can click on the photo, then click on it again.

A few of the transplanted trees are showing nice growth as well. Tornadoes or some such notwithstanding, by June, 2020, the newly dirtscaped and planted areas should look nearly as well established as the plantings from 2017.

As the Lionel catalogs showed us a century ago, even toy trains seem more realistic when they're running in a realistic setting.

So, it may not make sense on one level, but the greener my railroad becomes, the better my trains look.

Holidays Keep Rolling -In the meantime, I'm keeping the Halloween trains ready for any more visitors between now and the end of the month, but I also started working on some Christmas trains I'd like to run. Most of them are Bachmann, because they made so many. All are discontinued, of course, but they often show up in bits and pieces on auction sites.

One train I'd like to feature this winter is Bachmann's 1985 version of the Polar Express, sold briefly a decade before the movie came out, and very rare today. The locomotives were early ten-wheelers that haven't generally lasted until now. But the coaches, were painted according to the author's direct instruction, and they are delightful.

They'll probably be pulled behind a bigger loco with the lettering for "Polar Express" possibly cut on my Cricut in stretched-out Plantin.

Here's hoping you all have a great holiday season!

In This Issue

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

• Portal Installation on the New Boston and Donnels Creek - We took a big step toward giving our new tunnels a more finished look by painting and installing I.S.L.E. foam portals at each entrance.

• Making a Large Scale Ghost Train - When we found our train club was scheduling open railroads in October, we decided to add some Halloween fun, with the help of a decrepit Bachmann passenger set.

• Buying Passenger Cars (Old Timey) - Help deciding which of the (mostly discontinued) Large Scale "varnish" passenger cars are most likely to suit your needs. When they turn up, that is.

• Christmas-Themed Open RR, Nov. 13, 2021 - An invitation to big train Christmas fun.

• Christmas Train Preparation - A seasonal reminder

• Garden Railroading in Late Autumn

• Garden Railroading News' September/October Issue - now available.

Portal Installation on the New Boston and Donnels Creek. . We shimmed out the frames for the tunnel entrances to make them more vertical, installed I.S.L.E. portals we had painted previously, and stacked stones around them to camouflage the wooden parts. There's a bit more work to do, but it's a big improvement over black holes at each end of the tunnel

Click on the picture to see our status as of early October, 2021.

Making a Large Scale Ghost Train - In preparation for an October open railway, I repainted and relabeled some decrepit Bachmann Big Hauler pieces to create a one-of-a-kind Halloween train. Materials included purple spray paint and vinyl lettering I created on my Cricut. I added "ghost" passengers made from cheap Asian seated figures painted with glow-in-the-dark paint.

Click on the photo to see our status as of mid-October, 2021.

Buying Passenger Cars (Old Timey) - When a garden train manufacturer produces a passenger car "starter set," they inevitably use "old-timey" cars from the 1800s or very early 1900s. Almost all of those cars have been discontinued, but they still turn up on the used market. This article contains tips for selecting the product(s) you will find most useful.

Click on the photo to see the article.

Christmas-Themed Open RR, Nov. 13, 2021

Christmas Train Preparation

Also, if you already own a train you want to set up for the holidays, get it out early and test it just to be certain it's ready. Every season, I get contacted by folks who waited until mid-December to set up their train and discovered there was a problem. By then it's impossible to get anything repaired, and you may even have trouble buying a replacement. Take it from a person who has had favorite trains fail for one reason or another at the most inopportune times again and again. Usually when we have visitors.

Garden Railroading in Late Autumn

• 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.

• Start cutting back perennials that will soon be freezing 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 if you have a couple warm days, you can still get new weed growth, so keep a dandelion tool handy while you're working.

• Many perennials that don't freeze back to the ground like thyme could use a trim so that all the new foliage 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 attractive.

• If you plant any new shrubs or perennials, make certain that you monitor the condition of the 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. For more ideas about fall bulbs, see Early Spring Color for your Garden Railroad.

• 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. I use a little aquarium air pump (covered by a building for protection) and a bubbler - this forces enough air through the water to drive out the excess CO2.

• 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. For more information about water features in general, see the Family Garden Trains article on Water Features and Garden Railroads.

Indoor Activities

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.

Garden Railroading News' September/October Issue

Click on the picture to go to the Garden News home page.

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 August, 2021, click on the following link:

https://familygardentrains.com/fgt_newsletter/21_08_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.