Written by Paul D. Race for Family Garden Trains(tm)
and New Boston and Donnels Creek: |
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Preparing for Christmas Train Day, 2015Eight years ago, the NMRA contacted me and asked if we would host an open garden railroad the week after their November train show. The whole point of the open railroads was to get folks who are thinking about starting their own model railroad a real-world example to look at. The other expectation is that people who are still trying to decide what kind of trains to buy might be more likely to ask questions in a home than they would be at the show, which can be pretty hectic. Since then we have hosted seven Christmas-themed open railroads, in November. In 2013 and 2014, not enough indoor railroaders would commit to having an open RR, so they canceled the "open railroad tour." We had the event anyway, and had lots of attendees and lots of kids and their families had lots of fun.So we're doing it again. As always, it only took us setting the date to get a whole bunch of scheduling conflicts, enough to take up three weekends in October. When people ask if I'm going to have some feature or attraction again each year, I just say, "I keep getting things ready until people start to show up, and that's how much I'll get done this year." This is an account of what we've managed to get done so far and what we're still hoping to get done in the next few days. "Temporary Railroads"Last year, I set out three new "temporary" railroads. Then between the open railroad and the first big snowfall was just enough time to grab most of my buildings and run for it. Then came another big snowfall. Several of the buildings I was going to bring in stayed out all winter, and the three "temporary" railroads I installed are all right where I left them last year. Ooops. So they'll require re-leveling and track cleaning, and the one on gravel will require more gravel, but at least that's three things off my plate.WeedingYou wouldn't know that I have weeded twice this summer. There was an explosion of weed grasses in August that I didn't get around to pulling until early October. And I haven't trimmed my conifers yet this year. Can you tell? The blue "twin peaks" plant in the middle is a Boulevard Cypress, which isn't that hard to keep in a deciduous tree shape if you pay attention to it.TrimmingLast spring, I trimmed my conifers carefully by hand in preparation for a spring open railroad. Then when things got out of control in the fall, I used my hedge trimmers to "touch them up," which is never actually a good idea. Dwarf Alberta Spruce, for example, tend to create a "shell" anyway, which creates dead air spaces near the trunk that certain kinds of pests love (I even had yellow jackets set up housekeeping in one once). Trimming with a hedge trimmer aggravates this tendancy and can endanger the plants eventually. This fall, I took the time to trim them the right way, cutting out redundant branches to "open the tree up." The trees look "shaggier" than they do when I use a hedge trimmer, but they're healthier, more likely to keep their shape, and easier to hang lights on.LightingWhen I was satisfied that the trees were done with their new growth for the summer, and I had got them trimmed where they needed to be, I started adding lighting. I use about 95% LEDs now. They don't last any longer than the incandescents, no matter what the packaging says, but they take a lot less juice, and they have very pretty colors. (Technically most LED bulbs last longer, but the sockets are made of cheap material that corrodes and deteriorates, so there's really no improvement.) Another advantage of LED Christmas lighting is that you can daisy-chain a lot more strands, as long as you're using similar light strands. I try not to daisy-chain more than three in a row anyway, just to be on the safe side, but if I need to add one more strand out on the end somewhere, I can do it without worrying about starting a fire or something.I hung the lights while it was warm because the viny insulation is not so stiff, and they're easier to work with. I'd say if the temperature's over 60F, I can put the lights on the tree in about half as much time as if it's 50F or below. And I'm not in as much danger of straing or hurting the strands. Test RunWe had last minute company last weekend, so I quickly cleared the leaves off the track, wiping it with an LGB track cleaning block as I went. (Note to battery-operating folks: I would have had to clear the leaves off the track anyway, so cleaning the track is always the least of my "worries." I ran two short trains on my "permanent" railroad and a battery-powered train for the kids to run on one of my "temporary" railroads. So at least those tracks are ready to go. Sorry, we didn't take photos. :-(ROW MaintenanceThe New Boston and Donnels Creek has become a poster child for why you don't use railroad ties as a structural element. One row of ties that supported a long straightaway is giving out a tie at a time. Because parts of that straightaway are "floating" in the ballast, that means that the ballast is spilling off the railroad onto the ground and the track is not supported.So, while I was stringing lights, I did a "quick and dirty" on one section where the decaying ties have dropped below the level of the right-of-way - I screwed a pressure-treated 2"x4" on top of that stretch (not shown). No, it's not permanent, and it's not pretty, but it will allow me to ballast and level the track on that stretch. Plus, it's at the part no one can really see anyway and will get me through the open railroad. I'm probably not supposed to tell you stuff like this; most garden train writers never admit they screw things up or take shortcuts - "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain," and so on. But I like letting folks know that even a 15-year-old-railroad built according to the best professional advice I had at the time is always a "work-in-progress," and you have to expect unexpected issues to crop up once in a while. I have some other ROW maintenance that will need to be done, and a lot of ballasting. If I can find something locally to use for ballast, that is. My favorite source, large granite Turkey Grit from the feed store, seems no longer available. CarsI didn't get all of my cars in before bad weather hit either. Yes, I know some of the ones in the photos below started out as Avon bottles. In fact a few still have cologne in them. But here's where I count on the 10-foot rule. I use them back away from the viewing area, turned strategically so it's not quite so obvious that they're bottles. Except to other garden railroaders who saw them at a garage sale or something and thought about using them, then decided not to.The rest of my cars got inside, so hopefully they're in better shape, especially the Ertel delivery trucks, etc. Also, I don't put the expensive models out in November. If you want to drive a car on my Christmas-season railroad, you can choose any color you want as long as it's black. Indoor StuffFortunately, I got most of the buildings in before the weather turned really bad last year, so hopefully most of them won't need a lot of work to get ready. I'm going to be setting up a work table in the basement for the cleanup, etc.Also, several of the trains I usually use for this are getting iffy, just little things getting out of adjustment and so on. If I have time, I'll set up an indoor test loop to make certain I have plenty that are ready to go and others in the wings. I bought some discontinued Aristo aluminum track just for that purpose. ConclusionIf you ever think you might be coming near Springfield, Ohio, let us know and if there's any danger of us getting trains on the track for you, we'll let you know. In the meantime, enjoy your hobbies, and especially enjoy any time you can spend with your family in the coming season. Paul |
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