In This Issue
Editor & Layout Design Carla Brand Breitner Web & Marketing Mick Spilsbury
Tips on How to Download
a PDF on Page 40
Click on Hamburger Icon on
webpage to bring up Menu
Magnify with
these icons
Send suggestions and questions regarding Garden Railroading News to:
Mick Spilsbury, Bay Area GRS at: marketing@GRNews.org
Carla Brand Breitner, Santa Clarita Valley GRC at: editor@GRNews.org
Bill Derville, Club Corner, Advertising, Rose City GRS at: advertising@GRNews.org
or www.facebook.com/groups/gardenrailroadingenews
Garden Railroading News Garden Railroading News
GRN
No. 26
Table of Contents & Contact Information Garden Railroading News Page 2
Pictures to enjoy; projects to attempt.
January/February 2025 • 2025 #1 •
GRNews
.org
Subscribe to the Garden Railroading News Channel on YouTube
hps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmuyDnk2QRy1e1Q1AMFXrJw
F
Printed GR News Available On Demand. Go to: www.blurb.com/user/GRNewsEditor
Specials
Featured Layout: The Wandering Railroad 9
•Jerry & Matt Abreu, Proprietors
by Jerry & Matt Abreu with intro by Mick Spilsbury
The Southeast Regional Get-Together 19
by Georgia Garden Railway Society
Loco of the Edition: Helena, a Versatile Charmer 24
by Bob Frein
Top Social Media Still & Video Posts of 2024 36
Mixed Consist Club Interchange
Whether to Weather or Not to Weather 15
by Lawrence Ginnow
Article from: Minnesota G-Scale Railway Station Newsletter December 2024
Product Review: PIKO's 25-Ton Diesel Locomotive 27
by Peter Drymalski
Article from: WA/VA/MD Garden Railway Society The WVM Line January 2025
Plant of the Month: Mountain Plum Pine 30
by Richard Murray
Article from: Bay Area Garden Railway Society Trellis & Trestle July 2019
Good-bye Spring Cleaning; 31
Hello April Railroad Opening
by Mick Spilsbury
Article from: Bay Area Garden Railway Society Trellis & Trestle February 2025
Regularly Scheduled
Seen On the Tracks: Photo Gallery 3
May We Suggest: New Products & News 4
Afliated Clubs listed at www.GRNews.org/ourclubs 7
Club Corner by Bill Derville 34
Straight from the Iron Horse's Mouth: Letters 40
Advertiser Index 40
Garden Railroading News Explainer 40
PDF Downloading
Cover Photo: A Piko Mogul leads a D&RGW passenger train through the Town of Crystal Creek
and past Gold Spike Park on Ken Brody’s Westie Line. The spike monument in the park
commemorates the nearby completion of the layout’s initial track loop in 1994.
• Proprietor/Photographer Ken Brody
All articles herein are copyright by their respective authors or club
newsletters and may not be republished without permission.
Seen On the Tracks GR News Original Content Garden Railroading News Page 3
Seen On the Tracks
3
Photo by Shawn Viggiano
Above: Gary Woolard's new Accucraft C-18 steams past the service yard at Jim Gabelich's "Wednesday Water
Boil" steamup. For this "tune-up" run, Gary borrowed Je Campbell's freight consist. • Palos Verdes, California
Below: On GR News social media, we are used to seeing locos powering through verdant or snowy scenes on
Shawn Viggiano’s Kittatinny Mountain Railroad, but here we are o the beaten path at his back country mill.
A steam donkey is loading milled logs onto a flat car while a sawdust pile smokes. • Wantage, New Jersey
Photo by Carla Brand Breitner
News & Notes GR News Original Content Garden Railroading News Page 4
Find Garden Railroading News Online
www.GRNews.org
facebook.com/groups/gardenrailroadingenews
facebook.com/groups/gardenrailroadingcommunity
instagram.com/GRNewsimages
youtube.com/channel/UCmuyDnk2QRy1e1Q1AMFXrJw
A Moment of Reection
Garden Railroading News would like to take a mo-
ment to console those who have lost homes to the
recent res in Los Angeles County or to past oods and
winds from tropical storms across the country. G-Scale
garden railroaders are always planning for weather
protection, but the scale of damage and destruction re-
cently is overwhelming. All scales of model railroaders
have been aected. Our thoughts go out to those who
have lost model train layouts and collections.
