RAILROAD TIES

When Todd and Linda Brody’s doorbell rings and they answer, there’s usually no one on the doorstep. But their wayward visitors are never far--just a few steps away, admiring the couple’s garden railway.

In the Brodys’ North Tustin frontyard is a miniature railroad track, complete with a town and small-scale plants. They call the 1,200-square-foot garden the Tortoise and Lizard Bash Railroad, named after their tortoise pets and the wild lizards that come to frolic on the tracks.

It takes visitors to the railway some time to notice all of the intricate details the Brodys have put into the garden’s design, which took three years to complete. The train chugs over 500 feet of track, emitting digitally recorded sounds from the real train after which it was modeled. On its journey, it passes over bridges and trestles, by two waterfalls and near a gold mine. There’s even a tunnel.

There are more than two dozen structures in the miniature railroad community, most of which are lighted and some of which belch smoke. In and around the buildings, there are miniature people and animals. There are a bed and breakfast for the weary and a bustling town square with Tortoise Town Hall and Collard Lizzy’s Clothiers. Cows moo in the farming area.

Plantings throughout the garden are to scale with dozens of miniature trees, small plants and ground covers, such as dwarf elms, dwarf crape myrtle, miniature fuchsia, baby’s tears, chamomile and several varieties of thyme.

The Brodys originally got the idea for a garden railway when they saw one on display during a trip to Northern California three years ago.

“At the time we didn’t have much out front of our house, except for a lawn that the gophers were constantly tearing up, so I decided to put in a railroad and give them something else to tear up,” says Todd Brody, who is a member of the Orange County and Southern California Garden railway societies. (The 16th National Garden Railway convention will be held July 5-9 in San Diego.)

Brody wanted to give people something fun to look at.

“We’ve incorporated a lot of whimsy that you begin to notice once you look closely,” he says, referring to scenes such as the man fishing on a bridge next to a “No Fishing” sign and the man falling from a slippery cliff.

Though they’re common, garden railways like the Brodys’ are becoming more popular, says Marc Horovitz, editor of Garden Railways magazine in Denver.

“In 1984, when my wife and I started the magazine, our first press run consisted of 325 copies,” he says. “When we sold the magazine four years ago, the circulation was up to 18,000, and now it has doubled that.”

The hobby’s popularity is due to the fact that gardening in general is the leading pastime. Garden railroading also appeals to the whole family, he says. Trains, it seems, stop everyone in their tracks, regardless of age or gender.

“Our surveys show that among couples, 60% to 75% work on the railways together,” Horovitz says. “The hobby is so diverse that there’s something in it for everyone. There’s the trains and the track, the buildings, people and the plants.”

Linda Brody handles most of the gardening, decorations and figurine painting for the Tortoise and Lizard Bash Railroad. “We both work on it,” she says. “In terms of garden options, it’s unique.”

Though garden railways date back 125 years and have their roots in Great Britain, it wasn’t until the early 1970s--shortly after the introduction of weather-resistant tracks by LGB (Lehmann-Gross-Bahn)--that the hobby started to gain steam in this country.

The Brodys’ tracks are always out. The buildings are also exposed to the elements year-round, except during the Santa Ana winds. The trains are brought inside at night.

Although the Brodys’ railway garden is fairly big, it’s possible to put them in “surprisingly small spaces,” Horovitz says. “I’ve seen some great garden railways that were tiny things.”

Building a garden railway can be as expensive or inexpensive. The Brodys spent $5,000 on theirs, but a starter set that includes a 4-foot track, locomotive, two cars and a power supply costs about $100. The trains, tracks and other supplies can be found in some hobby shops and through mail-order.

Whatever type of garden railway you decide to install, Todd Brody’s advice is simple: “Don’t be an armchair engineer. Just do it. You’ll be glad.”

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Some Tips for Getting Aboard

Here are a few railroad resources:

* The Orange County Garden Railway Society, (714) 554-8035.

* The Southern California Garden Railway Society, (909) 829-0873.

* The 16th National Garden Railway convention will be held July 5-9 in San Diego. The vendor hall will be open to the public for a $5 fee from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 8. For more information, call (858) 279-2493 or visit the Web site: https://www.sdgrs.com/r2k/.

* Garden Railways magazine, (800) 446-5489; https://www.gardenrailways.com. A one-year (six issues) subscription is $24.95.

* The publication, “How to Build Your Garden Railway,” is available at https://www.sidestreetbannerworks.com or by sending $33.15 to Sidestreet Bannerworks, P.O. Box 460222, Denver, Colo, 80246.

* The Large Scale Model Railroad Assn. has a free 14-page booklet on “Beginning Garden Railroading.” Contact (877) 547-2253; https://www.largescale.org.

* Online retailer https://www.largescale.com carries garden railway products, including the book, “The Large-Scale Model Railroading Handbook,” 2nd edition by Robert Schleicher ($22.50).