Resources

We are always on that search through the forest of products that will help us with our hobbies. ​​To make a task easier or lower costs are just couple things at the top of our search list. Maybe something here will help you on your quest.

Power

Locomotive Power

Tenergy Li-ion 14.8V rechargeable Batteries are used and installed into the tenders or in a battery car that trails behind. We use Tenergy smart chargers.Tenergy Website: WWW.Tenergy.com.

Switch Machines

LGB Switch Machines are used through our railroad. LGB has turned out to be the best for outside. They need good 12 - 24Vdc. After many years of using transformers, train power packs and gel cells we have moved on to a more reliable and dependable power source. Looking for a 12 - 24Vdc source I found on EBAY a DC 12v 5a Regulated Power Supply for $6.59. Our yard and RR is over 100 feet wide, so power is needed to cover that distance. With 5 amps available this little power supply is doing the job.

Radio Control

Air Wire
There are two types of new throttles available. The T5000-PRO and the T1300-OPS. The T5000-PRO is used to both program and operate trains and accessories. The T1300-OPS is used to just operate the trains and accessories - it doesn't program decoders. Naturally, all of their current throttles work alongside their legacy wireless throttles like the RF1300 and the T9000. T9000 is used on the Moccasin Gap RR. This is only the throttle. You still need the decoders to operate the trains. http://cvpusa.com/

Sound

Phoenix
Train sound is fun for us, and we add it to the loco's when ($$$) we can afford it. It sure makes train operations so much more fun. The first choice is Phoenix. With the AirWire throttles it works perfectaly.
Web: WWW.Phoenixsound.com.
Tsunami by SoundTraxx
There is a couple of these installed in our locos. They have worked fine with the air wire throttle. The ones we have are only 1 amp ... They do make good sounds and are easy to use. Web: https://soundtraxx.com.
My Loco Sound
This is MyLocoSound's fourth generation of low-cost sound cards for large scale railways. The latest version, recognizable by its black circuit board, is now available. We are trying out a couple of these. Web: mylocosound.com

Track Planning

This software is used to design and develop our railroad empire in our backyard. It is not hard to use and it has a lot of extra features available. It has all the G scale things we need for this task.
RR-TRACK
RR-Track v5.3 offers in-place object drawing capability as well as scenery items in addition to the multiple accessory libraries to save you the headache of drawing each of those saw mills and coal loaders yourself. Using the integrated Terrain View, you can create realistic terrain and layout benches which you can then visualize from any orientation using the integrated 3D View. Finally, you can test your dream creation in action by running trains in the integrated Simulation View. Compatible with Windows. Web: http://www.rrtrack.com

JMRI Model Railroad Opperations

If you want to run your RR like a real railroador just keep track of your equipment this is a great FREE resource.
The JMRI Operations program allows you to create computer generated train Manifests for your railroad. A train Manifest details the work that a crew will perform during an operations session. The Manifest provides a list of car pick up and set outs and shows where the cars are located and where they should be eventually positioned on the railroad. The program allows you to enter a roster of cars and locomotives, define locations (stations) on the railroad, and routes for trains to travel. The car roster includes information about the car, including road, number, type of car, color, length, weight, load, date built, and owner. Trains are assigned routes that define locations or stations where cars can be picked up or set out. Features include the ability to control what car types, roads, and car loads a location or industry can service, the available track space for a location, and the maximum length the train can be between any two locations in the train's route.Locations can have spurs, yards, staging and classification/interchange tracks. Spurs are used to service industries, and can optionally have schedules assigned to them which allows for very fine and realistic control over car movement and loads. Trains can be configured to require a caboose or car with Flashing Rear End Device (FRED). The program generates Manifests for each train and switch lists for any location. A switch list for a location shows the work for all of the trains that will visit that location. The program can also place icons representing trains on a JMRI panel. The icon can be taught to move in the panel along with the train from location to location.
OperationsPro™ is included in the JMRI suite of tools and can be found under the main menu heading "Tools->Operations".
https://www.jmri.org/

Tools

Rush-Eraser
This little brush thing is used to clean contacts on electric stuff. It is used a lot. An example is the contacts on the edge of a PC board. I have had 2 of these since 1980, and I even have spare brush inserts for them. I googled them and found them at The Eraser Company. This is a wholesale co. So more searching is needed for more affordable eraser.
Model # E111/C P/N AA0020
www.Eraser.com
Spring Clamps at Harbor Freight
These little spring clamps get used on most of our projects. https://www.harborfreight.com
Spring clamps at Wolfcraft
I found this set from WOLFCRAFT 6-Piece Hobby Spring Needle-Nose and Ratchet Clamp Set. The set included 2 Ratchet Clamps, 2 Needle Nose Clamps, and 2 3/4" Micro Spring Clamps. Zoro #: G7147044Mfr #: 3454404
https://www.zoro.com/

Plans

Our buildings are all redrawn and rr scaled from the purchased plans. Using CorelDraw I can then send my version of the drawings to our Laser Engraver to be cut out.
VCLCo.com
Jack L. Winegar, is the owner creater of this site. His drawings are available for purchase. I have his Saw Mill and the Turntable drawings. They are used for our railroad. He has a many RR items of interest for all model railroaders.
Brewerplans.com
We have purchased and used many of the plans available from this site. The Los Gatos South Pacific Coast station we made is featured on his web site.

Links

Searching as we all do for information on the web we find some real treasures. Here are some of the ones we found worth sharing.
You Tube Larry
There is this guy Larry on You Tube. He is Crazy, and he will tell you that, but he puts out a lot of information and demonstrations about the creation of his G scale train layout. Not everything applies but there is a lot worth checking out. There is over 100 short project videos to see. https://www.youtube.com/user/muss1951/featured
Garden Railroad Clubs.
SJVGRS The San Joaquin Valley Garden Railway Society. This club has about 35 families with Garden Railroads. They have monthly meetings at members homes with a potluck meal and a railroad tour event. We joined this club in 2019. Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/SJValleyGardenRailwaySociey
Newsletters
GR News
In 2020 we lost the Garden Railways Magazine. GR NEWS has been created for all of us Garden Railroaders it is a newsletter. The first issue is located here: https://www.grnews.org/get Over 100 GR clubs (and growing) in the US, Canada and overseas have agreed to contribute to GR news. www.GRNews.org. There is more GR news on the Facebook Group at: www.facebook.com/groups/gardenrailroadingenews. GR news is a volunteer initiative, started late 2020. Modest operating costs will be covered by modest advertising rates as our vendors are critical to our hobby’s future.
Family Garden Trains
The link goes to the Family Garden Trains index page. https://familygardentrains.com/forums/index.php There is a lot of information passed on from this site. He produces a newsletter a few times a year, and you can subscribe to it and get all the updates.