Windy Point
Garden Railroads
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The Railroad as a Garden Feature
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After 35 years as an HO/Hon3 model railroader in the garage, Steve had not worked on his layout for a
few years because of work-related traveling and other more pressing priorities.
Betty decided that she wanted to finally be able to park her car in the garage after 35 years of not
being able to do so.
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So Steve traded the garage for the backyard, with one mandate from Betty:
"I don't care what you do, I just don't want to have to see it."
That led to one of the main goals of the railroad's design: to 'hide' the trains by
thoroughly integrating them into the landscaping as a unique garden feature.
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Photo by Steve Blackson |
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The Original Backyard
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| The backyard and pool area before construction. |
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Steve and Betty have a swimming pool that is about 1-ft higher than the patio level on the side nearest
their house.
When the pool was originally built, dirt on the far side of the pool was just pushed up into a hill that,
over time, began to erode away from the pool.
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It was decided that a 4-ft tall retaining wall was needed to be built about half the way around the pool.
They also wanted the retaining wall to encompass some additional lawn area where they could add
new flower beds around the pool.
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Photo by Steve Blackson |
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After the Retaining Walls were Constructed
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| The backyard and pool area after the first retaining walls were built. |
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Steve thought a 4-ft high wall by itself would be a bit overwhelming for their landscaping,
and saw the opportunity to build a second retaining wall that was half the height (2-ft),
against the larger wall.
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Also, the grade of their yard runs downhill from west-to-east at a pretty moderate angle,
so in order for both walls to be level, their actual heights graduated from ground-level,
up to their maximums of 2-ft or 4-ft, as the grade fell away.
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The only hint of the railroad is a track cut across the pool area steps.
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Photo by Jay Harvey |
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The Track Across the Steps
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Photo by Steve Blackson |
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The Second Retaining Wall
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The second phase of construction was another, longer, retaining wall that was built on the west side
of the pool to encircle a large Live Oak tree.
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The area in the foreground will become Fredericksburg.
Luckenbach will be next to, and Stonewall will be in front of, the tree.
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Photo by Steve Blackson |
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The railroad as viewed from the patio.
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While 'officially' the lower retaining wall and the long second one around the tree are
raised flower beds, they are also the home of the Cypress Canyon Railroad.
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The main thing to notice is what you don't see: the railroad!
If you are on the house side of the layout, or more than 10-feet away on the backside,
a person viewing it can only see raised flower beds as a beautiful garden feature.
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Photo by Jay Harvey |
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Wide curves with view blocks
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| Shay #2 turning the corner out of Llano. |
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The railroad itself features multiple view blocks within the garden.
Not only can the railroad not be seen in its entirety at one time because its size,
it also looks different from every angle it is viewed.
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Photo by Jay Harvey |
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Rolling through the Garden
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| Bill Tipton's K-28 #420 approaching Johnson City. |
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[Note: The photo above was on the cover of the August, 2010 edition of 'Garden Railways'.]
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Photo by Jay Harvey |
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Rolling through the Garden
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| #178 coming off the trestle and approaching Johnson City. |
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Since the trackplan is actually a long series of very wide and winding curves (LGB 18000, R5 radius),
the trains continually appear to curve to, or away from, the viewer.
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Photo by Jay Harvey |
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Heading Up the Branch Line
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| CCRR #178 crossing the steps between Spicewood and Dripping Springs as it heads up the branch line. |
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This makes the layout seem even larger than it is, as the trains always look like they are coming from,
or going to, somewhere distant.
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