All aboard to meet the LSOL.com Review Crew - the time-tested experts who keep you on track with all the latest news, reviews and how-tos you need for living large-scale.

 
Jon DeKeles
Editor in Chief
He may seem like big bad Jon, but that's because he's a man of steel - born with trains and technology in his blood. No surprise he engineered the gene splice that gave birth to LSOL.com.

 
JD Miller
Reviews Editor
The original tinkerer, JD took apart his first watch in 4th grade and now he's having the time of his life taking apart trains to show you what's inside.

 
Rick Henderson
Associate Editor
Rick has more model train experience than Jon has years. He's LSOL.com's jack-of-all-trades from almost day one. He's reviewed, sold retail, and built trains, too. He's not grumpy, just focused.

 
Noel Widdifield
Managing Editor
Since he's a card-carrying member of the NMRA and TCA, we all yield right-of-way to Noel's expertise when it comes to model railroading.

 
David Bodnar
Electronics Editor
When you're ready to 'Bodnarize' your railroad, David's the guy who puts the pedal to the metal. Our resident power ranger is all about automation and remote control.

 
Jo Anne
Sales Manager
What's a nice lady like her, doing with a crew like this? Joanne is the grand dame of discounts. Better yet, she'll keep your large-scale spending on the QT from spousal units if you ask politely.


Future of Large Scale: Youth?

Larry Mosher: My son and I started in garden trains 17 years ago when he was 7 with a starter set and added to it each year. We finally got to the point where we moved it outdoors. And for a few years he'd be out there with "He Man" and "Skelator" making them jump off of the bridges and trains. He finally lost interest when he got into High School so I was "forced" to take over. His first child should "arrive" in 2 weeks and it might just start all over again.

Tom Smith: We see thousands of kids and young families get excited over the garden trains and many take home a club membership form never to be heard from again. We need to do some follow up with the ones excited enough to want to take an application with them. The cost and size of the gaden trains hobby can be prohibitive to many. It is my thinking that a personal call and invitation to a meeting or our own layout might give the opportunity to get a better look and feel of what we do. It would also give a better chance to really talk over what is involved in getting started with Garden Trains.

Rick Henderson: I think many a child that is exposed to garden trains at a young age has a great chance to return to his roots after he has experienced other pursuits in life. I started with my dad at the age of seven on weekends. For about 10 years I was deeply interested in the trains but as a military family we moved often and I was starting over often. This background interest in trains kept me returning to the hobby in various scales through the years when I may have been sidetracked by necessities like women and work. But I always came back to trains because of the exposure I had as a child. Now after fifty years in the hobby of model railroading, I can’t think of another hobby I would have enjoyed more. My hope now is that my daughters give me grandsons that I may encourage to take the right track, not to mention inherited my garden trains.

John Damkier: I agree that children should be exposed and encouraged to play with trains. I do not think that large-scale is required. In fact, HO or N is better as the kid can start out with a smaller layout that the parent can afford in cost and space. This stuff is just too big for most people and parents are not going to turn their yard over to their child. Start them small, they will migrate to G when they are older.


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Important Topics


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Getting Started

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How Garden Trains Work

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Wheels

Who Makes the Best Garden Trains?

Jack Burns: After much internet searching, questioning those with experience and looking in to all the best possibilities for a newcomer to start out, I have come to the conclusion that AristoCraft has the best stainless track and economical rail equipment. Most companies have some good features but I find them not quite as good as AristoCraft overall. The fact that AristoCraft has, what appears to be very competitive prices, also influenced my choice. I will be starting out with a complete AristoCraft layout and equipment for my garden trains.

Mike Evans: It's hard to single out only one manufacturer for best products, price, etc. Certainly LGB maintains the lead in overall quality. But I own several Bachmann locomotives and am pleased with both their detail and low cost. For track and control components, AristoCraft can't be beat. Garden trains may soon rival HO for variety and the numerous small firms getting into the more specialized areas. There are also many links out there to a lot of information, particularly LSOL with their weekly informative articles.

John Pletcher: I have garden trains from Bachmann, USA Trains and AristoCraft. As of yet I have not had to call customer service for anything as all has worked beautifully. It is really nice to see a ever expanding product offerings with great detail. As far as picking a best manufacturer of the year, that is tough since each garden trains manufacturer is tops in their prospective product nitches. One thing for sure, with all the wonderful offerings, it will give the large-scale railroad community more ammunition to attract more people into the hobby.

Jon D. Miller: Since I model in narrow gauge, Bachmann gets my vote for the best garden trains. The attention to detail on their Spectrum line is without equal. Dollar for dollar when comparing detail and fidelity to a prototype then Bachmann is great value for out of pocket cost.



Garden Railroad Builder's Logs
There is no better way to share your railroad than with a GRBLOGS. Garden Railroad Builder's Logs is a new blog service of LSOL.com. You can post information in an easy-to-use blog format as often as you like to keep people updated on the developments of your Garden Railroad. Keep your projects organized online in individual projects and show your photos, videos and more online for the whole world to see. Plus you can read other blogs and comment on all the exciting GRBLOGS that others have posted at the site.

Come see the first, the original and the best web blog dedicated to Garden Railroads. Remember: Some people talk about what they are going to do, and others actually do it. Come show people what you have done.

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