Garden Railroads

Summary: A garden railroad or garden railway is a model railway system set up outdoors in a garden. Most often, it is a #1 Gauge rail track with a G scale or similar train. Lehmann Gross Bahn (LGB) first popularised these trains, and more recently other manufacturers such as Aristo Craft Trains and USA Trains have produced models in this scale/gauge combination.

Railroading in the Garden

A Large Scale locomotive on dual gauge track.

Mamod live steam locomotive and train on a garden railway layout

A garden railroad or garden railway is a model railway system set up outdoors in a garden. Most often, it is #1 gauge rail track with a G scale or similar train. Lehmann Gross Bahn (LGB) first popularised these trains, and more recently other manufacturers such as Aristo Craft Trains and USA Trains have produced models in this scale/gauge combination. Atlas O also makes weatherproof #0 Gauge tracks for O scale, very suitable for smaller gardens and patios.

Compared to Indoor Railroads

At its most basic level, a garden railroad works just like an indoor railway, including turnouts and turntables. However, special considerations must be taken for everything from sunlight and water to dirt and leaves, and even wildlife. The distance covered also means that electrical resistance in and between sections is much higher, and electrical power will tend to drop off at the far end for a track. Thankfully, DCC applies full power to the rails to help mitigate these factors.

Getting started in Garden Railroading

Garden Railway in a Backyard

Main article: Getting started in the garden

Getting started in Garden Railroading can be quite intimidating. There is an entire article on getting started in the garden which you may find useful. It details some things to consider when just starting out in large scale garden railroads.

Common Scales used in Large Scale Trains

Measurements reference a 12" foot. i.e.: 1/2" to the foot means 1 inch represents two scale feet. Therefore, a three foot gauge would equal 1½ inches in 1:24.
For a metric gauge railroad, which is what many European narrow gauge models represent, 1 metre or 1000mm would in 1:13.7 scale 73mm or ≈2.9 inches
There is no real agreed upon standards in the Large Scale world.

Garden Railroad Scales
Ratio	Metric	Decimal	Fractional
Ratio	mm	Inches
1:13.7		0.875	⅞"
1:19	16 mm	0.629
1:20.3	15 mm	0.591
1:22.5		0.533
1:24	12.5 mm	0.500	½"
1:29		0.414
1:32		0.375	⅜"

Gardening for Garden Railroads

Main article: Gardening for garden railroads

Plants are usually an integral part of a garden railway, and dwarf varieties along with pruning are often used to keep them in proper proportion. Some go so far as to use bonsai techniques; however this can be very time-consuming for large areas. Please see the main article on Gardening for garden railroads for tips on species selection and more.

Buildings for Garden Railroads

Main article: Buildings for garden railroads

Buildings are also often used in a garden railway, though they too must be constructed to withstand the weather. Train stations and freight depots are popular, some even building whole towns trackside. The loco shed is a common place to store a locomotive (or the whole train) when not in use. Some building even double as housing for stationary decoders.

DCC in the Garden

Main article: DCC in the garden

Generally speaking, using DCC versus indoors is almost the same. The only exceptions are for larger boosters and larger power supplies due to the larger nature of the scale. Also, you'll need to protect your electronics from the outside elements. Please see the DCC in the garden article for further reading.

Large Scale FAQ

Q: Are large scale beginner sets available?

Yes. There are sets from many manufacturers. The most common one are the Christmas sets. Before you dive in, you should spend a little time deciding what your goals may be before investing in these sets. Sets usually contain items from only one manufacturer. Do you like everything in the set? If not, perhaps youâll save money in the long run purchasing everything separately. The big downside of a set is its power supply. It is only enough for that train around a small loop of track. As you expand youâll need a better transformer or power supply. Most of these sets are not DCC equipped.

You might be better served by getting a DCC Starter Set and adding trains and track separately if you plan on running more than one train.

Edit FAQ Categories: Large Scale

Q: Can I run large scale trains inside?

The track gauge is the same, the scales are not.

Yes. There are sets from many manufacturers. The most common one are the Christmas sets. Before you dive in, you should spend a little time deciding what your goals may be before investing in these sets. Sets usually contain items from only one manufacturer. Do you like everything in the set? If not, perhaps youâll save money in the long run purchasing everything separately. The big downside of a set is its power supply. It is only enough for that train around a small loop of track. As you expand youâll need a better transformer or power supply. Most of these sets are not DCC equipped.

You might be better served by getting a DCC Starter Set and adding trains and track separately if you plan on running more than one train.

Edit FAQ Categories: Large Scale

Q: What are the minimum height & height clearances for large scale layouts?

See Standard Dimensions article for details on clearances and tolerances.

Edit FAQ Categories: Large Scale

See more FAQs!