We are building a pond this summer with a waterfall and I am thinking of putting a garden railroad around the pond. I want to put a small/loggin camp on each side of the waterfall, also I want to put a trestle bridge across the waterfall. Then I want to put a small yard and town at the bottom of the pond. I am just going to run one line and only one train. How much do you think this would cost to do all of this. I am thinking I may need a “shay” to be able to make the grade it is pretty good grade from near the top of the waterfall to the bottom of the pond it is not a vary far distance, it’s just going to be one hell of a grade and I dont think that a standard steam engin will be able to make the grade.
Well the Shay will set you back about $400 depending where you buy it, cars are cheap $20 off ebay is easy to do, but track in going to be the major sticker shock item, we recently got hit with a major track price increase across the board that none of us can figure how they justified the increases imposed, and are now looking at track prices going from about $4 a foot to anywhere between $6 and $8 a foot depending where you buy, so be prepared for that, also the Shay will likely handle a 4 or 5% grade with a couple of cars in tow just like the real life thing (roughly a 10" rise for about 15 feet of run each side), I would highly recommend not going any steeper, raise the lower end of the layout if you can or rethink your layout plan. Your engine will last longer. Any size dimensions for your pond area yet?
What if I run the 2 shay I will only be pulling 5 cars at the most. Im thinking that the grade will be somewhere between 4-6% I dont know how much I can bring the town at the bottom of the pond up but I should not have a problem with the engins going bad quick I will only run the trains when I have people over and stuff like that.
In responce to your question, How much do you want to spend, I have well over $10,000.00 invested in my large scale over a 18 year span. and I once agin do not have RR to run on…
Dave
Could I suggest a MEYER rather than a Shay for your locomotive?
It would be far easier to manage and have more useful tractive effort than a Shay. Meyers are easy to build and very flexible in operation.
regards
ralph
I have never heard of a “meyer” can you post some pic’s.
The Meyer configuration is one of the three oldest forms of articulation -the other two being the Fairlie and the Mallett…
(here is this bit that I wrote)
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sheila.capella/cabbage/articulated.html
(here is one I built)
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sheila.capella/cabbage/meyer.html
The Meyer is actually a very common type of locomotive -very much favoured in the forestry railways of Europe, the sugar cane fields of Fiji, and of course The Royal Saxony Railway!!!
regards
ralph
Ralph,
GREAT website and GREAT model. I assume that’s 32mm track since you model in 16mm?
(here in the US, they only have Oscar Meyers)[:(]
David,
Yes, that is 32mm track -Peco SM32 to be precise. The other track Gauge 3 would be quite obviously larger!!! I use Gauge 3 track to emulate Cape gauge (3 feet 6 inches). The “true” Standard gauge for 16mm would be Gauge 4. After having spent nearly a year hand building Gauge 3 track, I am nearly ready to go “live” in the garden with it…
regards
ralph
Post Scriptumn: I believe that Baldwins produced at least ONE Meyer -as there are several “engravings” of it in my books.
I showed my friend your website and here’s what he says:
"Meyer-Garratt. Very common on the S. African meter gauge lines. They probably served in every continent except N.A.
The science museum in Manchester, Jolly Olde England, has a very nice example from S.Africa. Looked to be in firing condition back in '85-'90. "
David,
Your friend should have said BEYER Garratt as in Beyer Peacock. My father was outreach for Messrs Beyer Peacock of Gorton Manchester at Bulawayo Shop for Rhodesia Rail. And yes I have seen “Sikhu” the SAR loco they have there.
SAR/SAS is only CAPE guage or 2 foot.
The EAR is METRE gauge.
regards
ralph
My fellow Virginia resident Steve King was building some sort of articulated last time I saw him at a steam-up here. That was 2 years ago so it is probably finished by now. Here it is in 2 foot model (7/8 scale), partially completed.
David,
That looks like K1 -the first Garratt. It and K2 were shipped to Tasmania, then re-purchased by Beyer Peacock when the Dundas tramway closed. K1 is now back in steam in the Welsh Highland Railway.
http://whr.bangor.ac.uk/k1.htm
regards
ralph
Bringing the subject back on course, I’d say $1000-$3000 depending on whether you build or buy your bridge, what type of track and power pack you purchase and how many structures you plan on incorporating and whether you will build or buy them. This doesn’t include pond costs.
Mark
I just recently got into Garden RR myself. I spent the winter buying most of the things I needed and it cost me a little over $1000. That includes an LGB value starter set, Bachmann Big Hauler set, LGB outdoor throttle, LGB power supply and around 70ft of aristo track brass. That does not include the landscaping items such as balast, plants ect… But that is cheap compared to the track. I might add a turnout or two to that but I am probably going with the cheaper manual turnpouts from Aristo like the 4 foot or X wide. They cost under 50 bucks each. It is a lot of money when you thing about what you spend on track. It cost me around 300-400 bucks just for track (under 70ft worth of track) and that does not include turnouts. It is better to start small anyway that way you can work out the kinks and make sure you have time to maintain a layout.
How much does garden railroading cost? How much have you got? 
There are a lot of factors that affect the cost. Obviously the size of the layout is a big factor. The more track you have to put down, the more bucks you’re gonna shell out.
The type of equipment you want is another factor. Some locos and rolling stock can be obtained more cheaply than others. A lot of things, you’re limited to what’s available. Shays, for instance. Bachmann is the only manufacturer making Shays for the mass market. The only other Shay choices are very costly brass models.
Some folks are willing to make do with cheap toy-like locos, though these generally require more maintenance to get them running reliably, and keep them running.
How much you are able and willing to do yourself is another factor. Flex track is cheaper than sectional, but takes a bit more effort. If you’re willing to lay your own track, that can be even cheaper.
I’d say the main thing to keep in mind is that most of the costs in building a garden railroad are basically “one-time” costs. Although track is expensive, it lasts a long, long time. A good quality loco will also last quite a while.