# Just starting out



## Aaron S (Aug 1, 2013)

Over the years I have had several N scale layouts. Then kids came along and I eventually lost any space for a layout inside of the house. Then a few years ago my mother moved into an apartment and gave me a hard lined pond kits that she could no longer use. Well we put the pond in the front yard and stocked it with some cheap goldfish. It was nothing to brag about because the pond was only about 100 gallons. Well my son, who has Aspergers Syndrome attached himself to the fish as a way for relaxing. Then last summer here in Oklahoma got hammered with triple digit temps and dust bowl dryness. The ground became so dry that it shifted and it busted the liner of the pond. I was surprised by this because I had been watering the flower bed that the pond was in every day. Thankfully the liner busted about 6 inches above the bottom of the pond so I did not lose the fish or pump. However with out the pond, my son was devastated. The next day a co worker heard about it and he said that he had won a pond kit from a raffle and he lived in an apartment and the kits was just taking up room, so he said that he would bring it by my house and give it to me for free. I love free! Well it turns out that the kit contained a pump, liner, and filter system, only instead of being just 100 gallons, the liner was for a 6,000 gallon pond. The only place we had for something that big was our back yard. So we called the local utility company and had them look for pipes and such in the back yard. I was not about to dig a 20 L 10W 4D hole by hand so we rented a back hoe and went at it. Now we have this pond in the middle of the yard and we need to do something with it. So we have been throwing around ideas and such. We want to build a smaller pond and have the water pumped from the main pond to the smaller one then go back down to the bottom pond via a stream. Then we decided it would be great to have a garden railroad that makes its way around both ponds. The area that we have for the railroad is 45'X 60' so I think that will be large enough for a nice track layout with walkways mixed in. So the other day I went to the only train store in the metro that carries G Scale and found out that they retired and shut the store down. So at this point in time it looks like I will have to order everything online. I'm still gathering information and have not really decided on a layout design yet. I want to have a good plan before I start on anything. I do want some long trains and a long mainline. I have not found much information on designing a layout for G Scale. I can find tons of pics but really not many plans. If someone could point me in the right direction that would be great.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Aaron, there are regulars here on MLS who live in Oklahoma. If you give us your town or city, there is a good chance one of them isn't too far away. Try to make contact with a local club or local individuals. They will be a great source of help. There are a lot of mistakes that can be avoided by seeing what others in your area and climate have done.

WELCOME TO MLS! 

Chuck


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## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

Aaron, I love when this becomes a family hobby. "G scale" Is a strange corner of the model railroad hobby. It should really be called G gauge. There are 5 common scales that all ride on the same track. depending on what you are considering the track to represent. Standard gauge, narrow 3' narrow 2' or from Europe meeter gauge, and it goes on. So for people to help guide you a few details about what you would like. The biggest question is, Do you want standard or narrow gauge? Then what type of equipment, big diesels or small steam? There are also several ways of powering the trains which influence the rail material you want to by. There's traditional track power, Dcc, battery/remote control, and my favorite, Live steam! (which can also be remote control) So let us know and I'm sure you'll get lots of advice from this great group. Welcome Aboard!


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## Aaron S (Aug 1, 2013)

Thanks for the welcome! I live in Oklahoma City. I know that there is a G Scale club here, however their contact information has escaped me, but I will find them sooner or later. Right now I'm still in the planning and learning stage, however I don't think that I will ever get past the learning stage. I want to have everything well planned before I start tearing up the yard. At first I am thinking of a simple dog loop design and expanding it from there. Would like to have a 15' minimum radius on the curves and I would like to use flex track as much as I can. I want to start with something like Aristo Crafts BNSF Dash 9, I really like that diesel. Then add rolling stock after that. Before that I have to come up with a design that SWMBO agrees with and start obtaining the track.


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## Aaron S (Aug 1, 2013)

Yeah I do find it interesting and a bit confusing with the different scales of G Scale. The powers that be must be trying to mess with us. I would like to go with R/C and big diesel engines.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Aaron:

Welcome to the land of many "G" scales. You are fortunate that you are now entering the gates of "G". Back in 1980 when I passed over the threshold, there was only one scale "LGB" that was readily available. Then it was based on European meter gauge (1:22.5). They soon started making US narrow gauge, largely based on Colorado. Many of the freight cars scaled out to 1:24. Later they started making contemporary American Standard gauge, nominally, 1:29. Along the line others started building "G" trains, Delton, USA trains, AristoCraft, Bachmann and Accucraft. I now have 1:20.3, 1:22.5/24, and 1:29 along with some standard gauge cars and engines of LGB with undeterminant scale. When I started building my garden RR there was very little information available. I made most of the mistakes that could be made. If you meet and talk to people with experience in GRs you should be able to avoid many of the mistakes that many of us gray beards made. 

