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View Full Version : Disneyland landscaping and Railroad help



ScottDisneyFan
01-12-2007, 06:36 AM
Hello everyone,

I am purchasing a house and am planning on doing my backyard flower beds as sort of a Disneyland tribute.

Do you know anyone that has tried this? I will be installing a robust model of the Sleeping Beauty Castle and possibly other attractions...

Do you know anyone that has done any Disneyland style landscaping on their personal property? Any thoughts? Opinions?

Also, I am building an indoor model railroad and would love to get my hand on a Disneyland RR model. Is there one that any of you know of?

I appreciate your help. I was surprised that my better half has no problem with me putting a Disneyland model RR in our living room. I figure I should take advantage of it while I can!

rokketride
01-12-2007, 07:42 AM
You might want to poke around at this forum:
http://burnsland.com/disneyrailroads/

There you will find the most knowledgeable bunch of DLRR fans around. Many have built garden railroads as well as custom made models of main street and attractions.

ScottDisneyFan
01-12-2007, 07:43 AM
You might want to poke around at this forum:
http://burnsland.com/disneyrailroads/

There you will find the most knowledgeable bunch of DLRR fans around. Many have built garden railroads as well as custom made models of main street and attractions.

Thank you very much!

julw
01-12-2007, 07:52 AM
Not Disneyland landscaping, but my BIL & SIL have a train garden in their backyard. It is one of the coolest things I have ever seen and when they first told me they were putting in a train garden I was like huh??

It is basically a working model train that weaves through beautiful landscape, with rocks, some water, small sized greens and flowers etc. My BIL has also built really elaborate trellas (sp?) type wooden bridges. As you can imagine their house is the "cool" house for the kids even though it is a "look don't touch" train.

Good luck with your plans!

raediance
01-12-2007, 08:19 AM
Wow. That is so rad! Take pictures if you get it done!! x)

Bytebear
01-12-2007, 08:37 AM
We bought a model railroad set from World of Disney at Disneyland but the N scale was too small to play with. It would be ok for an intricate and delicate layout but we found it practically imposible to couple the tiny cars together. I assume you are going to use G scale for your garden because its the "G"arden scale. I have seen monorails at this scale, but not Disneyland trains.

If you can't find a model, I will sell you mine.

ScottDisneyFan
01-12-2007, 08:46 AM
Not Disneyland landscaping, but my BIL & SIL have a train garden in their backyard. It is one of the coolest things I have ever seen and when they first told me they were putting in a train garden I was like huh??

It is basically a working model train that weaves through beautiful landscape, with rocks, some water, small sized greens and flowers etc. My BIL has also built really elaborate trellas (sp?) type wooden bridges. As you can imagine their house is the "cool" house for the kids even though it is a "look don't touch" train.

Good luck with your plans!

Do you have any pictures? I would love to see!

Do you know what challenges they faced placing a train outside?

ScottDisneyFan
01-12-2007, 08:47 AM
We bought a model railroad set from World of Disney at Disneyland but the N scale was too small to play with. It would be ok for an intricate and delicate layout but we found it practically imposible to couple the tiny cars together. I assume you are going to use G scale for your garden because its the "G"arden scale. I have seen monorails at this scale, but not Disneyland trains.

If you can't find a model, I will sell you mine.

Where have you seen monorails? I am interested in installing a monorail somewhere on property too!

Bytebear
01-12-2007, 09:20 AM
Do you know what challenges they faced placing a train outside?

The G scale trains are specifically designed for indoor/outdoor use. They are a large scale and easy to work with too. It also makes it easier to size real plants to the scale rather than a smaller train where even a tiny bush will look like a mountain. I woud definitely go G.

I also saw Monorails at WOD but they were more of a toy. Find a good hobby shop and they can help you find some models of trains and monorails. Also, get a book on the DLRR so you can know the style color and such. You might find an engine similar and you just need some paint and decals to make it look authentic.

For an indoor train, go with HO scale, as it's the most common and not as big as the G scale.

ScottDisneyFan
01-12-2007, 09:22 AM
The G scale trains are specifically designed for indoor/outdoor use. They are a large scale and easy to work with too. It also makes it easier to size real plants to the scale rather than a smaller train where even a tiny bush will look like a mountain. I woud definitely go G.

I also saw Monorails at WOD but they were more of a toy. Find a good hobby shop and they can help you find some models of trains and monorails. Also, get a book on the DLRR so you can know the style color and such. You might find an engine similar and you just need some paint and decals to make it look authentic.

For an indoor train, go with HO scale, as it's the most common and not as big as the G scale.

I have looked into the HO scale...and it did seem a bit small and not as durable as I would like for outside.

Bolivar
01-12-2007, 09:57 AM
I got curious and did some googling, but I didn't find much:

Information on backyard monorail:
http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/Imagineering/Monorail.html

An indoor holiday train set:
http://disneyshopping.go.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/DSIProductDisplay?catalogId=10002&storeId=10051&productId=1200608&langId=-1&categoryId=14761

Disney Railroad train set (doesn't list the scale. It looks more like a toy set than a hobby set):
http://www.pinenose.com/diwogotr50ye.html

Bytebear
01-12-2007, 10:07 AM
I don't see scales on those, and none are the N scale set that I own. The last set looks the most like a G scale, but also looks kinda "toyish". I bet if you go to a hobby store, you might find "scenic" cars (where the benches face left, rather than forward). Remember, it doesn't have to be an actual Disneyland train. It just has to look like one

You might want to check out this link too:

http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/Models.html

Here is the Monorail avaliable at WOD:

http://www.mouseplanet.com/al/docs/monorail.htm

ScottDisneyFan
01-12-2007, 10:42 AM
Well I will be at the park tomorrow morning...I will keep a lookout for the model monorail...

I am not sure if I can get away with putting holes through the walls in the house but that would sure be nice!

I also really liked that large personal monorail that was built in Fremont...that really has my mind going...

If I had a little more property, I could do that! :p

smd4
01-12-2007, 11:59 AM
If you want HO, a model of Walt's Lilly Belle and matching train will be available in March:

http://www.register123.com/event/profile/web/index.cfm?PKwebID=0x69161664d&varPage=home

If you want to spend more, you can get large-scale models through a number of manufacturers of Disneyland Railroad trains. Hartland makes models of the Lilly Belle and the Ernest S. Marsh; Accucraft made a scale Lilly Belle, and LGB makes models of the Gurley, Holiday Red cars, and the Lillly Belle parlor car (currently some of this stuff is out of production, only available on Ebay and elsewhere).

Here's a link to the Burnsland section dealing specifically with modeling the Disney railroads:

http://burnsland.com/disneyrailroads/viewforum.php?f=8