In this moment of loss, we would like to share the link
to a story of layout survival. Rob Caves lives in a house
along Christmas Tree Lane in Altadena, California.
Christmas Tree Lane, aka Santa Rosa Avenue, is lined
with cedar trees over a century old that are lit up
for visitors to celebrate the holidays. Rob welcomes
holiday visitors to a meandering train layout from his
garage throughout his backyard illustrating a journey
by rail from San Diego to Seattle. He and members of
the Christmas Tree Lane Model Railroad Society saved
his house and railroad during the Eaton Fire.
For a more complete story and photos, go to:
laist.com/news/climate-environment/he-built-a-massive-
train-set-in-his-altadena-backyard-and-returned-to-
protect-it-from-the-eaton-re
For information on the Christmas Tree Lane Model
Railroad Society, visit:
www.facebook.com/EasternCaliforniaRailroad
2025 National Garden Railway
Convention June 18 to 22, 2025
Register now for Early Bird Ticket Bundles to the 2025
Sacramento National Garden Railway Convention
scheduled from June 18 to 22, 2025.
For more information, go to: NGRC2025.org
A PIKO Switcher from the Cold
War Is Now in Private Service
A new German State Railroad shunting diesel from
PIKO will be arriving this March.
This PIKO model is of a
former V60 of the Deutsche
Reichsbahn, in use on the
SKL Schienen Komplex
Logistik rails in an attractive
paint scheme. The model
has two powerful Bühler motors, directional LED white/
red headlights and tail lights, and many separately ap-
plied parts and individual details, including a detailed
cab interior with driver gure. The model is smoke unit
ready and set up for sound retrotting with a PIKO
digital decoder and sound unit.
Following experience gained running the V60 in the
early 1960s, the DR improved their switcher design with
this V60.12, including a wider cab and cab roof, more
engine access doors, and a new headlight arrange-
ment. Over four hundred V60.12 were delivered to
the DR through 1969, and there were hardly any rail
yards in the DDR that did not have at least one V60.
The rugged and reliable V60 served on many industri-
al railroads and belt lines and was a popular export
unit. In the early 1990s, DR rebuilt 80 units with new
engines. These units were classied as BR344 with the
introduction of uniform operating numbers in 1992. The
BR105 and BR106 series became BR345 and BR346.
More information at: www.piko-america.com
For the latest catalog and new items brochure:
https://www.piko-america.com/pages/catalogs-brochures-and-yers
37594 SKL VI BR 345 Diesel Loco
Coming Soon in GR News:
Pete Thornton on an Approach to
Radio Control Installation
Our advertisers support the web and email costs of a
digital magazine. Please let our advertisers know you
appreciate their support for Garden Railroading News.
To advertise in Garden Railroading News, contact
Bill Derville at: advertising@GRNews.org
4
5
News & Notes GR News Original Content Garden Railroading News Page 5
LGB Plans Three Variations of a class C 3-Truck Shay
Lima Locomotive Works produced locomotives originally developed to haul logs in Michigan, using patents by
Ephraim Shay. The locomotive's tractive eort made the engine popular on logging and mining railroads through-
out North America. LGB will be delivering a high-end G-Scale version of the class C 3-Truck Shay in the third quar-
ter of 2025. The models come in three versions, one as originally delivered to the Madera Sugar Pine Railway in
1912, one as used on the West Side Lumber Co. Railroad until 1962, and one still operating on the Roaring Camp
& Big Trees Railroad pulling excursion trains today.
