Vancouver Island Garden Train in HD, 2017 

You are a very astute obsever. It is true, I do spent a lot of thought and hours into planning the video shots I take, but also in setting the scenes when laying track and placing rocks, plants and cameo settings, to give it a look that comes close to reality. I thank you for noticing these little extra bits of attention.

Of course the winter is a bit rough on the railroad, but not as much as you might expect. Rain and snow do not cause much damage, with some planing, good drainage and a solid base the track stays in place. Trains run all winter, except when there is more than a couple of inches of snow or frost on the rails. I have three main enemies: Frost heaving, cedar tree droppings and wild life. Raccoons with their curiosity and deer with their hoofs are causing the most damage and that happens all year round. All fancy decorations like the figures and most buildings come under cover during the winter month. All plants are chosen to brave the cold, which is not too bad on Vancouver Island. Have a look how I deal with a small helping of wet snow: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fYHwU7Z1_XE.html

Hi There. Unfortunately, RU-vid says the video you posted in your reply is unavailable... I would love to see how your garden layout handles wet snow...

Thanks for the kind words. It is 14 years in the making and still a work in progress.

Trains and More success fails but hard work never fails your 14 years work your effort 👌👌👏👏👏👏 and i think i am not the right person to appreciate your hard work your success... you are high high high...

The scale is 1 to 22.5. G Gauge 45 mm.

Glad you like it. You are right, pruning is the backbone of a garden railroad. The small yellow flowers are "Sedum Acre", also called "Aureum". They flower in July and last about 3 weeks.

Thank you for watching and your encouraging comment.

We are both glad it popped up on your home page. Thanks for watching.

Thank you. I try.

I am so glad you enjoy my viseos. Yes, I do spent a lot of time and effort building and maintaining my alyout. Not as much money as one may think went into it and it is spread over the years. I am sure I would have spent more money if I had the habit of smoking...

You are correct on all accounts. It is the Landsend G- scale layout. More videos of the same layout are to be found on my Channel: Trains and More. That includes several Cab rides. Thank you for pointing this out.

Thanks for your words of appreciation. It is a lot of work, but it is also fun. I enjoy the work (most of the time).

@Fred Derf take heart. You are still a young man. I am going to be 85 this year, however most of the really heavy work I did in my 70s. Still, I do all the maintenance by myself, planting, weeding, trimming, repairing broken structures and occasionally I add a feature here and there and lay some new stretch of track. I believe I can still do it, because I get off my butt and do it.

I have only one loco running remote controlled on an on-board battery, all others have track pick-up. You heard correctly. The track power pick-up can be problematic. and occasional cleaning is needed. After a heavy rain dirt is splattered onto the track. That and dust can be brushed or wiped off. Corrosion is a minor problem, monthly polishing is sufficient. Wheels on engines must be cleaned occasional as well. Multiple pick-ups help.

I am happy to hear you like what I am doing, Thank you.

Einen recht schoenen Dank fuer die netten Worte. So etwas gibt mir immer wieder neue Energie etwas Neues anzugehen und die Anlage zu erweitern.

Die Idee diese Spirale zu bauen ist bei mir haengen geblieben als ich mit einer Reisegruppe nach Tirano gefahren bin. Ich hatte sogar Gelegenheit das ganze Bauwerk nicht, nur vom Zug, sondern auch noch genauer zu Fuss zu studieren. Vielleicht haben Sie bemerkt, meine Schleife ist ein Spiegelbild des Vorbilds. Mein Gelaende faellt in der anderen Richtung ab. Ganz wie beim Vorbild sind jedoch die einzelnen Boegen auch bei mir nachts beleuchtet. Die Fahrt ist ist in der Tat unvergesslich.

Recht schoenen Dank fuer Ihre sehr netten Worte. Diese Anlage ist in Victoria, Britisch Kolumbien, Canada. Herzliche Gruesse von Werner an Werner

Schoenen Dank fuer die Blumen. Complimente aus Deutschland zaehlen doppelt. Meine Wiege stand in Berlin

We have occasional visitors like neighbors and friends, but we are not open to the public. I am sorry, but I have to say no. I hope you understand.

What did they do at 0:40? It is not the Tehachapi Loop, but rather the one of the RhB in Brusio Switzerland.

Thank you for your positiv comment. It is much appreciated. I had a look at some of your motorbike rides, paticularly the ones through the Okanagan Valley, and I love them. It almost makes me want to ride a motorbike.

@@Landsend-Railroad thank you for your comment about my channel. I also noticed you have a bunch of motorcycles parked in an area on your layout.

@@RideCamVids I do have a bunch of motor cycles, but unfortunately only two riders. I will have to work on that.

Thank you.

Sí, lo son. Gracias.

I really appreciate your comments. It helps when I am in the care-taking mode - on my knees. Thank you.

