Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Shameless Plug - Garden Railways

I got bored and a little frustrated with Classic Toy Trains so I started looking at other magazines that Kalmbach owns and elsewhere.

O Gauge Model Railroader is an excellent magazine, no doubt, however I do prefer heavier and larger trains. This drew me to Garden Railways. I do have a few MTH and Bachmann G gauge items (Hudson, Big Boy, hand cars, etc). and I do enjoy garden railways when I see them.

Withouth blathering on too much, I am very glad I subscribed to this magazine. It's a vast departure from other Kalmbach magazines in that it doesn't adhere to a formula that essentially makes it look and feel the same way every time.

I really enjoyed Marc Horovitz's editorial this month, quite frankly it was beautifully written and actually got me to think about the topic Marc intended. It was a very well done piece that I had to read twice because I liked the message and the writing.

What does this have to do with standard gauge trains? Well, G gauge is a bit larger and different than standard gauge. From what I've seen from this magazine, G gaugers really love to modify and scratch build in all facets of the hobby. There are tons of great ideas in these pages and I do really enjoy the large trains offered up in gorgeous backyard and garden layouts.

One thing I also really like is that G gaugers are very international, they are really where ever there is enough real estate to merit a large backyard layout. I really enjoy seeing different trains from different manufacturers from around the globe. They all are reviewed and there is wonderful information about how they fit into the G Gauge ecosystem. There also seems to be many more means for command and control in G gauge and with different approaches depending on manufacturer and locale.

The running water, live plants and very wide curves really offer a different experience than standard gauge. All told, this is one magazine I am very glad to have found. It delivers on multiple levels. Check it out here.

Marc

1 comment:

Brian O. said...

Hi Marc,

I have to agree. I chanced on a few copies of Garden Railways a few years back and it was a real breath of fresh air. The scratchbuilding articles remind me of Model Railroader back in the 1930s and 40s. I'd love to see more of this in Standard Gauge but, time and ability aside, most people prefer to leave their tinplate as-is. Maybe the stamped metal and heavy enamel finishes are too intimidating (or beautiful) to alter.