The first decision to make when designing a garden railroad is to decide on the area of the garden or yard that will be devoted to the layout of the railroad. Along with this decision, other considerations should be what appeals to the owner, does the modern mainline power and long trains hold the interest or does older steam power and shorter trains? Large diameter curves and turnouts will enable either to run. What are the interests as far as structures and scenery? Is this to be a railroad with switches and hands on operation or will this just be one that will be strictly for watching? What size trains are to be used, big or small? Are tunnels, bridges, crossovers, a town, a station, a freight yard, a trestle or anything else important on this railroad? Make a list of what is important to make sure it will be included in the design and layout. What are the interests in respect to the activities related to the railroad? Gardening? Modeling? Operating? Some of these questions may be impossible to answer at first, but will come as time passes. Looking for the answers to these questions is part of the fun of this hobby. After considering these questions and the amount of time that can be devoted to this project is determined, the next step is to lay down a simple oval.
Planning the first real layout as close to the final design is important, but actually laying out a smaller portion of the original plan is also important. This simple layout should only include the most essential or affordable parts. A basic oval or figure “8” mainline with a single track is the logical place to begin. There is a possibility that this track will only be temporary, but it is a starting point. This first layout will provide a learning experience of laying track and ironing out the inherent problems that will sure come with building a railroad. While working on this layout, prepare for switches off the mainline only by pre-building the switch foundation and laying in a section of track that is sized for the switches so that is can be removed at a later date and the switch inserted. The main thing to remember is to begin small, this way there are not as many mistakes. The original design plan should meet the immediate and short-term foreseeable needs or wants, which for most people is a place to run the trains that have been brought home and to begin the experience of experimenting with garden railroading. For example, if the grand idea for the garden railroad is a large empire, start the project by using a portion of that empire for a simple loop or something that will actually get the trains running. Once this section is established and working like it should be, then expansion can take place.
When designing the garden railroad keep in mind the amount of room that is available and where the expansions should occur. The mainline should be a minimum eight-foot diameter to be able to run most equipment. For freight siding a two-foot radius will do while keeping the straight portion of the mainline. Also, avoid reverse curves without a one-foot section between the curves. Paying attention to drainage, trees, amount of sunlight and an area for visitors to sit and watch the trains are all important to designing the perfect garden railroad. Use the widest radius curves possible, none less than a four-foot radius. It may even be important to the owner to be able to view the trains from inside the house, so this will need to be taken into consideration
To avoid problems, remember to keep the switch area level to aide in fewer derailment problems. The switches should be at least a one-foot section and will need to be determined when designing the layout of the tracks. Also, watch for poor drainage in all areas of the railroad tracks and any other unforeseen obstacles. Mark these spots when designing the layout and build bridges or obstacles to accommodate and direct the flow of water on your next layout.
The most important thing to remember when designing and building a garden railroad is the fact that redesigning this railroad and rebuilding over the following years is all part of this hobby. Just build it and have fun.