LGB has produced new tooling to build these high-end models which use metal construction with separately ap-
plied details. Locomotives come equipped with an mfx/DCC decoder, a built-in smoke generator, and extensive
light and sound functions. The smoke box door can be opened; re box reveals a ickering re.
L26703 MSP RR Shay Steam No.5, Era II
L46775 Log Transport Car
L26702 WSLC RR Shay Steam No.7, Era III
L26701 RC&BT RR Shay Steam No.7,
Era VI
The timing for a model (No.26701) of Roaring Camp's No.7
coincides with the upcoming return to service of No.7 after
a boiler rebuild last year. Jake Zarraonandia caught a
photo of the rebuilt boiler returning to Felton, California,
as he passed it (on the picturesque 3-cylinder side) on the
101 freeway in Los Angeles. When the rebuild is complete,
locomotive No.7 "Sonora" will pull tourists on a three-mile-
long trip in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. The class
C Shay from 1911 ran during its active forest railroad career
for various timber companies in California, sat on display
in a Sonora park, and ran resort excursions for the West
Side & Cherry Valley Railway before joining the Roaring
Camp & Big Trees in 1986.
LGB is also oering a model (No.26702)
of No.7 detailed for its working
career on West Side Lumber Compa-
ny rails in Tuolumne County, where it
worked alongside eight other Shays.
The West Side, the last narrow gauge
logging railroad in America, oper-
ated until 1962. The lack of a spark
arrestor on the stack is one of many
details that dierentiate this mid-20th
Century model from the present day
locomotive.
Photo by Jake Zarraonandia
Rebuilt boiler for "Sonora No. 7" on road back home.
Stepping back to the early 20th Century, LGB is mod-
eling Locomotive No.5 (No.26703), built in 1912 for the
Madera Sugar Pine Railroad in California. This class
C Shay was wood-red and had a massive Kobel
smokestack. The railroad was abandoned in 1931, and
Locomotive No.5 was sold for spare parts. Similar
three-truck Shays can still be admired under steam at
the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, a four-
mile-long tourist railroad formed in 1967 from a partial
line segment of the Madera Sugar Pine Railroad.
To complete your North American logging railroad,
LGB will be producing a log transport car with metal
solid wheelsets that comes loaded with an old-growth
log restrained by chains.
More information at:
LGB.com or email customerservice@marklin.com
Layout tours (including G-Scale),
clinics, excursions and more
happen from March 27 to 30,
2025 at the NMRA Pacic Coast Regional in San Luis
Obispo, California. Info at: pcr2025.org
Steam up on multiple tracks at Steam
Over Spencer at the North Carolina
Transportation Museum in Spencer,
North Carolina from March 6 to 8,
2025. Info at: www.nctransportationmuseum.org/
steam-over-spencer
The Staver Spring Steamup will be running live steam
G-Scale trains at Staver Locomotive in Portland, Ore-
gon, for four days from April 24 to 27, 2025.
Info at: staverlocomotive.com
News & Notes GR News Original Content Garden Railroading News Page 6
Print Copies of
Garden Railroading News
Are Available to Order
On Demand
Print a copy on demand: Go to:
www.blurb.com/user/GRNewsEditor
or
www.blurb.com/bookstore.
Use the magnifying glass to
search for "GRNews" to nd
(and order) all issues.
Magazines are perfect bound on
glossy paper printed to order.
$10.90 per issue plus shipping.
Order as a group if you belong to a
regularly meeting club and save on
shipping. (Blurb.com also oers dis-
counts regularly. Look for a coupon
code when you visit their website.)
6
Large Scale Train Shows & Events
Make plans to attend a train show, layout tours and/or
the 2025 National Garden Railway Convention.
The Sacramento Valley Garden Railway Society invites
everyone to the 2025 National Garden Rail-
way Convention in Sacramento, California.
Layout tours, clinics, vendor hall and more
will be happening from June 18 to 22, 2025.
Early registration is open now. More informa-
tion at: ngrc2025.org
The Tulsa Garden Railroad Club is planning a
2025 Midwest Garden Railroad Gather-
ing from June 4 to 7, 2025, around Tulsa,
Oklahoma. More information soon.
