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G Scale Model Railroad Designs (For Small Businesses)

I hear what you mean, my wallet’s been feeling a little on the empty side these days too. It’s rough out there.  REALLY tough! However I ran across a scheme the other day that just could help your small business.  I was recalling how when I was a little kid and my mom was on her own with me in my brothers.  This was in Manhattan.  Close to the end of the year mom would take me and my siblings out to Central Park for a little walk but it was too uncomfortable to stay outside for too long so we would end up at a department store.  It might have been Macy’s, I’m not sure.  But anyway there were these great train displays there. It would always be crowded with kids and their parents no matter what day of the week or time of the day.  Man was it a huge layout! Bigger than the apartment we lived in!  It was a complete world onto itself.

The point is: the the layout brought people into the store and they usually ended up buying something even if it was just to get their kids to give up that hypnotizing layout.  So here’s the thought I had:

Use display g scale railroad locomotives to entice window shoppers in:

This is nothing new. For a great while, savvy businesses have used captivating displays to lure people in.  But I think other sorts of establishments could really improve the bottom line by having a model railroad, especially big g scale trains and tracks.  Any store with a outward facing window that looks onto a busy sidewalk like in a commercial area could easily draw parents and their kids in.  It wouldn’t even have to be a business related to model trains. A doctor’s hospital might just have a g gauge display to keep the kids busy while they waited to see the doctor or for prescriptions. The display would give the business a considerable leg up over its competition. The model train babysitter would allow the relieved parents to see to their own needs.  The cost of setting up the railroad and the lost space would pay for itself in over time. Any place by where families congregate could use these little lures.  Grateful parents would make for return business.

Consider a model train setup for your Bed and Breakfast and Restaurant:

This would be well suited for that Bread an Breakfast you’ve always dreamed of. Want to have a unique feel for your Texas style barbecue but can’t think of what to do? Imagine having a train along the inside of the bar delivering customers their drinks and peanuts. Customers would really get a kick out of watching the trains humming around them. The quirkiness would be sure to bring out parents with their children and you could make a little bit of extra money by selling model train related accessories like key chains. If you already appeal to families to your business this could really make the difference between them choosing your business over your nearest competitor. Think of the American history tie-ins in your local area.

 It’s a tough world out there since the financial bubble burst. Now’s the time to act aggressively and imaginatively to improve your business not sit back and be tossed by the waves of economic storms.  Whatever you can do to make your business seem individual and to have it stick out from your competitors can help the increase revenues. This is only some of the ways you could use model trains. Imagine a bar where your drinks are rolled to the end of the counter by a Budweiser decorated trolley or…

Here is more information on G Scale Model Trains. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.

G Scale Model Railroad Layouts

Finally found a way you can meld your wife’s love of back yard sun bathing and your love of model locomotives, huh?  These g scale toy trains are definitely the trains for your family! Your toy train hobby doesn’t have to shut you down in the basement with the Morlocks anymore. But how to begin? Your train area will have a huge say in the kind of design you opt for.  That said, there are some basic considerations when you are designing your g scale train setup.

Let your yard have some say over your g gauge train:  One of the best choices you can make is to use the climate of your yard as one of the significant factors in deciding the type of train and the design of your g scale model railroad layouts.  If you live in the Arizona desert and your backyard is a rock garden, consider choosing a kind of train and track that was typical of the American Southwest like the Sante Fe type locomotives that are simple to find.  But if you live in the hills of Berkeley or San Francisco and your back yard is somewhat sloped  you will want to take this into consideration as well.  The topographical idiosyncrasies of your back yard are the main limit to your g scale model railroad layouts.  These topographical features, however, can also greatly augment the realism and the complexity of our railroad designs.

Use the landmarks of your outdoor area and garden to maximize the visual interest of your layout:  One of the best ways of adding interest to our g scale model railroad layouts is to use the hedges and plants of our back yards to enhance the visual interest of our track plan.

Play peek-a-boo with the viewer by winding the train behind the natural features of the yard. The easy way is to run your track through a bush, but if you’re really ambitious you might create a rocky pass or rugged  gorge right in your back yard. Nothing compares to seeing your g gauge train appear and disappear, appear and disappear—peek-a-boo…peek-a-boo….

Work with the major landmarks of your yard:  If you have a completely empty yard then this is not a consideration, but since most of us have things other than trains and grass in your back yards, your best bet is to take these backyard landmarks and work with them. Got statues, let them play a role in your plan. A train track looped around a trickling stone fountain or past a spitting stone angel can make for a particularly eye catching feature.

Add landscape accessories to your backyard layout:  Add scaled trees, little towns, train roundhouses, hills and streams and all the same sorts of details and features both reproducing nature and culture, just as you would to any other train scale.  The visualizing, building and detailing and weathering of these structures and features can be one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling aspects of a model railroad.  It is much more rewarding to spend in rainy Sunday afternoon detailing and coloring a model train whistle stop than watching reruns of I Love Lucy.

When you are working on your g scale railroad you will be joining in one of the fastest growing hobbies around. Go ahead, demand people pay at the door before they can set their eyes on your totally cool g train setup!

Tom Taggart is a Model Train enthusiast. Here is more information on G Scale Model Trains. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.

Lionel Trains

From their creation in the early 1900s to the present day, Lionel trains have continuously evolved to keep up with the times. You may notice a marked similarity between today’s Lionel model trains and the trains that are seen careening through your town, as Lionel has added more realistic design features to the familiar lights, sounds, and smoke that we’ve come to expect from Lionel trains. Announcements of departures and arrivals are broadcast, and they include the number and name of the train that is being operated. Advances in the smoke functions create puffs of smoke correlated to the shaft’s wheel revolution! When Lionel model trains first emerged people were astounded by their realism, and contemporary models are no exception. No matter what model size you want, such as Traditional or Standard O, Lionel manufactures it. The potentialities to the realism of your train set are endless, thanks to the continual innovations in model train technology.

Lionel model trains can be relished by everyone, but if you are contemplating purchasing one for your child, keep in mind that they may be too young to operate it by themselves. Supervision of your child while they are playing with their model train is extremely vital, and use of the trains should be restricted to those 5 years of age and older. Children who are instructed at a young age, how to handle model trains, can grow to cherish the railroading hobby well into later years. And with the plethora of styles, accessories, and options available to you, your train set can be a continuing project that just keeps flourishing! New models, engines, cars, and buildings will always be introduced into the market.

Lionel trains are a great option, whether you are searching for your first set for your young child, or you are a model train aficionado, Lionel model trains should be your first choice.