Jim Strong's Model Railway & Garden
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ส.ค. 2024
- Strong, 64, a retired electrical engineer for NASA, has overlooked few details in building his Woodland Railway, the elaborate garden railroad he has assembled over the past 22 years in the shady half-acre around his Upper Marlboro home.
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Except for the train-shaped mailbox out front, there is little about the setting of Strong's house-on a cul de sac in a quiet development by Andrews Air Force Base-that prepares you for what's behind it. Walking into his yard is like riding the trolley from Mr. Rogers' living room into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
Fortunately, Strong is a better host than Rogers. He doesn't talk to his visitors in cloying tones, and he can break down the intricacies of building a miniature Alpine house out of Styrofoam and concrete faster than you can say "Martha Stewart." When he talks, you can hear in the pleasant ambling of his speech how much he relishes working out the kinks that building an outdoor model railway presents. It's the process, not just the product, that fascinates him. "I care more how well [the trains] run than what they look like," he says.
But the Woodland Railway is more than a small-scale engineering feat. Red-brick walkways surround the layout, giving it the feel of a miniature Frederick Law Olmsted creation. The tracks begin on a sunny, level patch of ground that Strong calls Willow Flats, after a willow tree that once stood there. Willow Flats is now covered by immature trees and moss, which look like shrubbery roughly in proportion to the G-scale trains-which are 20 times smaller than the real thing-that run through them.
A track connects Willow Flats to what Strong has dubbed Gum Grove and Hemlock Hill, which sit on a slope under a canopy of full-grown gum and hemlock trees. The groves are but a few steps away from the flats, but the journey for the itty-bitty passengers of the Woodland Railway is treacherous. For them, the gentle slope is a steep incline made manageable by a vertigo-inducing 2-foot-high redwood trestle. - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
You know you did one hell of a job if your railroad looks like a real one. There were some cases I thought this was a real railroad.
Thank for sharing this fantastic layout!
I built a big layout 45 years ago when my kids were still at home and I realized after I got it just like I wanted it that the fun was in the building. Once we finished building it we rarely played with it. Lot of good memories with my kids.When they got to be teenagers we changed to radio controlled airplanes which we still fly occasionally.
This Strong guy is a legend. Some of his work is on display at the Brookside Gardens winter greenhouse garden railway display in Wheaton Maryland this December (and the past several Decembers).
Now I know who to hire to help me with my Railroad! 👍👍
What an imaginative garden railway! I would so what to love in it.
Beautiful garden railway
I love the design. It looks like it has a purpose it is not overwhelming with a ton of track in a small area. Great job very prototypical.
It is absolutely beautiful
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Jim's Strong's Model Railway @ Garden. Truly Out Standing lay out jim. An Enjoyed watching the video. An see'ing the Railway at the Back of the house. What a Marviolas lay out. An the Train at the Frunt side real cool. The Garden looks Amazing with the Trains on the Railway 🖲 Track.
BEAUTIFUL LAYOUT
Excellent Job. The best I have seen. A true work of art.
Very nice video and fun to watch. Have a nice day.
Very nice layout.
Super ! !
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What did he say at 3:44. "One thing you may want to do is build an a raised __________"?? Very nice layout. I could never do something like this. Absolutely stunning
raised "bed", less bending over, easier on the back
I believe he said planter.
Great stuff. But i can't help but notice that Jim Strong strongly resembles "Mr. Goody Good" from the old Paul Winchell Days.
Jim Strong's Train Garden, The Woodland Railway is an excellent showcase! We looked up Mr Strong with the intention to visit him and see his Train Garden. Sadly Mr Jim (James) Strong passed away in 2016 June, a little over 6 months after the posting of this video. www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/waldorf-md/james-strong-6986556. The obituary says "Jim founded the Washington, Virginia, and Maryland Garden Railway Society in 1986". It says Jim was 'gracious' and "He delighted in seeing others enjoy running their trains on the railroad, and was never known to refuse a visitor if his schedule allowed." "He is survived by his wife, two children, and two grandchildren--all of whom will continue to carry the love, creativity, and graciousness in their hearts, and strive to live Jim's legacy through their actions." It also appears the WVMGRS Trains, Displays, and Meetings, may have stopped running since 2016? www.wvmgrs.org/Archives.htm#Meetings. Is Jim's Train Garden still in operation, and if so how do we visit?
Some of Jim's work is on display at Brookside Gardens (Wheaton, MD) in December, the WVMGRS sets up an annual display in the greenhouse. One of the displays lists Strong as a contributor and fabricator of some of the buildings on display. May he rest in peace.
I want a railroad miniature like that
Well I have has my train for 2 years now. it is coming along at a snails pace and here is why. I cannot keep my track level. I get it just as I want it and 10-20 laps later boom off track. any ideas???
I have a question. I have just started a layout (nothing like this ). The problem is, my train can run around the yard for anywhere between 5-10 times. And then it will jump the track., so what can I do to keep the G scale track level.? The 2 problem areas is through the flower bed and mulch and then by the 2 buildings in the photos. Jim or anyone else has any ideas please let me know. This link should take you to the photos. If not jusr let me know. Thanks for your time guys.
The link should take you to a slide show. s32.photobucket.com/user/SteveWard150/slideshow/
Jim's advice for someone wanting to construct their own railroad, the only other advice he did not mention was have a LOT OF MONEY!.
Amazing,the layout just looks so real and if anyone knows how to convert a G scale bachmann 4-6-0 to battery/RC please make a how to video and post the link in the comments section for one of my videos,thank you.
Just look for the RC version on EBay. No one wants them, because the motor was crap.... Just get one of those and change the motor...
Hey. Can I please use some of your footage in my films? I will credit you for it.😆
When he stands near his railroad he looks like Gulliver
Lego steam trains