Georgia Garden Railway Society welcomes the
2025 National Big Train Operators Club
Convention based in Helen, Georgia. Con-
vention activities are being planned for July
13 to 18, 2025. Info at: bigtrainoperator.com
Regner Adds an American-style
0-4-0 to their Easy Line Models
For delivery starting in the second quarter of 2025,
Regner looks to an American design to expand their
live steam Easy Line models. Easy Line locomotives are
designed to be easily controlled and customizable.
Niklas is a generic 0-4-0
locomotive with a small
tender. While not a specif-
ic locomotive, Niklas cap-
tures the look and feel of
many early American pro-
totypes. With its optional
diamond smoke stack and
headlamp, you can fully
customize the model. It
comes with an undecorated, early wood-look cab and
a small 2-axle tender which is hollow for carrying any
radio control gear. The model features Regner's new
direct drive dual oscillating 10mm cylinders reversible
from the cab. Both the locomotive and the tender can
be re-gauged from 45mm to 32mm. A whistle kit and
R/C ttings kit are available if desired.
The Niklas is available for pre-order from The Train
Department at:
thetraindepartment.com/collections/regner-locomotives
The Train Department will be showing the Niklas at
Steam Over Spencer, a multi-track steamup held at the
North Carolina Transportation Museum from March 6
to 8, 2025. Info at:
www.nctransportationmuseum.org/steam-over-spencer
The Great Lakes Large Scale Train Expo
(formerly the North East Ohio Large Scale Train Show) spon-
sored by the Riverside Railroad Crew will be
in Girard, Ohio on May 9 and 10, 2025;
info at: www.greatlakestrainexpo.com
The 2025 Northeast Large Scale Train
Show sponsored by Amherst Railway Society
will be in West Springeld, Massachusetts,
on May 3 and 4, 2025. Info at: nelsts.org
Garden Railroading News will
be 5 Years Old in 2025
Happy New Year to our Readers & Followers,
Advertisers, Contributors, Club Community, and Regional Advisers
In Fall of 2020, the last issue of Garden Railways magazine was
published. Garden railroad clubs came together and conceived of
GR News, a free digital magazine for and by garden railroaders. Two
pilot issues were distributed to clubs across the United States and Can-
ada to share with their members. Since then, clubs around the world
have signed up to notify their members when issues are released.
From 2021 to 2024, twenty-four issues have been digitally published.
As we start 2025, 150 clubs in eight countries share the link to new
issues of GR News, 5 social media channels publicize new issues for
those who do not belong to clubs and showcase the railroads of our
readers, and Garden Railroading News has over 10,000 readers and
followers.
From the Engineers in the Cab, Carla Brand Breitner in
Southern California, Steve Cogswell in Oregon,
Bill Derville in Oregon, and Mick Spilsbury in Northern
California, we are thrilled that you all are on board.
Top Posts on GR News Social Media 2024 GR News Original Content Garden Railroading News Page 37
37
Miniature Plant
Expert & Author
creates gardens
for model trains!
LOCOLINC SERIES 200
Wireless Control Solutions
Automatic device discovery and
WiFi format make the new
Locolinc 200 Series the most user
friendly interface on the market.
•
WiFi format at 2.4 Ghz
•
Loco and Accessory Receivers
•
Track or battery voltage (12-24V dc)
•
Automatic device discovery: Loco &
Accessories
•
Superb NEW user interface 3”x 5”x 1”
•
Easy implementation & cost effective
•
Easy conversion for existing customers
•
Renown LOCOLINC quality &
reliability
Keithco, Inc
locolinc.com
(503) 635-7604
GR NEWS SOCIAL MEDIA - INSTAGRAM IMAGES
I
I
M
M
A
A
G
G
E
E
S
S
O
O
N
N
I
I
N
N
S
S
T
T
A
A
G
G
R
R
A
A
M
M
Although images receive fewer likes on average
than videos, some still garner many likes.