Let me first thank you for your very appreciative comments. Yes, the track is made of solid brass and the ties of UV resistant plastic. I have some track outside for 25 years and it is still in very good shape. Winter can be a trying time, but mostly to delicate items like pole lamps. Snow and rain do not bother the trains. The dirt they cause to end up on the top of the rails is hindering the electrical pick-up. For more trying issues I suggest you have a look at another of my videos: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5FPjxoxSfBE.html

Les trains ne craignent pas la pluie, mais je rentre. J'utilise même les trains pour déneiger, quand il n'y en a pas trop.

Thank you sir.

Sorry, I do not have a blog or website. As for learning about all those details an traits one has to develop, the main theme is: Practice, practice, practice. I learned by doing. Most of it is common sense. There are quite a few videos on RU-vid on the "How-to build a Garden Railway" basics. I do write about it. There is one of my articles in every issue in the German Language Magazine And thanks again for your kind words.

Sorry to hear you are no longer able to get into Gardentrains. As for vandals, it is not really a serious as it may seem. I know many people in the hobby and not one had a case of willful damage in all those years. The only case I know happened at a dealers show layout and even there the damage was limited. Tha only vandals I have to deal with are the Racoons and the dear.

Bigger engines take between 1 an 2 Amps, depending on the weight of the train and possible grades. A 10 Amp supply is plenty big enough. I don't like too high an amperage, when there is a short there is instantly smoke. I break the layout up into sections with separate breakers and use 6 Amp breakers in each track feed. I can pull a heavy train with two engines and still have no overload.

True, that is a problem at times, but for the most part it is fun.

Thank you for he compliment. It is true, I do spend a good deal of time and attention on details. I too believe that a layout comes to live with the details.

Thank you.

Thank you. You are very kind. Real water and plants, that is what Garden Railroading is all about.

You are close. It is a fair bit of work to get it all ready for another summer season. I am at it for more than a month and still at least a week away from calling it "done".

That first train is a model of the Allegra, a train operated by the one meter gauge Rhaethische Bahn in Switzerland. They run in Switzerland as 3 or 4 car units. The model of the 3 car version is produced in Germany by MAERKLIN/LGB. It is build to a scale of 1:22.5. They offer two versions of this train. One is the simpler model, visually they are identical, but one comes without sound and runs strictly on DC, the other has sound and is meant to operate on Maerklins own digitally controlled system, but will also operate with some basic sounds on DC. In my video you see the fancier model with a couple of standard RhB passenger cars at the end. These trains are quite powerful and the RhB are running them, with up to 4 extra cars coupled to the rear, over 7 % grades.

Schoenen Dank. Ich werde mir auch weiterhin Muehe damit geben.

I am getting much joy out of what I have created, it would be a shame not to share it with people like you.

Thank you.

This is G Gauge. This is not a defined scale. To be precise it has a spacing between rails of 45mm. That is called gauge 1. G gauge puts trains on a number of scales on this track. The most common is a scale of 1: 22.5 (LGB). These trains are narrow gauge models of 1meter narrow gauge trains (Europe). Narrow gauge trains in North America run mostly on 3 feet track ( Scale factor becomes 1: 20,3). If these 45mm tracks are to represent standard gauge trains, the scale is 1: 32 (correct), or for many manufactures 1: 29 (a compromise). A compicated but correct answer to a simple question.

Thank you.

I believe I found it in the toy section of a Dollar and Dime Store. It bears the Mfg name . Article number 2010, and it is made in China. I hope this helps. Good luck.

@@Landsend-Railroad It did thank you I found on Amazon, will be a great edition to my layout

It's called a "Rack". As in Rack Railway

Thank you very much.

Boy, you do watch closely. I can tell you: He is not well!

Thank you.

Некоторые поезда я строю. Некоторые поезда я покупаю. Пейзаж - это все моя собственная работа.

Thanks for your comment, it makes it worth the effort.

It is generally referred to as G-Gauge, for Garden Gauge. The scale of rolling stock can be anywhere between 1:20.3 to 1: 32, depending on the gauge of the originals that are modeled. 1:20.3 makes it 3 feet narrow gauge, 1:22.5 would be 1 meter gauge and 1: 32 represents Standard Gauge (1435mm). The measurement between rails is 45 mm.

It runs on battery power. A 7.2 V Lithium Ion Battery is attached under the roof. It provides enough power to have the trolley run for about 8 hours continuously The trolley has a NW Shortline truck under it. The original Bachmann truck was just not good enough. The stopping is initiated by a magnet near the track and the truck has a reed switch, which triggers a scratch-build fader circuit to feed the motor. Acceleration is also controlled by the same circuit. all the electronics are mounted under the carriage including a small relay. It's self-holding time determines the stopping phase.

Thank you.

Thanks for the encouraging words. It helps to have people appreciate it, for all the work and care that goes into it.

Squirrel Valley rings a bell. Bulls eye if you live in New Zealand. You may remember me as the guy from Canada that came by to look at and ride your trains in the company of Ian and Ann.

@@Landsend-Railroad Yes, I am Grant. We have moved from where you visited us, we are building a new railway. Squirrel Valley Railway is on facebook.