Don’t be such a kill joy Trainman 
I don’t remember who, but we had a member that maintained an elevated railroad in a children’s hospital for many years. Sure there is plenty of maintenance needed, but with the right crew and equipment, public railroads can be done. Maybe that was your point mentioning public club layouts.
John, are you vying for my ‘Curmudgeion’ moniker?
Althoug I don’t necessarily disagree with the gist of John’s reply I think it could have been stated a bit more tactfully. From personal knowledge the type of layout you are describing will require a bunch of upkeep. Depending on how many hours per day you plan to operate.
Also keep something in mind, these are ‘toys’, regardless of what we think of them as. They are NOT engineered to be commercial operation items, operated for long periods on a daily basis. I looked at a local childrens museum that had a layout around the ceiling that only ran on weekends for a few hours. They were experiencing frequent derailments in corners. Reason: the inside head of the outer rail on every curve (R1 curves) waw heavily worn so the gauge was way out. Solution: replace all the curves. Secondary reason, all the wheels were worn to where the flanges would darn near cut your fingers. End soluition, not put back in service.
What you are proposing is doabe, but will require, as John stated, very regular maintenance. It would be good policy to have several locomotives so that a routing maintenance schedule could be adhered to. The trucks on the rolling stock is an ABS or other plastic. Even well lubricated, the steel axles are harder and the trucks will eventually wear out and fail. Another maintenance issue to be aware of.
You spoke of using battery power. The disadvantage of battery power for what you are proposing is run time. Depending on the locomotive/battery/and control package, combined with the layout (flat vs with grades up and down), runtime for each locomotive will vayr and therefore you will need a person to monitor so you don’t have a train parked somewhere along the mainline due to a dead battery.
Comments on small children and curious fingers in well placed. I would recommend a minimum 2-3 foot buffer to keep equipment a safe distance from inquisitive fingers.
Although I personally don’t like it, for trouble free operation the elimination of ballast is a good idea. No ballast eliminates ballast migrating into switch points and other places it is not desired. Track laid on a solid level foundation will give trouble free service. I also recommend using code 332 rail in this application. Although the most expensive, Stainless Steel rail is also the most durable.
It can be done Mark, but I think what most of us are saying is ‘Go into this with eyes wide open.’ Keep asking questions, we will keep answering to the best of our ability.
Yes, that was the Children’s Hospital in Dallas, Texas, build and designed by Malcom Furlow. I went to high school with Malcom and we enjoyed sometimes together back in the days before he became a Santa Fe artist and moved to Santa Fe, NM. All being said, the INDOOR and I stress indoor was keep going with hospital staff and the help of the area modeler in the G Scale group when needed. It did require a full time person employed by the hospital, these trains just don’t run full time without problems. The layout was mostly elevated and had glass to protect the running of the trains from the children at the hospital and the adults that accompted them. The hospital finally took out the railroad some few years ago, as it was a cost that brought in no revenue and the hospital wanted the space for expansion and other uses.
I was probably not in my nicest forum when I posted my post, but I feel sometimes you just have to be told of what is really involved in a project like this. Being an outsider to the hobby it looks much easier done than what really happens. I will say here, our club, The North Texas Garden Railway Club does have two layouts in the DFW area, one at The State Fair of Texas (Dallas) and one at Clark Gardens in Mineral Wells, Texas just west of Ft. Worth. Both require help from club members to keep it going and that with both the SFofT and CG furnishing paid help by them. There are pics online if you want to look these club railroad up, thanks.
I have many of the concerns you and others have mentioned myself, but I am not the “decider” of our organization. The boss wants trains, so it is up to me to do what I can.
I believe I have figured out a route that will make the trains a visible feature but keeps them off walking paths and out of arms reach. Of course some people are determined, and others just like to break things, but we have to accept that if we want trains.
Due to the risk of some curious child touching track, we will have to go battery powered. This probably won’t be too much of an issue. It is not my intention to run the train constantly. It will probably run on a set schedule, maybe 10 minutes out of an hour. This should also allow for recharge time.
We will have 2 people on site at all times, so at least one should be available to handle derailments or other any other crisis.
If I have the room, I plan on a double parallel track. This would let me run a steam locomotive on one and a more modern diesel on the other. I would run them alternately, and when not running would be on display at “the station”. If one of them should require repair, the other would be available.
The trains would be kept out of bad weather to the best of our ability.
Of all the major retailers you know of, who has the best prices?
Who has the best selection of cars?
Who has the best selection of buildings and props?
I just want to put out there that in general, batteries should be used for more than 10 minutes before recharging. Lithium Ion, which are a popular type for trains, do benefit from being charged well before they are depleted and the built in protection shuts them off. Charging them too often, when only used a small percentage of the capacity, shortens the life as well.
A good plan, once you have your track down and equipment purchased, is to determine the run-time of your batteries on your layout. once you know that, run for about 60-75% of that time before recharging. You might find that you can run alternating 10 minute schedules with two trains all day without needing a charge until the end of the day.