#
#
1
1
A set of images of the Mendocino Coast
G-Scale Model RR gathered 300 likes.
.
Videos of the RR were also popular on both
Instagram & YouTube.
#
#
2
2
A set of Front End Images, many by Jeff
Namba, received 267 likes.
Other sets of FE images were popular too!
#
#
3
3
Sets of images of Live Steaming were also
popular. One set received 155 likes.
Other sets got close that mark.
Images for our Instagram can be emailed to
marketing@GRNews.org
#
#
1
1
#
#
2
2
#
#
3
3
Top Posts on GR News Social Media 2024 GR News Original Content Garden Railroading News Page 38
38
GR NEWS SOCIAL MEDIA - INSTAGRAM VIDEOS
V
V
I
I
D
D
E
E
O
O
S
S
O
O
N
N
I
I
N
N
S
S
T
T
A
A
G
G
R
R
A
A
M
M
Videos tend to get more ‘likes’ than images.
#
#
1
1
This video was a very simple early spring run
on Mick Spilsbury’s RR (no buildings out) which
garnered 560 likes.
Perhaps a video posted in early March with no
snow/winter debris was just well-timed!
#
#
2
2
Even though John Cushman’s video of Bob
Dunlap’s RR was posted as a top post from 2023,
it attracted another 520 likes in 2024.
Given the setting and the amazing trestle, we
are not surprised.
#
#
3
3
A 1st video of Mick Spilsbury’s 50th wedding
anniversary train garnered 380 likes.
Fortunately, Mick’s wife, Liz, also liked the train
when it was revealed!
#
#
4
4
A 2nd video of the 50th wedding anniversary
train got another 252 likes.
Perhaps not a surprise that the % of likes from
women was higher than typical!
#
#
5
5
A video of 4 Front Ends in 16
6
seconds
received 170 likes.
Front Ends are always popular!
We would love other garden railroaders to share
short videos with us. The average length of
these 5 videos was 14 seconds.
YouTube is the place for longer videos.
Short videos for Instagram can be emailed to
marketing@GRNews.org
#
#
1
1
#
#
2
2
#
#
3
3
#
#
4
4
#
#
5
5
Top Posts on GR News Social Media 2024 GR News Original Content Garden Railroading News Page 39
39
GR NEWS SOCIAL MEDIA - FACEBOOK GROUPS
2
2
G
G
R
R
O
O
U
U
P
P
S
S
-
-
8
8
,
,
7
7
0
0
0
0
M
M
E
E
M
M
B
B
E
E
R
R
S
S
While we post regularly to our 2 Groups, they
are enriched by contributions from others.
Facebook Groups recognize
A
A
L
L
L
L
-
-
S
S
T
T
A
A
R
R
C
C
O
O
N
N
T
T
R
R
I
I
B
B
U
U
T
T
O
O
R
R
S
S
&
&
T
T
O
O
P
P
C
C
O
O
N
N
T
T
R
R
I
I
B
B
U
U
T
T
O
O
R
R
S
S
We recognize and thank ours here in the order
they posted in the last 3 months of 2024
.
Michael Senical
Ted Yarbrough
Keith Stratton
Kosala Wijerathna
Shawn Viggiano
Mike Barm
m
es
Timmy DeHan
Kevin Strong
Joel Pfrang
Jess Steven Hughes
Gary Devonshire
Vito Volp
p
e
Russel Courtenay
Lee Parker
Chuck Carlson
There are also many
R
R
I
I
S
S
I
I
N
N
G
G
C
C
O
O
N
N
T
T
R
R
I
I
B
B
U
U
T
T
O
O
R
R
S
S
.
We look forward to them joining the
members above in 2025.
