Lawn and garden: Railroad gardening picks up steam

Bob Hyatt sets out one of his trains in his garden railroad. (Photo courtesy Carol Kagan)

When Bob Hyatt goes out into his back yard he can choose to tinker with the trains or manage the miniature landscape that goes in and around the loops of train track.

At an early age, his father gave him an American Flyer train followed by an HO scale set. "My grandmother used to take me to the switching yard in Allentown to watch the trains," Hyatt said.

Hyatt's career experience and Master Gardener training prepared him for giving both turf grass management and landscape gardening workshops.

For this Franklin County Master Gardener, his life-long interest in trains and pleasure in landscape gardening merged into his Clark's Knob Freestyle Garden Railroad at his home near Upper Strasburg.

This year for the first time, Hyatt will have a "Beginning Railroad Gardening" workshop on Saturday, June 28 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Participants will learn the "ins" and "outs" of this unique style of gardening at Hyatt's home on Shives Lane, Orrstown.

The workshop will provide information on starting a railroad garden as well as designing a layout and adding the finishing touches. (For details and registration, see Workshops on this page.)

The popularity of having train models follows the history of railroading as people sought to bring some of the excitement into their own homes and yards. Moving from large outdoor trains to small sized and toy indoor models, around 1970 trains began to be designed specifically for use outdoors rugged with the motor parts enclosed.

"It's not a cheap hobby," said Hyatt, who has been adding to his layout since 2002. He currently has about 400 feet of track in three loops and uses "G" gauge (1/29th scale) trains and brass track.

Deciding what kind of railroad garden is a first step. Some railways may just meander through the existing normal-sized plants in a yard or garden. Other railways are stationed at a village and may even have a theme such as the Old West or a logging or coal town.

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Lawn and garden: Railroad gardening picks up steam