Todd Brody said:
Nothing (plants included) is notably out of scale.
Dang them pine trees 
Terry Burr said:
-I donât like garden railroads. I like railroads outside, you can keep the flowers.
-I like old growth plants.
-I like shade.
Awesome, now we qualify as a âGreat Garden Railwayâ 
Matt Doti said:
Todd Brody said:
Nothing (plants included) is notably out of scale.
Dang them pine trees
Awesome, now we qualify as a âGreat Garden Railwayâ
If the trees are not a âpartâ of the railway (i.e., the railroad doesnât interact with them unless done in some integrating fashion) and donât distract (including fallen needles) from the railway, they are not ânotablyâ out of scale and their shade is always welcome.
NO WEEDS!! I like my weeds.
Here is a picture of 2 of my best weeds.
The one on the right is about 5 feet tall and probely nearly 4 feet around. The one on the left is maybe 3 feet tall.
David Maynard said:
NO WEEDS!! I like my weeds.
Here is a picture of 2 of my best weeds.
The one on the right is about 5 feet tall and probely nearly 4 feet around. The one on the left is maybe 3 feet tall.
Off hand Iâd say âyouâre welcome to themâ 
Hans, thatâs about the opinion my mom has. I must have a dozen of them kind of weeds on my railroad. It gives it that nice wooded look I like, and the best part was, they was free.
Quite right David .
Do not let scale loonies put you off your enjoyment , itâs your garden , your layout , enjoy it .
Mike
Mike Morgan said:
What makes a Great Garden Railway is the amount of pleasure YOU get from it .
No fun=useless railway .
Lots of fun = damn fine job .
I do not post pics of my various layouts because I made them for me , and because other people do not see things through my eyes I will not give anyone the chance to spoil my fun by saying âYa dunnit all wrongâ .
I dunnit rite for me . I live with it .
Mike Brit
PS I am quite happy showing models Iâve made because I only show the ones that I am totally satisfied with , i.e. about every tenth model .
Nailed it right there.
tac
Ottawa Valley GRS
Heaven for THIS boy is Eric Schadeâs Winnegance & Quebec.
I could sit and watch it for hours - any weather - any time of year.
Listening to the birdies, hearing the wind sowing through the trees, and then the sound of a little steam train, making all the sounds that steam trains make.
When I go, I hope that the GFO sends me somewhere where there is a layout like that.
tac
Ottawa Valley GRS
Mike Morgan said:
Quite right David .
Do not let scale loonies put you off your enjoyment , itâs your garden , your layout , enjoy it .
Mike
Mike, I do what I do for my enjoyment. I donât let folks spoil what I enjoy anymore. Too many folks get their enjoyment by trying to sour what other folks enjoy. I listened to my one supervisor go on and on about what a stupid hobby I have, and that it is such a waste of time and money. Its my little world where I go to escape the 1:1 world and no one else has to enjoy it nor approve of what I do. I like when someone does share my enjoyment of it, but that is no longer necessary for me.
Oh yea. You can do it wrong: If itâs not being fun, youâre doing it wrong.
Nothing wrong with some weeds. If a layout didnt have at least scale weeds, it would not be a real RR. Look around, their are weeds all over. I neat and clean layout looks nice but is it really representing the real world? In real life nothing is perfect, weeds grow everywhere other then a well maintained yard. (not a train yard) I welcome certain weeds into my layout. Real logging railroads had lumber laying all over, along the tracks. A perfect RR depends on each person. Like many said if your having fun that is all that matters.
Eric Shades RR uses all native plants that grow in the woods. To me that is a perfect garden railroad.
Easy access, choice of locos and cars, narrow and standard gauges live in harmony and somebody else keeps it clean.
But it hasnât moved in next doorâŚ
My nomination?
Self Cleaning, that would be perfect!
I think Mike Morgan said it best and I pretty much agree with all of Terry Burrâs observations.
Itâs easy for me to decide what I donât want to see in my RR, but thatâs because I build for me. Deciding what I want to see is an on-going process. When I look at what other people do, those personal concepts are added too either positively, or negatively depending on how it effects me.
Iâm glad people post pictures of their railroads; both those that people think are âperfectâ and those that barely qualify as a railroad at all. The former generally inspires me and the latter makes me feel better about my far from perfect railroad.
Jon, âbarely qualify as a railroadâ? If there is track with trains running on the track, isnât that a railroad? At least in some form or another? I mean, tourist and museum railroads donât move goods and people from one place to another, but they are railroads. Why canât a garden railroad do the same thing? Run for the amusement of the viewer, without actually simulating the movement of goods and people from where they are to somewhere else?
I am a train watcher. Anymore then dropping a car at a siding frustrates me. I have played with âtimesaverâ puzzles, and wasted a lot of time not figuring them out. So a complex switching âjobâ is not my cup of tea. But I do enjoy watching a master make one of those things look like a walk in the park. I am a train watcher, a model railfan if you will. So even if my single track, bi-directional mainline just barely qualifies as a railroad, its nearly perfect for me. It may bore someone else to tears, but my railroad is built for my enjoyment.
David Maynard said:
Hans, thatâs about the opinion my mom has. I must have a dozen of them kind of weeds on my railroad. It gives it that nice wooded look I like, and the best part was, they was free.
Thatâs why I say âYouâre welcome to themâ and âwhatever floats your boatâ. 
