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4 minute informational video
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 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. | |
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 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. | |
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 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. | |
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 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. | |
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 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. | |
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 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. | |
Geran Miller: I have several live steam engines from the Ruby to a Roundhouse SR&RL and several I have built from kits or from scratch. I also run track power and battery power. My Ruby runs ok but you get what you pay for, my Roundhouse Millie is a much better runner and requires less upkeep. Try live steam if you get the chance, it is really something to watch, it's almost live the engine is alive.
Mike Evans: I've watched the Ruby on some demo layouts at shows and noticed it is hard to control and has limited pulling capacity. However, the little Shay I saw run looked to be very reliable and powerful but was a little over my price range. I am also concerned about depositing so much steam oil on my rails - how difficult would it be to clean it off to run conventionally powered trains or even battery operated? Also concerned about how to radio control the live steamer.
John Fuller: I have battery, R/C electrics that I started with and still run from time-to-time. There is just something about the working mechanics of a Live Steamer. The sound of the chuffs, the steam from the stack, the live steam whistle making everyone’s head turn. Live steamers come to life and it is a whole different experience!
Chris Wolcott: Just as some folks like steam era and some like diesel, some like battery and others like track power, Live Steam is not for every one. I got into it because I was spending $900+/- on LGB steam engines and the Ruby came out for half that. I thought I'd try the real thing thinking I could always sell it if I didn't like it. For me, I like the mechanical aspect of it. The constant tinkering and hands-on requirements is what draws me to it. I have R/C'd my Ruby, and plan to R/C my Americanized Lady Anne and Accucraft C-21 when I can.
Important Topics
Bridges
Buildings
Couplers
Getting Started
Grades
How Garden Trains Work
Live Steam
Wheels
Robert Grimsley: I use metal wheels because of the added weight, the sound, and it just makes them look nicer. It seems that I don't have to clean the track as often and that is a plus. I bought Bachmann wheels to start but soon started to replace with Aristo. Some packages of Bachmann had "Chips and pits" in the flanges and that was when I changed over to Aristo. Give me "Metal Wheels" anytime.
John Heath: I've been switching to metal wheels lately and found they track better than plastic. On a tight S curve into a switch I was getting a derailment almost every time the train got to that point. Not so with metal wheels though. They also look better when colored with a brown marking pen.
Richard Alan: Railroading outdoors with garden trains requires a better quality wheel to withstand the elements like the extremely hot rails that I have seen melt plastic wheels in the Texas sun. The noise a metal wheel produces, is like having a free sound system in ever car.
Mike Evans: Metal wheels are extremely easy to install. I found several plastic wheels were out of round. Zero derailments is a plus and no residue on the track when the rail gets hot in the sun. Many cars roll better with the heavier weight that metal wheels provide.
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.