All aboard to meet the LSOL.com Review Crew - the time-tested experts who keep you on track with all the latest news, reviews and how-tos you need for living large-scale.

 
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.

 
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.

 
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.

 
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.

 
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.

 
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.


What Kind of Buildings can I use on my Garden Railroad?

David Clapper: My buildings, plastic kits, have been outdoors continuously for at least 12 years in my Garden Railroad. The colors have faded a bit and one roof was cracked by a falling tree limb two winter's ago. Otherwise, they're just fine. The Victorian Station by AristoCraft is the oldest and is surviving very well.

John Damkier: Most of my structures are plastic but I do have some wood buildings also. Most are lit with 12v bulbs tied into my Malibu light system. Most of the garden train buildings are heavy enough that they don't blow away. I glued the buildings (that are prone to blowing away) to floor tiles to keep them down.

Gary Lane: I have left buildings out all winter only to regret it spring time. Glues come undone on plastic. Small parts break with the building standing still. Mostly the amount of mud and dirt and bugs to remove is what motivates me to move the buildings into the unheated garage or under the covered deck for the winter.

Bill Waddell: Most of my buildings are made from kits (Pola or Piko) however, all have added detail which makes each more like a creation of my own. It could be a kit bash, color change, store bought details items or ones I hand made. Likewise, lighting is always added for interest at dusk or nighttime. It is be added to platforms, outside work areas as well as the interior of buildings. This allows more detail to be seen inside these buildings and something as little as a porch light makes the town come alive. It should be said however, that highly detailed buildings do require greater care and storage during certain seasons or when bad weather becomes a concern. For this I made boxes to size and bubble wrap.


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Important Topics


Bridges

Buildings

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Getting Started

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How Garden Trains Work

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Wheels

How Important are Kadee Couplers?

Wesley Drummond: I use Kadee’s exclusively! I guess its a hold-over from my HO days but I really never found a coupler that I liked better, that worked better and was so reliable day after operating day. Also, I appreciate the effort that Kadee goes to, to insure that we in the hobby have info to help us make the coupler selection and even the modifications necessary to retro fit them to a particular piece of garden train equipment.

Bud Steinhoff: I use Aristo knuckle couplers on all my various brand 135 cars and 25 engines. I started with the Aristo coupler and stayed with them because to me they are reliable and inexpensive for my garden trains, especially that the Aristo equipment come with that coupler. I modify the couplers so they do not look so clumsy. Kadee's are great, but expensive and even if I wanted to change, it is too late now and I am satisfied with what I have.

James Scofield: I use Kadee's as a holdover from HO. I like to operate and there is nothing better than the knuckle coupler with delayed coupler action. The delayed action is great in Garden Trains and eliminates a lot of uncoupler magnets on every track. Kadee is also very helpful in answering questions when I have had a problem in the past with installation. They have always been the premiere coupler for many, many years.

Walter C. Bringsauf: Granted, KD couplers are a bit more expensive then other Garden Train couplers, but the reliability and ease of use more than makes up for the higher price. Also the wide variety of shanks offered by Kadee makes it easy to custom fit any type car or Loco. I have used Kadee's since they first came out in HO and have never considered using any other coupler, and I have used quite a few in the past 50 years.



Garden Railroad Builder's Logs
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.

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