Remember that very few garden railroads are perfect the first time. There will be changes. Try not to make things too permanent the first time.

Chuck


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Hi Aaron, I have something for you to consider in your designing and already pegging a curve diameter You'd like to use,.. i.e. 15 ft radius... 

In your 45' x 60' box ( area ) using this size curve in all 4 corners, leaves a end straight of less than 15' ( probably more like 13 feet ) .. 

the Long side will be less than 30 feet like wise. ( 28' ) 

You now have a basic large rectangle with round corners, creating a 176 foot long run... 

You have used the outer edge area as the primary R.O.W. and using this large of a curve will limit your track options for a design.. 

Is this what you would like!! 

I'm recommending a bit smaller curve size and the option that would create a ''better balance'' based on the area you have to work in.... 

What I mean by ''better balance'' is the amount of curved track and it's size relative to the amount of straight track... 

As given above there is a very small amount of straight track compared to curves, and as such not room to turn a train back on it's self... 


Your area of 45' x 60' can easily be scaled into a drawing to make it possible to sit at the table and draw up several ideas and only wear out a pencil or 2 and a few pages of paper.. 

an 80 car train will nearly fill this boxed oval, as discussed above... 

Welcome to MLS, you'll get lots of opinions here and else where, in the end - You get to do the work, you get to run the trains,... Hopefully it will be an enjoyable journey for You & Your Family. Take your time to sort thru what might work best for you!! 

It may be that something in the 10' - 12' - even 13' foot range, may be the answer your looking for... 

If that still does not satisfy your needs - come run on My layout - long trains will roam freely here!!! 

Dirk - DMS Ry. & DMRR


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## Aaron S (Aug 1, 2013)

Once again thanks for all of the welcomes. As far as the design is concerned, nothing is finalized. The 45X60 is an area of my yard that is boxed in between my house, that southern fence, and a shed. There is also the area between the house and fence that is 12W and 40L then between my shed and fence is another area. The 45 foot width can be expanded if needed. So the area that I will be able to use will for the most part would be a track layout that me, my wife and the kids all agree on. My back yard measures 80W and 120L and there is a 15X30 section in the back that I will not be allowed to use because it is the playground for the kids. I'm also flexible with the minimum radius curves that I will use. This weekend I will make measurements of the back yard and that will give me what I need to start making layout ideas. Now I have a question. My yard has a slope to it. I don't know what the grade is and I really do not know how to determine it. When digging my pond on the 10W area the west side was about 6 inches higher than the east side. Those measurements are not exact but just an estimate. So I was wondering if it would be worth all of the extra work to have the layout elevated a couple of feet off the ground (in raised beds) and have it all leveled. I know that having it raised would greatly add to the amount of work involved but it would be easier on my back. On the flip side, after a year or two in operation, I might (and probably will) want to make some changes. A track in elevated beds would be much harder to make changes to. I would like to hear some experienced people here on what they think, ground level or raised.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Aaron:

You can do a little of both. Have it at ground level along the higher part and build up a retaining wall along the lower part. This will keep it reasonably level. Many of us have done something similar to reduce or eliminate grades.

Here is a picture of my current layout in Virginia. The foreground is raised and the track in the back behind the water tower is at ground level. 










My first layout in Denver, 1983-1993, was on two levels. An upper level and a lower level. In order to get the lower layout in I had to terrace the slope. I had to cut out the back of the bank and fill in the lower part. 


























Doc Watson has some pictures of his layout in North Carolina, where he has a high retaining wall on one side and ground level on the other. I'll try to it and post a link.

Chuck 

Note added: Here is a link to a thread where Don, aka Docwatsonva, has a picture of his layout on a slope.

layout on a slope


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## Aaron S (Aug 1, 2013)

I like that idea. With the slope of my yard and the distance that it will travel, the west side will be at ground level and the east side will be raised about 2-3 feet, so I will have it both ways. Thanks for posting those wonderful pictures, I can only hope that someday my lay out will look as beautiful.


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

Aaron,

As Chuck mentioned, I have a layout in my backyard that has similar dimensions that you are talking about. It is about 50 ft. wide and 24 ft. deep. I have two tracks: an outside loop that has minimum 10 ft. radius curves and an inside loop that is an over and under design with 5 ft. minimum diameters. The outside loop can handle the largest engines and cars with ease.

Here are a couple od pictures showing what is possible in that size. IT's plenty big enough for me.



















Hope this helps.

Doc


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Doc, 

Great looking layout! 

Best, 
TJ


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