I thought there were more computer-savvy people in San Diego that have garden railroads. Oh well, I'll ramble. Decided to go with DCC because I want to run multiple unit diesels. At first there was so

I also wanted to run wireless throttles, since I intend to ring the house with track. You can buy wireless throttles, but they are clunky, expensive, and they do not have 2 way communication (not all

wow, what a lot of wires! 2 sets of power wires from a hole between the motor and drivers (i.e. can't see inside) that come up into the boiler. There are 2 switches that are behind the smokebox door,

Got the 8 amp NCE D808 decoders installed in the USA Trains F3A and F3B... ran a consist, really easy with the NCE controller pro... definitely the nicest way to do this. Want sound, but really want t

Drove up yesterday. Only took 1-1/4 hours from Carlsbad. Got there right about 10am when it opened. Stayed until 3. Made 2 laps of the show inside, and spent time at the outside displays. For those of

I stopped by the Soundtraxx booth. Talked to Nancy (I'll get her last name) from Soundtraxx. I had called them about 2 weeks ago asking about what the proper horn was for my USA Trains F3 units. She w

Last large scale train show I was at I saw a long piece of abs plastic that was a "railer" for putting trains on the track. Looked like a nice idea, but I said to myself "self, the wheels are real big

Well, I, like many G scalers have been drooling over "big iron". I had a hard time trying to decide between 1:29 and the more pristine 1:32 1 scale. After looking at 1:32 offerings, which were primari

At the Queen Mary show, I visited the California & ORegon Coast Railway booth. http://www.cocry.com I was interested in switch machines that can take outdoor weather. The test loop outside my house ha

I met the people at Econobridge: http://www.econobridge.net (but seems the site is under construction) sales@... seems to work. A series of inexpensive bridges, basically custom built to your order. T

Found a pair of pliers cut out to reach over the railheads and tighten rail joiners, I think they were $10 or $15 at the show... http://www.modelrailroadtools.com ... $20 on the web site. Very neat. G

There was a question from a member on the audio output on the Soundtraxx Tsunami decoder scheduled for late summer. The audio output will be one full watt, and that will be at 8 ohms impedence. I thin

Well, maybe I'll use this as a blog... I had my landscaping updated at my house. The original landscaping was designed to accomodate a garden railroad, but there were still a few tweaks needed. I'll l

My intention is to have a small loop around the grass in the back yard. The part that is not the patio is a planter that varies from 2 to 4 feet in width. I went to the local Walter Andersen nursery (

I got my final approval from the homeowners association for my landscaping changes. First order of business, a simple loop around the back yard, sort of a square, one side is an s curve on the edge of

Welcome! We need to get this group on it's feet. I'm guessing you are a ham, and so am I! N6RGZ. I have a web site showing some of the progress on my garden railway. Go to www.elmassian.com. I'd also

I live in north coastal San Diego. Anyone know where to buy crusher fines? I've laid my track on some bark that is in my planter areas, and think I'll try to remove the bark under the track and put cr

I went to the model train expo at the Queen Mary last weekend. Pretty nice show, and it was dominated by G scale. There were a number of operating layouts, although none were G scale! Aristo had a sma

I've completed my new web site, incorporating all the original stuff, and have expanded the plants section, with many pictures. Comments are welcome. Greg

Anyone going? I'll be driving up one of the weekend days, and may have room for one or two people. I live just off 5 and poinsettia. Greg