WELCOME TO THE DAWG PAW LINES

Construction on The Dawg Paw Lines began in the late summer of 2004 with the installation of retaining walls and fabrication of a sub-roadbed. The first thing that became apparent is the tremendous amount of physical labor associated with building a garden railroad. I was somewhat weary of how much dirt I would need to wheelbarrow into the backyard in order to give some variation in terrain to my railroad. This, plus all the digging, moving, planting, shoveling, and lifting involved suddenly made the idea of building a garden railway a little less exciting.

I thought it best to start The Dawg Paw Lines by first constructing a sub-roadbed so the rails could ride on a more secure foundation. All of the 'getting started' garden railroad articles written seemed to recommend using the floating track method. However, the last thing I wanted was to have my railroad look like a roller coaster, so I next tried to think of ways to construct a sub-roadbed. Of course this brought on more indecision on my part. What material could I use to construct the sub-roadbed? Wood would rot. Even treated lumber would eventually rot. Using metal was out of the question. Besides being too expensive, I know absolutely nothing about welding.

By this time, most of the good building weather for 2004 had past, however I stumbled upon some plastic decking material that seemed the perfect material for making my sub-roadbed. It took awhile to rip, cut, and assemble the roadbed, but with the help of a fellow Pacific Crossings member, the first sections of sub-roadbed were installed in September, 2004. So, despite my procrastination and fear, the Dawg Paw Lines officially started to take shape.

Surgery curtailed any additional construction until the spring of 2005 when 20 cubic yards of dirt was placed in the backyard thanks to the help of several members of the club. Two wooden trestle bridges were made and installed, and two aluminum Truss bridges were constructed and powder coated. About 100 trees and numerous plugs of groundcover were planted during the summer of 2005. Track laying will have to wait until the spring of 2006 when I hope to have my first train running shortly thereafter.

The Dawg Paw Lines will hopefully have 270 feet of track including a passing siding and an industrial yard. A good portion of the railroad will be elevated, and the motive power will be battery powered radio control.

To me, one of the most extraordinary aspects of any garden railroad is the scenery. I just love to look at the visual nexus between the trains and the surrounding landscaping. To this end, the Dawg Paw Lines will incorporate a minimum amount of structures; just enough to warrant industrial sidings. Most of the railroad will be composed of miniature trees, groundcover, and other scale vegetation.

It is now the fall of 2005. It's been a lot of hard work coupled with some sleepless nights. I've made countless mistakes and will probably make many more. Right now, it doesn't appear that The Dawg Paw Lines will ever become a showcase railroad, but it is hoped that once the groundcover fills in it will become respectable.

I now know why HO is such a popular scale.