BACKYARD BOXCARS: Railroad enthusiasts transform gardens into miniature cities

If you happen to hear a train whistle coming from your neighbor's back yard, don't be too alarmed. It could be your neighbor is one of thousands of garden railway enthusiasts nationwide.

Tucked among the plants are scaled replicas of steam and diesel engines pulling their loads across layouts that meander through miniature cities and rocky mountains.

Garden railroading is not a new hobby. According to Herb, a member of Las Vegas Garden Railway Society, the railroads have been around since the early 1900s, although they were primarily the domain of wealthy Europeans and Americans.

Garden railroading waned in popularity during the Depression years, when models became smaller and moved indoors. The hobby started its comeback in 1968, when Ernst Paul Lehmann Patentwerk's, a German toy-making company, introduced its LGB G-scale line, which standardized track rail spacing and featured models that could be operated outdoors.

The layouts feature residences, hotels, restaurants, churches, businesses, mines, lumber mills, parks, rivers and lakes, and, of course, train depots. In fact, the models are often so realistic they are used to film movies' train wreck sequences, according to society member Tom.

And while trains and buildings from all eras are available, most layouts hail from railroad's golden era and feature a western theme, according to Bob, president of the Las Vegas club.

The hobbyists said the costs of creating a model layout vary according to how simple or detailed a person wants to get. Track, which is primarily laid on gravel beds using the same method as real railroads, costs about $3 a foot. Building kits average around $70.

By far the most expensive items are the trains themselves. Engines cost between $200 and $1,000, while rolling stock cars are priced around $100. Things such as lights, sounds, smoke systems and metal wheels are usually extra and generally installed by the hobbyists.

Starter train kits with an engine, a car or two, some track and a power supply, are priced from around $150.

The trains operate on a 12-volt electrical system, the same as outdoor landscape lighting, Tom said.

The Las Vegas Garden Railroad Society meets monthly. Activities include outings to members' homes to see their layouts and run trains; installing and operating modular railroads at various locations in the city in December; and attending train shows. About 90 families are members.

Members are setting the wheels in motion for the 2007 National Garden Railroad Convention, which they are hosting.LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL AND SUN ¥ SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2003
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