A reader writes:
1. I looked through your article on Garden Trains. I have a large scale Echo Train which has spent many Christmases under our tree, but I've never had a passenger car to go with it.
Do you know if a New Bright passenger car would work with an Echo Train? Do both these brands of train work on the same sized track?
The train I have is the exact train you have pictured in the "Garden Railroading with Toy Trains" article written by Paul Race.
2. I am really interested in the idea of making some of the buildings, for a garden railroad. ( I have printed a few pictures off on my ink jet printer, but I tried spraying it with an acrylic spray, I purchased at the hardware store, and it made the ink run terribly.
Do you have any tips on how to do this correctly or a particular brand of acrylic spray you would recommend?
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To answer your compatibility question, most New Bright cars will work with most Echo and Scientific Toys trains, although there might be a coupler height difference.
IF you have an ink jet printer and want to use printed buildings outside, you have to do the acrylic layer a very tiny bit at a time to keep the ink from running. Some people get that to work.
I have a color laser, and even that ink will run if I'm too generous with the clear spray at first.
Saw a Scientific Toys train on sale for $25 after Christmas and almost bought it, but I was in a hurry. Of course I already have TOO MANY TRAINS.
Best of luck, please let me know how things are going for you - Paul