Hello guys, I just wanted to know if it was practical to create a garden railway using HO? I know it sounds weird, but that is all I can do. I’d love to create a model railroad, but don’t have the space. My mom even shut out a 3 x 6 area in the house to do some N modeling.
Now, I was just wondering, is it practical? Maybe even O scale?
The short answer is no because HO scale equipment is not made in a “sealed” manner. The gears and mechanicals are mostly exposed, so the dust and dirt would eat it up very quickly. Also the plastic of the bodies is not made to endure the direct sun light. Depending on where you are in the country, an Athearn BB box car can melt down if left in the direct sun.
I had some Lionel outside one summer. It is more rugged and can handle the dirt better just because it is bigger. That doesn’t mean it isn’t going to wear out quickly. Also the track rusted. Same issues as HO. The plastic and paints aren’t made to handle the UV and IR radiation from the sun. I also melted an Atlas O-scale box car just because I took it outside on the back deck to photograph and left it sitting too long.
It is not commonly done, but it can be done. The biggest issue is going to be maintaining the track. This job can be made more difficult if you live somewhere with extremes in heat and cold.
if you can afford becaus eit is expensive you should look into G scale garden layouts there rugged and the truck wont rust, and there praticly ment to be out side, depending what part of the world you live in and the weather conditions g scale would proble be good
Seen it done once but the track was large as were the flanges. It only worked in good weather and you ALWAYS have to bring the equipment indoors when not in use. As was said they are not sealed and the tiniest dirt will mess them up fast.
You could try just putting it on a board outside, like an 8x4, and see if they survive that first. Also you will find out fast how much you enjoy moving all of your engines and rolling stock in and out every time you want to use it. It gets old real fast if you have a lot. O scale is about the smallest practical from articles I have read. But heck, they said HO was too small when it first came out so who knows. Maybe you will be a pioneer. 
Stephen
I’m sorry your mom shut the door on your hobby. Maybe she rather you to run the streets and use drugs? I would press the issue of house space before I took HO stuff outside. As said above, most stuff is to delicate to take outside. You could also look at narrow gauge G scales like Gn15. If you could get even some space indoors you could do a micro layout like these http://www.carendt.us/ Fred
You might try joining a local club if your Mom wont let you have your own layout.
Atlas and Model Power HO scale track is not weatherproof or ultraviolet resistant, so it will not withstand the elements when used outdoors. Neither is any HO scale plastic engine or rolling stock, so everything will need to be taken apart and put back indoors when not in use.
This question comes up quite frequently on the Garden Railways Magazine forum, so you can find more information there.
Peco of England makes weatherproof HO scale track, but you probably can’t afford it.
There have been HO and similar scale garden railroads, including at least one at Disney World in Orlando, FL. I also recall reading about HO/OO garden railways in the British Isles - not the best place for anything that might object to moisture.
I (briefly) considered building outdoors here in Sin City, but the desert sun and 115+ degree temperatures of a Las Vegas summer drove me indoors in a hurry.
Building such a layout is possible. John Armstrong designed one (O scale) where the major stations and yards were inside shelters while the long mainline runs were outdoors. That might be the best compromise.
Chuck
I’m not so sure about that. I have an N scale Atlas U25B that survived a flood [:D] But, I agree that HO scale stuff simply isn’t designed to be used outside. I’d go with G scale outdoors. BTW, are there any clubs in your area? If so, you could always run your stuff on their layout.
My father’s had HO in the garden for the last 20 years using PECO track.
The roadbed is a brick foundation with plywood soaked in preservative on top, then roofing felt on top of that folded over the sides of the wood and pinned into the side. You need to choose a track that is Ultra violet light resistant like PECO or your sleepers will disintergrate within a couple of years. You can only run when it’s dry and you need to clear all the twigs and bird droppings off before you run.
Electrically you’ll need to bond across each rail joint with a short length of wire, (preferably black and long enough to allow the track to move as you’ll experience a lot of expansion and contraction during the seasons), rail joiners won’t be reliable electrically outside.
So yes it’s possible but it does require a bit of regular maintainance.
When I was first getting interested in trains (1962) there was an article in one of the mags (RMC???) about a dude in Australia, I believe, who had an outdoors HO layout. He had it built up on a low platform and there were periodic stations/towns where the platform widened. It was a loop to loop; in the center the train ran through his greenhouse where the trains bedded down in bad weather. But I’m sure he had a few coins because his photos showed what appeared to be a rather substantial piece of property.
It’s something else again to have a layout that is stored indoors but operated outdoors. You could suspend a couple of 4X8s in a couple of A-Frames and wheel them into the driveway or onto the patio and them fold them up when they needed to be put away. Two platforms would give you a 4X16; you could even add a third to create an L-shaped layout that would be 12 feet along one base with 16 along the other. I toyed with this idea for an N-Scale layout one time but I have to admit that I never did anything with it. I have seen a couple of layouts built on this A-Frame idea so I know that it can be done. With careful construction techniques manuevering these platforms is a one-person job; such a situation, however, does require that you insure that all loose items get removed from the layout prior to your platform assuming the vertical position.
SpitFireV12RR; where there is a will there is a way.