As far as where to buy? We all have our favorites and no one dealer is “the best”. Robby at RLD Hobbies is well versed in available products and will do battery conversions. Don at RCS of New England is a Battery & R/C specialist carrying and installing several brands. Ro Supply near Boston is a large multiple scale dealer and also the manufacturer of USA Trains who makes many locomotives and cars. There are many others.
Part of our course is going to be a recreation of downtown as it was some time in the early 1900s. Rather than try to build all this, I wanted to get models and just paint and name them appropriately. I originally intended to use g-scale models, but I think they might be too big for the area I have if I want to fit in an accurate number of buildings. This golf hole will NOT be placed where the train runs through, or even close by, so a different scale might be used. Am I correct that O is the next size down from G?
There is not enough juice in the track to hurt anything. You can put your hand across the track and not be shocked BUT if someone pays their metal putter across the rails it will short out the system and blow your fuses.
The problem with battery power is that they have to be plugged in to charge. Many have thought about creating a charging track but then the batteries will discharge into the track once the train is back on the mainline.
I’d suggest keeping the trains near the first and the 18th hole, that way the person that takes the money and hands out the clubs could keep an eye on it. If you put up a couple of cameras it might deter punks from messing with the trains.
I agree with others here. Having a train meander through the course unsupervised is asking for trouble. I have a good sized RR and the Gremlins are always watching me. I had my track cleaning rig out yesterday and it ran lap after lap with no issue but I went inside to grab something, came back out and where was the train? It had derailed, kicked by a Gremlin no doubt on a spot that it had already safely traversed 8 times.
I’d set up a loop on the first and 18th with a button to get the train running for a lap or 2. You could sprinkle train memorabilia like signs, switch stands, a whistle on the course to keep the RR theme.
I hope your boss has plenty on money to spend on this project, you do know that track will be around $4-$5 per foot and switches in be $100 range. I would say if you don’t want to spend $20,000 to $30,000 to start with on this railroad, he might give it a second took. I myself use the Rail Pro system with battery power, no complaints about it, but for a commercial outdoor railway it will require a fulltime employee to keep things going, as would track power. LGB would be my choice of motive power, there engines are top quality and built to last, USA trains are good, and then Backmann. I buy most of my stuff on eBay, especially LGB as they are no longer in business and Marklin does still build some of the higher end stuff, but parts are available for most engines. Being in WV I would find a local G Scale club to visit your site and helping you with your thoughts would be my suggestion to you.
I take care of a layout outside but up under a patio at a children’s hospice. It is on a timer that can be set for whatever amount of time them when people want to see it run they turn it on. A track cleaning locomotive is used to keep the track clean and it all runs on track power If you want more information I can give message me here with your phone number or email
I think with track power what you want is doable , especially if you can keep the track fairly level, I saw a layout in a store that runs 11 hours a day 7 days a week, but he did some extra work on the locomotives and cars, the locomotives last him a year then he retires them. After the 10th I can get you his information or try to contact www.bagrs.org or.com, the club he belongs to
Very good point about the metal putter, and you know the putter would be used as an “arm extension” making such a thing likely.
It’s been some time since I checked in here, so I figured I would give you all an update. First off, thank you again for all your input. We have decided to move ahead with a garden train at the miniature golf course, but have taken your suggestions into account for design. We have arranged things so there is no crossover of walkways and the entire set up will be visible but out of reach to everyone except the extremely determined. We are going with battery power, and I was able to purchase our first locomotive which has already been converted to battery and a remote. It is a Bachmann West Side Lumber Shay with tender and an additional boxcar. We hope to get a CSX locomotive for our second train. The tracks will be an irregular loop running in an area set aside for our railroad display, more or less centered in the course. There will be a concrete base poured for the tracks and it will all be level. We will have a sheltered “depot” for storage and charging. Construction of the course has started, and I will post a few pictures when we begin the train layout.
That’s wonderful, Mark! I’m really looking forward to seeing your progress photos!
Mark,
That’s awesome and glad you brought this back up. I remember looking at your area on google maps and seeing a cool coaling tower after you originally posted so I had to look it up again.
Have you thought about making the C&O coaling tower as a model for the RR or possibly as a bigger model and one of the holes on the miniature golf course? Actually for that matter have some models of the cool historic stuff in your area.
Just a thought and great start!
I agree with Rooster, RR-themed hole features would be great. An easy way “extend” the model RR throughout the course, without extending the actual track!
The list is endless…
I’m gonna ignore that cause were trying to help the guy out here! Come on Cliff look the area up and forget the glory hole with multiple adits.
Rooster, it all depends on era and location. We’ve been through all that. Don’t make me come down and get the paddle.
I’m having the same issue as I repeatedly move soil to different areas around the garden during my build to accomodate two train lines that never coexisted. It’s falling in place… finally… through… um…
Trial and Era
Model railroads and especially outside ones are a labor of love. Outside takes a lot of $$$$'s and manpower, probably more manpower than money. One thinking of doing this sounds great, but in the long run I see it as a failure and a lot of $$$$'s down the drain for the owner. The only way I see it working is having a G Scale club that would take it over and put their time into it to keep it going, this would depend on how strong to club is, for success. Good Luck