F
F
E
E
A
A
T
T
U
U
R
R
E
E
D
D
P
P
O
O
P
P
U
U
L
L
A
A
R
R
I
I
M
M
A
A
G
G
E
E
S
S
Image A : Ted Yarbrough
Image B : Shawn Viggiano
Image C : Michael Senical
Image D : Kevin Strong
Image E : Jess Steven Hughes
A
B
E
C
D
Ad Index, Letters & Download Tips GR News Original Content Garden Railroading News Page 40
40
STRAIGHT FROM THE
IRON HORSE’S MOUTH
Letters to the Editor should be sent as e-mails only to Carla Brand Breitner at:
Editor@GRNews.org
Letters will then be addressed accordingly and/or passed on to the author for further edication. Unless
marked otherwise, letters to this publication are assumed to be submitted for print. Please include your name
and club aliation. Please note that we may not be able to print all letters, though we will try to respond to
them. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. We are unable to answer requests for information about
specic products or systems; these are best addressed to the appropriate manufacturer.
Letters
Ordering Hardcopy of
GR News Works
Very Well
Carla, I ordered a hardcopy of the
most recent GRN so that I could
have it with the pieces I wrote
for Steam in the Garden. Ordering
was simple and quick, price was
reasonable, shipping time was OK,
packaging was excellent and the
Glad to hear feedback on the print ver-
sion of Garden Railroading News. As a
matter of record and for quick reference,
I also order a printed copy of each issue.
It's good to hear that the print avail-
ability is appreciated. Instructions for
ordering can be found on page 6.
Yours, Carla Brand Breitner
Editor
Garden Railroading News
product quality was high—for paper,
binding and images. Also, very nice
that you arranged for the two pages
of the Wandering Welshman piece
[Garden Railroading News Nov/Dec
2024 #6] to be on facing pages!
Je Williams
Garden Railroading News Author
Consist of the Edition GRN 2024 #6
Livermore CA
Advertiser index
2025 NGRC Sacramento CA …… 18,35
4TrackRR …………………………………… 20
AML American Mainline/Live Steam Station ……… 8
Bachmann ………………………………… 27
Bridgewerks ………………………………… 7
Dallee Electronics ………………………… 17
GardenLines.net ………………………… 37
Garden Trains Annual …………………… 13
Gary Raymond Wheels ………………… 17
Great Lakes Train Expo ……………… 22
G Scale Graphics ……………………… 30
G Scale Society – UK …………………… 13
Hot Wire Foam Factory ……………… 36
J.S. Woodcrafts ………………………… 35
LGB America /Märklin …………………… 14
Live Steam Station/AML ………………… 8
Locolinc (Keithco Inc) ………………… 37
Model Decal Depot …………………… 35
Mostly GScale.com ……………………… 7
MyLocoSound …………………………… 30
Only Trains ………………………………… 25
PIKO America …………………………… 28
RailBoss …………………………………… 30
RCS of New England ………………… 35
Reindeer Pass …………………………… 20
RLD Hobbies ……………………………… 33
Shawmut Car Shops …………………… 22
Split Jaw Products/RailClamp.com 23
Sunset Valley Railroad …………………… 17
Train Installations ……………………… 32
Train World ……………………………… 29
Trainz.com …………………………………… 16
Valley Train Station ……………………… 17
White River Productions ………………… 13
Photos Welcome for
Seen on the Tracks
A G Scale Realistic Scene Photo Gallery
Please send uncompressed photo (with caption information
describing the scene, rolling stock, railroad name &
proprietors, location, and photographer’s credit) to:
Editor@GRNews.org
Photos may also appear on the GRNews website and social media.
How to Download
Garden Railroading
News
GR News is a PDF doc-
ument meant to be read in
Acrobat Reader. It can be read
in many browsers, but is best
inside Acrobat Reader where
you can control more display
options and jump around
throughout the magazine. All
browsers have a download
option, but the icons can vary.
Look for an arrow pointing
down and try clicking on it; then
choose “Save File” and a loca-
tion on your device. Some icon
examples are shown here.
Look for the arrow.
Download Back
Issues of Garden
Railroading News
with the Archive Tab
at www.GRNews.org
Direct download web addresses
changed in 10/2022.