BTW we have a few Dwarf Alberta Spruce that have "delusions of grandeur" i.e. too large for their own good. Depending on location they get either removed or get a severe haircut to keep them at their appropriate size.
When I hear the term âgreat garden railroad,â itâs easy to equate that to the large, impressive ones which drop everyoneâs jaws who see them. I frequently hear from other modelers âdid you see so-and-soâs railroad? Heâs got track running all over the place! It was amazing!â
I think, however, using that to define âgreatâ misses the point. For me, a âgreatâ garden railroad has nothing to do with how big something is. Quite the oppositeâa âgreatâ garden railroad has to do with intimacy. (No, not that kind.) To me, a âgreatâ garden railroad has one unique feature that others donâtâthe ability to draw the viewer in. A âgreatâ garden railroad puts you on the station platform. It envelops you with the builderâs vision. It doesnât matter if itâs a scale version of a particular railroad on a particular date, or a complete fantasy world with dragons and hoverboards. A âgreatâ garden railroad has a strong, single theme, and is consistent from end to end, no matter how far apart (or close together) those ends are.
I enjoy seeing âbigâ railroads with lots of trains running. But quite often, the most memorable railroadsâthe ones that stay with me and inspire meâare the ones that I see where it doesnât matter if a train is running or not. The setting itself, and the attention to detail within that setting isâto meâwhat makes a garden railroad memorable. In the real world, most of the time we see a train track, thereâs no train running on it. Yet weâre able to imagine the train running by. A âgreatâ garden railroad puts me in that same placeâon the station platform, relaxing, waiting for the train to pull in.
One of my favorite railroads is all of 15â x 20â, has code 332 rail and 2â radius curves. But every inch of that track is surrounded by a miniature garden thatâs tailored to the whimsical nature of the railroad that runs through it. The bridges and buildings all convey a consistent theme to where Iâm always looking for the mouse with a walnut hardhat to hop on board the train. I used to spend hours at a time drinking iced tea while looking at that railroad with or without trains running. I just âgot itâ when I saw that railroad. I could tell exactly what the builder was working to accomplish in the garden, and it was very easy to see the world through that perspective. It was the complete antithesis to my âaccurate-scale-and-large-curveâ view of the world, and it didnât matter one bit.
When I think of that and other memorable railroads Iâve seen over the years, the unifying thread is that same consistency of theme. Whatâs cool is that it doesnât matter what that theme might be. If itâs done wellâif everything on the railroad supports that theme, itâs very easy for the railroad to become a âplaceâ in its own right as opposed to just tracks running through the garden. Thatâs what inspires me as I build my own railroadâto create an environment that puts the viewer into the world as I see it. I donât know how well Iâve achieved that goal for others, but itâs working for me so far. And while itâs laudable to strive for âgreatness,â quite often the best rewards come in just pleasing ourselves.
Later,
K
A great garden railroad is one the grandchildren always ask Pappy to run for them.
To each his own. Some love raised railroads on wood, others have elaborate sub roadbed and then there are the folks like me that just toss track out on the dirt, heheâŚ
My ultimate railroad would an element from each of you. Davidâs Superliners, Gregâs electronics, Vicâs hotdog stand just to mention a few.
Of course, Cascade Green is a must.
David Maynard said:
Jon, âbarely qualify as a railroadâ? If there is track with trains running on the track, isnât that a railroad? At least in some form or another? I mean, tourist and museum railroads donât move goods and people from one place to another, but they are railroads. Why canât a garden railroad do the same thing? Run for the amusement of the viewer, without actually simulating the movement of goods and people from where they are to somewhere else?
I am a train watcher. Anymore then dropping a car at a siding frustrates me. I have played with âtimesaverâ puzzles, and wasted a lot of time not figuring them out. So a complex switching âjobâ is not my cup of tea. But I do enjoy watching a master make one of those things look like a walk in the park. I am a train watcher, a model railfan if you will. So even if my single track, bi-directional mainline just barely qualifies as a railroad, its nearly perfect for me. It may bore someone else to tears, but my railroad is built for my enjoyment.
I think you took me too literally. I donât mean to disparage anyoneâs work. Whatever floats your boat is good for me.
I would class my fist attempt as such; A loop of track in the dirt, no scenery, no landscaping, just track, an engine and cars. To me this just barely qualified as a railroadâŚ
(http://photo.cvsry.com/NSS_Do-It_1_640.JPG)
Other experiments didnât quite qualify in my book because trains couldnât actually runâŚ
(http://photo.cvsry.com/road-long_640.jpg)
But, a few weeks later track was extended and powered so a train could run, if only back and forth on 10 feet of trackâŚ
(http://photo.cvsry.com/cabride_640.jpg)
If I offended anyone with my comment, Iâm truly sorry.
Shawn (napkin builder) Viggiano said:
Nothing wrong with some weeds. If a layout didnt have at least scale weeds, it would not be a real RR. Look around, their are weeds all over. I neat and clean layout looks nice but is it really representing the real world? In real life nothing is perfect, weeds grow everywhere other then a well maintained yard.
As Iâve told Nancy Norris (a even sent in photos), a âweedâ is not a âweedâ until it is out of scale. Yes there are weeds everywhere in nature, but most donât have leaves that dwarf a train.
If it is big enough for my eye to readily see, itâs gone.
