2025 National Garden Railway Convention in Sacramento - Part 3

 Some more pictures I took on garden tours in Sacramento...

Train crossing over a tunnel and across a bridge on the Franz Family Railroad. I liked how there were two merging streams here, including two small waterfalls.

Another view of the Franz Family Railroad.

The Granite Creek & Rattlesnake Gulch Railroad is spread out over a large area with over 500 feet of track so far—and it's continuing to grow as it's a work in progress. There is a stream and a pond and multiple bridge crossings over water.

I didn't see any rattlesnakes (real ones, at least) but I did see a lot of granite. I really like how this track (currently a dead-end spur) curves around the huge granite boulder and between a smaller one.

I also really liked this curved bridge over a large pond.

There were a couple trains running on the Granite Creek & Rattlesnake Gulch Railroad but I didn't see one often as there was so much track to cover.

We're now at the Maple Rock Garden Railway.

The Maple Rock Garden Railway is in a very large garden and the railroad just ambles through, gradually climbing 15 vertical feet to its highest point.

A train on the Maple Rock Garden Railway following a small stream.

The Coyote Pass Railroad was a real treat. It's over 20 years old and it looks like it, both from intentional weathering of buildings and vehicles as well as natural weathering. My favorite feature was a working water flume over 30 feet long.

A beautifully weathered building with the flume behind it.

Another amazing building that looks like it's going back to nature and halfway there.

A close-up detail of the flume where the water drops down and changes direction.

Old locomotive leading a train underneath the flume on the Coyote Pass Railroad.

A train going around the upper pond on the Deadwood, Eureka & Northport Railroad.

The Deadwood, Eureka & Northport Railroad is an amazing railroad that wraps around two sides of a house. Sandwiched in between the wall of the house and a sidewalk, the railroad was built up vertically in order to fit as much as possible into such a narrow space.

This bridge allows trains on the highest track to cross over the pathway from the sidewalk side of the layout to the house side. I only had to duck a little bit as the bridge is so high. This railroad has 11 bridges and seven tunnels.

Train headed out from town on another loop through the canyon country.

Superb rock and concrete work and use of model trees led to some great views like this.

And this sighting was a first for me—an ore bulk carrier modeled in 1:32 scale on an actual pond. Amazing!

2025 National Garden Railway Convention in Sacramento - Part 2

Continuing with the photo show from Sacramento area garden tours...

A train of TOFC and double-stack containers on the Black Bear and Dynamite Railroad.

The Black Bear and Dynamite Railroad is squeezed into a narrow side yard between a house and a fence, but demonstrates very well how much you can pack into a limited spot, including a waterfall and river, tunnels, bridges and a double-track mainline.

This is a reverse shot with the mountain in the foreground. This will really look great in a few years as the trees mature a bit.

A small rodeo scene at the Rocky Ridge Railroad.

I will always, always take a picture of a grain elevator. I really like this one and it provides me with some ideas for how I might construct mine once I get around to it.

Loading a reefer with ice is in progress at the ice house.

This was my favorite scene at the Rocky Ridge Railroad, a gold mine with multiple structures and great use of a really beautiful rock. This is amazing work.

A close-up of the lift house for the mine shaft.

We're now at Marvelous Matt's Mining Company which had many marvelous features including this beautiful trestle work.

In addition to the trains, Marvelous Matt's Mining Company feature a number of old vehicles and equipment nestled into the garden.

And this is, quite possibly, one of the coolest looking train sheds I've ever seen. That old Coke machine in front is used to house electrical equipment and switches for the railroad.

And this is a view of the access tunnel for trains into the train shed.

Next up is the Moss Rock Canyon Railroad which, as the name implies, features a whole lot of rock, about five tons.

A stream running down the middle of the Moss Rock Canyon Railroad.

A trestle crosses over another rail line and then goes through a bridge over a small stream on the L&D Railroad.

A UP locomotive leads a train across one of the bridges on the Three Bridge Garden Railroad.

Another view of the same train.

The wine train is heading down a trestle at at the Enchanted Folsom Railroad

The Enchanted Folsom Railroad also includes this interpretation of the Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. 

And I really enjoyed this modeling of the Matterhorn! Look closely at the bottom and you'll see Snow White and seven of her coworkers involved in the mining industry.

2025 National Garden Railway Convention in Sacramento - Part 1

I want to share a few pictures I took during the 40th National Garden Railway Convention that was held in Sacramento last month. For me the highlight of a convention is the opportunity to see garden railways in action. There are so many ways to approach a garden railway and it's fun to see all the ideas people come up with and then figure out how to implement. We visited 20 garden railways during the conference; there were more on display but we weren't able to make it to every one. I took hundreds of pictures and have selected just a few to share, including at least one from each railroad we made it to.

This is the Toad Creek Railroad, which has plenty of tunnels, bridges and lots of curves.

Another picture of the Toad Creek Railroad showing off some of the extensive concrete work. This inspires me to build with concrete more.

Also on the Toad Creek Railroad, showing a shed back in the redwoods.

Can you find the train? It's there! This is the Del Valley Railroad, and I don't think I've ever seen something quite like this one.

A challenge many garden railroads face is figuring how to hide or distract from background walls and fences. I really enjoyed this creative three dimensional approach to building a mountain peak on the Schaubmayer and High Plains Railroad. 

Trestle work along the Pyramid Lake Express Railroad.

An impressive metal trestle at Chew Chew's Choo Choos, and I like how it created a bowl that could then be filled with details.

I also really liked this metal fabricated lift bridge at Chew Chew's Choo Choos. I haven't figured out the solution for the lift bridge I'll need on my railroad, so seeing examples like this provides inspiration.

A scene on the SWSS Lake Junction Railroad.

The SWSS Lake Junction Railroad had lots of curves and interesting details. What I liked most about this railroad was the extensive use of stone work to hold up slopes, like this low retaining wall. 

One more picture showing a couple structures on the SWSS Lake Junction Railroad.

 Stone work including flagstones hold up earth works and create a canyon for the railroad to pass by.

Three F7 units lead a train on the Rock Valley Railroad.

The Poker Flats Railroad is built into a steep slope at the back of the yard. It appears at first there are two lines but it's actually a loop with 4% grades on each end. Very impressive layout with a lot of detail. 

I really liked this collection of buildings on the Poker Flats Railroad, all held up by piers because of the slope, leading to a very realistic look.

Another view showing a small town. I like this bridge over the tracks with a tailings pile below.

The really impressive thing about the Poker Flats Railroad is the separate indoor layout in the garage. The level of detail here is amazing and it is no surprise that this master modeler has been featured in national publications.

All sides of the garage have painted walls. Here, on the left side of the photo, you can see the background is actually painted onto the garage door panels. I didn't ask if he could open the garage door still but I bet he could if needed to, as there is an air gap between the garage door and the layout.

What an amazing level of detail.

Another wonderfully detailed scene.

Here we have some livestock being loaded into cattle cars, and in the background is a recreation of the station at Chama, New Mexico.

For comparison, here is a picture I took of the Chama station when I was there two years ago showing the same (north) end of the building.

And for the last picture of the Poker Flats Railroad, an amazing recreation of the coaling tower, sanding tower and sand storage facility at Chama.

And here is a similar view in Chama that I took two years ago. It isn't a great picture and the perspective is from track level, but you can make out the coaling tower and the two building structures underneath. You can also see the far end of the sand storage facility, most of which is blocked by the rolling stock in the foreground.

More pictures to come in Part 2.