I’m looking to get started in garden railroading. Anyone have any tips and even more importantly, how do I get started on a tight budget? Should I look into purchasing used euipment?
Have you ever considered ride-on live steam? Even if you don’t want to build your own track, most major cities have a live steam club near by and membership ussually run from $40 - $60. For a list a clubs check out www.livesteaming.com and click on the ‘clubs’ link.
Their is really nothing like swinging your leg over the tender of NYC Nudson and crusing around the railway 12 mph.
CHECK YOUR LOCAL HOBBY OR TRAINS STORE,ORGARDEN RAILROAD CLUB IN YOUR AREA,OR CTT MAGAZINE
Last year, “Garden Railways” magazine ran a series on the “Colorado & Pacific” which took the site from dirt to a finished garden railway. It is a small railway, but covers all of the essential steps. Two books you might find of interest are; “The Large-Scale Model Railroading Handbook” by Robert Schleicher. It was published in 1992 by Chilton Book Company, and covers Large Scale indoor and outdoor railroading. While the information is good, it may be somewhat dated, due to the large amount of Large Scale items released in recent years. List price should be around $18.95, and it should be available at any well stocked hobby shop or bookstore. The second book is "Beginner’s Guide to Large Scale Model Railroading by Marc Horovitz (Founder of Garden Railways Magazine) and Russ Larson (Formerly of Model Railroader). It was published in 1996 and also should be available in a good hobby shop or direct from Kalmbach. List price is about $16.95. Hope this helps. Ron H.
I don’t know if I would purchase much used equipment. Someone is selling it for a reason. In my area we have train related swap meets. A lot of people sell there that are profesional sellers (are in business but only sell at swap meets). I buy a lot over the web. You can save alot that way.