Two hobbies cross paths in garden railways

Model trains and gardens. They are two favorite hobbies. And people love putting the two together, as you can see in the free tour of area garden railways today sponsored by the Wichita Area Garden Railway Society.

There are small garden railroads that run past daisies and hostas, and there are elaborate setups that wind through plants that fit the scale of the trains.

"The most basic, smallest layout you could make is a 4-foot diameter circle," says Doug Blaine, vice president of marketing for Bachmann Trains, which produces a wide variety of trains. "Beyond that, things can expand with your imagination. As big as your dreams are, that's how big the railroad can be."

Blaine believes that garden railroading is growing in popularity because more public gardens are adding them, "and as more people see them, they are inspired and want to do something similar for their garden."

Inspiration by itself isn't enough to get a garden railroad up and running. You have to have a plan.

It starts with real estate. Back in the day, railroad barons just took the land they needed (we all remember "Blazing Saddles"). That won't fly in most homes today.

"The real start to a garden railroad is a real estate transaction," Blaine says. "Whoever the railroad person is (in the house) has to negotiate with the gardener. ... They have to get themselves space to actually build the railroad in the gardening area."

Once you have a location, research and plan. The Internet is the place to start: bachmanntrains.com, gardenrailways.com and gardentrains.com are all good. But it is just that, a start. Meeting other garden railroaders, such as on the Wichita-area tour today, can go a long way to helping make dreams a reality.

The options are many. On the train side, size of the layout, gauge and scale of the equipment, brass tracks versus stainless steel, and layout details (buildings? tiny people?) all need to be decided. On the garden side, physical characteristics of the layout (mountains? deserts?) and types of plants to use are all in play.

"Find other people who also have a garden railroad and go visit them and learn," advises Paul Deis of Paso Robles, Calif., who built a layout in his yard last year. "There's a lot of different ways to do everything. Different control systems you can use, there's different scales of trains. So visit other people before you spend the money and figure out what you want."

He offered another tip: Don't try to do too much at once.

Deis' main line has about 250 feet of track and another 150 feet of sidings. Eventually he'll have about 800 feet of track.

"It's going to take me years to build out," he says. "But I planned it in phases so I could get the first phase built and run trains for a while. ... We're able to run trains now. You don't want to wind up building for years and never have a train to run. So even if you're going to build big, make it in phases."

Blaine estimates that a starter set (trains, brass track and transformer) would cost $300 to $500. An expanded layout (starter set plus expansion track and accessories) would be about $800. And an advanced layout (larger locomotive and cars with stainless-steel track that has wider radius curves and multiple loops of track, a higher voltage transformer and accessories) would be in the $1,500 to $2,000 range.

What else should be considered? Here are a few topics:

Weather

Garden railroading is a year-round hobby — some enthusiasts fight snow by mounting plows on the front of their locomotives and clear the tracks that way — but there are still precautions to take.

Don't leave a train out in inclement weather, for example. One solution: the reliable old doggy door.

"A lot of people will run their trains, when they get more serious about it, through a doggy door into a basement or garage to get them out of the weather or get them in at night," Blaine says. "And that way they don't have to physically move them on and off the track each day."

Light rain or mist won't hurt the trains, he says, but it's best to put everything away during a driving rainstorm.

Trains can run on electric (the most popular) or onboard batteries, which is growing in popularity.

"You certainly do want to make sure you're plugged into a GFI outlet, but that's just standard for any outdoor electrical product," Blaine says.

Must-haves

There are some real attention-grabbers that you should use if possible. The two most prominent ones are a bridge or a trestle and a tunnel.

Blaine says that a bridge or trestle over a dry river bed or water feature is always eye-catching. The tunnel, he says, can be a real tunnel or it can be merely hinted at by overhanging plants or rocks piled carefully along the tracks, with one rock covering a portion of it.

"It doesn't have to be an actual earthen tunnel, but something to suggest it," he says. "Something where there's a sense of where the train disappears and then appears again. It's always appealing to anyone watching the train operate."

If you go with an actual tunnel, block both ends when the train is not in use. Nocturnal critters would love such a ready-made burrow.

Pitfalls

Be careful of the plants you use. Ones that send out runners can pop up between tracks, making weeding difficult.

Other plants that fit in nicely at first can quickly grow out of proportion.

Also, avoid steep grades. Real railroads don't use them, neither should you. Limit the grades to 1 percent to 2 percent if you must, but flat and level is always preferable.

Harsh winters, frost or big storms can erode the ground under the tracks. "Most garden railroads start with a bed of gravel for good drainage, so you don't get ice freezing under the tracks causing instability," Blaine says. "It helps keep the tracks even."

Try to keep things simple. If you envision a huge, complicated layout, chances are you might not ever get it started.

"Start small," Blaine says. "Get comfortable with the process, how to build the railroad, and let your railroad grow after that."

Train-friendly plants

Paul Race, whose essays appear at familygardentrains.com, has some suggestions about what plants work best:

Most popular tree: dwarf Alberta spruce (conical, represents small pines)

Another useful dwarf tree: "Hetz Midget" arborvitae provides a more deciduous look.

Ground covers: Sedum acre (stonecrop), creeping thyme, "Elfin" thyme

Evergreen ground covers: blue rug juniper, dwarf procumbent juniper

Transition plants: (for around the edges to "transition" from miniature to full-size garden plants) threadleaf coreopsis, threadleaf Japanese maple.

Today's tour

The Wichita Area Garden Railway Society tour will have eight stops today, in Wichita, Augusta, Derby and Newton. One, at 844 N. Westlink, is new this year. Hours will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. The tour is free, but donation jars will be set out to collect money for the railroad society's community displays.

Maps of the tour are available at area garden centers, hobby shops and at each tour stop: 1425 N. Broadway, 844 N. Westlink Ave., 2434 N. Amidon, 2015 E. Blake and 6356 N. Seneca, all in Wichita; No. 2 Belmont Court, Augusta; 7145 N. Blueberry Lane, Derby; and 200 S.W. Second, Newton.

This story was originally published September 11, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Two hobbies cross paths in garden railways."