Hi all,
are HO garden railways a practical proposition ?
I've been wanting to build one ever since that Mark Found programme on satellite TV. Problem is, I only have a small area to work with and a larger scale is out.
Another thing that puzzles me is, how do they stop the tracks going rusty?
Dave
On 17/04/2005 15:45, DS wrote,
That bit's easy - use nickel-silver rail!
No, HO stuff being foreign isn't used to the rain and dismal weather in these isles. OO however is practical! :-))
Use nickel-silver track instead of steel.
Mark Thornton
Thanks for the plug, Mark.
Very occasionally I run some HO stock on the layout, after all, having bought that Milwaukee Road Boxcab I ought to do something with it instead of leaving it hidden in the box it came in. I need to convert it to DCC somehow. Does anyone do a sound chip for it? I wonder what it would like on the head of a 250-wagon train :-)
Nickel silver gets a kind of deposit on it, that is not conducive to electrical conductivity. However, I bought a stock of those wonderful track cleaners from the Double-O gauge association (shameless plug! - website at
In message , DS writes
Very much so, I'm involved with a large Swedish-outline garden railway in HO scale (more info at
As others have said, nickel-silver rail. In fact, the rails will acquire an authentic appearance very quickly, as the sides will become dirtied up whilst going over the rail tops with a track rubber will keep them nice and clean. What you do have to watch for is plastic sleepers that are damaged by sunlight. PECO wood-effect sleepers seem to be fine, but we've had problems with the concrete-effect ones becoming brittle before.
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Ask the community — no account required