I enjoy running RC tanks, and am eagerly waiting for the newest generation of Heng Long tanks, and although I like to get together with tank battle clubs occassionaly, I luv running the big beasts around our Garden Railroad, or "G"-scale. Most of the landscaping you can create is just right for running your tank around the natural terrain, rocks n trees, towns n farmhouses, or under the tressels or into the tunnels,.. and when I am running special 'seek and destroy' missions, I enjoy taking photographs of the action. One of the best features of garden R/R'ing is that you can use all natural branches n rocks you can gather, along with flowers and plants to landscape your backyard world, and many structures and buildings are readily available to purchase, or you can easily make your own. I like working with wood, so long n short bridges are fun for me to build...when my friends come by to visit, I tell them that it is my Zen garden R/R...so running a scale tank around a world you create can be quite rewarding....with the creation of this thread, I will be adding fotos and information, and try to answer questions about mixing this two great hobbies together!
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Exciting stuff! What are the general specs on a G scale engine? Weight, length, etc? Where do you get them?
Are the tracks larger versions of HO? I imagine they're holding more weight so are more robust?Live Q&A every Tuesday and Friday at 9pm EST on my Twitch Livestream
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Alpha:
I am a model railroader and I can say that those outdoor tracks are G scale, maybe O. HO scale trains are generally too small and not as robust for outdoor operation.Comment
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Regarding the R/R tracks, G-gauge is made to be used outdoors, handle the weather, and even to be ocassionally stepped-on. It is used by several different size scale trains, and I believe they are 1/32, 1/24. 1/22, and the one I like 1/20 the largest. Track material can vary from plastic, aluminum, brass, and stainless-steel, which I like as it can handle our snowy winters in Oregon without rusting, and in my experience, requires very little maintanence, .. unlike brass track, which I have a few spur-lines that need a scrubby pad run along them...and this is because I run electrical power thru the tracks, just like we may all remember how our train-sets worked in the past. A 24v power system is hooked-up to the tracks, and is controlled remotely or hard-wired to run the train. I believe the future will be trains running by RC / lipo powered, on inexpensive track, and this trend is gaining popularity. My favorite engines are the steam-era working trains, although I have some big modern diesels, and for the steam-era, I like the Bachmann "Spectrum" Series because they have great detail, sound, and have been reliable for me.Comment
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Making our own backyard world has been a joint effort by my wife Linda and myself, she luvs gardening (and trains and planes!) and has helped tremendously in the building of our layout. We used materials found nearby, shopped yard sales for birdhouses or something we could rebuild as a trackside shanty, and watched for local nurseries having plant sales, or cuttings from neighbors and friends. We have a horse ranch and a dairy farm, a lumber mill, and a new mine, and the trains revolve around LaPine Junction....Comment
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You need to consider a 1/16 Leopold like some Germans did several years back in Friedrichshafen. Of course an armored train would be cool, too, & much easier to build.
Video https://youtu.be/7vE2cHZC9O8
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Fastphil: That RR looks awesome! I always toyed with the idea of a garden RR, but here on the east coast, we never seem to have many nice days. So I'm currently building a 5x10' HO layout in a spare room upstairs. At least it's one hobby not dependent on weather or FAA rules.Comment
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That is is one beautiful setup you and your mrs. have accomplished there! As a kid, I can recall, a friend of my Pop's had a nice town setup in a garage. Filled the whole place up.. just enough room for the engineer's station in one corner. My memories aren't what they used to be, but I damn sure don't recall it looking as nice as this backyard setup. I could get lost back there for hours..Dynam; E-Flite; FreewingComment
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Thank you all for the very kind comments, I have posted the fotos in the hope that they may inspire you and others to put together your own world to run your tanks and trains...We are currently in SW Arizona visting General Patton's tank training sites from WW2, they are amazing as they are 70 years old, the campsites are still outlined in rocks where you can see where the tents were placed, the tanks staged, and Company insignias still laid out in rocks...I am documenting these areas with drone fotos before they are lost...Comment
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How long did it take you to create your garden RR?Comment
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Hi 2 Many Hobbies, we started with a basic loop that we could run a train around, in two weeks, and as it made it's way around, we could work with a little more inspiration and planning, a tree here a rock there, a new bridge a new barn, some cars and trucks, some new livestock we added over the years...the LaPine Mtn & Timber garden railroad has been in operation for about 15 years, and in our minds, there is always something to do, and I still have the same approach, I let the trains run while i'm working on the railroad..! My latest project has been the new mine. The foto of a star with COG is from WW2 and was the HQ's for a Texas armor outfit,...and the VICKSBURG 12-mi foto is one of many ground directional insignias that pilots used to navigate around to the tank campsComment
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Cool! I imagine there's a lot of maintenance on an outdoor RR. What's your biggest challenge?Comment
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Hi 2-Many, with stainless steel track, almost nothing with it, and I can let the trains run all day w/o any problems or derailments, ...and I would have to say that our only "problem" is that in the Springtime I have to rake and pick-up the layers of pine-needles that covers it all..!Comment
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..and as a side note, although linda likes everything to look new and painted, I found that the look I was striving for of an old, seen better days, barely able to make the railroad payroll was a lot easier to maintain..!Comment
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I have the room for a garden RR, but we have deer, moles, voles, groundhogs...I'm sure they would mess things up. Also every structure would make a great house for the black widows and brown recluses we have here. It's bad enough I get them in the garage.
Also ticks are horrific here in the summer. I'm sandwiched between woods and a cow pasture, so I also get tons of angry flies all summer. I think I'd have 2 good weeks in Spring and Fall. I love the idea of a garden RR..if I lived in Oregon...lol
I also worry about my back holding up to all the ground work....heck, my back is killing me just building my RR upstairs and it's at chest level!Comment
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Hey 2-Many, we use shaved Irish Spring around the R/R the first couple years, and then we got a cat, and this two-pronged defense against destructive wildlife worked for us...and although this is not for everybody, I enjoy precision sharpshooting, and am able to combine another hobby with the R/R...Comment
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Lol...sounds like you also have too many hobbies.
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After running tanks on the layout, I decided to use our backyard railroad landscaping as an RC crawler area also...and so although you may not have any interest in trains, you can still create your own backyard world for any purpose or hobby you have..!Comment
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Lol.....I did carve a crawler course!
But yours is really cool! Gave me some ideas for mine...Mine is still in it's infancy.
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Hey 2-Many, looks like you have a great spot to lay out some trails and roads for your crawlers and tanks, ..if some one can be inspired to have a little more fun with their hobbies, then Alpha's suggestion to start this thread is well worth it..i hope you will keep posting any fotos, questions, or updates you have..!Comment
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