When the town Christmas tree arrives on the morning train from the San Gabriel tree farm, it is a joyous time indeed. Few have shown up yet but the good news will spread quickly. If the townsfolk are lucky enough, they just might catch a glimpse of a special visitor on his John Deere tractor meeting the arriving conifer.
After having the opportunity to run John Buckwalter’s beautiful 2-1/2″ scale, 7-1/2″ gauge, 20-ton, 2-cylinder live steam Shay, I decided to build one too. Once I got it in my head that this was going to happen, I bought the plans and castings from John and began the search for the machinery to build the locomotive.
Read my ongoing build blog here: StockbridgeLocomotiveWorks
So far, I’ve had pretty good luck with my four-tree eugenia “forest” test and I attribute the success simply to good irrigation. As a self-admitted non-gardener, I found out the hard way that plants actually need water to survive. I certainly didn’t want these expensive plants to prematurely end up in photosynthesis heaven, so the trick was to provide each tree with its own drip system spigot which supplies water every other day for 15 minutes. I’ve come to actually enjoy setting up and adjusting the drip irrigation system and when finally tweaked to the point where all is working well, it provides a good sense of accomplishment.
I recently felt confident enough to spring for nine more trees and planted them using the same methods as for the original test: plant them still in their nursery pots to control growth (and just in case, making them easier to reposition if needed), provide each with its own water supply, add surface mulch to help retain moisture and keep weeds at bay, and regularly trim to shape. Before I got started planting I had to remove and replant some out-of-control annuals to make room for the new trees.
Taking hints from how real forests grow, I purposely spaced the trees in random groups and added ground ferns to break up any unnatural patterns. The wider spaced areas also help provide better views of the trains as they run though the forest. These eugenia cones came fully shaped from the planter up and when placed near the railroad tracks needed to be trimmed at the bottom to create the necessary clearance for passing locomotives and rolling stock.
The newly added plants were all my local nursery had in stock so I’m waiting to go back and buy more when they become available.
The next grove of “trees” will eventually go on the other side of the San Gabriel River to help create the notion that the canyon is deeper than it really is, not to mention the added shade will allow local gold prospectors to work longer into the day.
The view should be spectacular when done! Stay tuned!
The San Gabriel & Moonshine Creek Railroad is considered a “backwoods” line which in my opinion should have groves of tall evergreens representing pine or redwood forests. Because I live in USDA hardiness zone 9b it is difficult to find a suitable looking shrub that could pass for a pine and yet be tolerant of the hot and humid weather in central Florida. After consulting with an expert at my favorite gardening place, Lukas Nursery, I decided to plant four 30″ cone-shaped Eugenias as a test.
I planted them with their 2-gallon pots into the ground in hopes of controlling growth and making them easier to move in the future if the need arises.
It was easy to prune the bottom part of each shrub to reveal the single-stalk “trunk” and I’m hoping the rest of the “trees” will begin to take on more irregular shapes as they mature.
So far, I’m quite pleased with their appearance and seeing the occasional logging train passing between the tree trunks gives the impression that they’ve been growing there for a long time.
I plan on eventually adding more Eugenias as time permits, expanding the forest to potentially 15-20 “trees” flanking both sides of the San Gabriel Canyon.
Who knows, I may even run a new spur line across the canyon and into the “woods” to add more interest and switching opportunities. Perhaps a new mine or logging camp may grow out of it!
While some may believe that Florida is a tropical paradise year-round, it does get cold in the Winter and sub-freezing temperatures are not uncommon. Eugenias are sensitive to extreme cold, especially if the wind blows. I’ve read about several ways to protect these plants in the winter and the most intriguing method was to wrap them in bubble wrap! The more I think about it, the more sense it makes and the more I like the idea. I will give it a try this winter and report my findings in a future post. Stay tuned!
The 2014 NGRC Convention recently took place in Tampa, Florida and I had the honor of sharing my newly created garden railroad with many other railroaders this weekend. I began working on the railroad only a year and a half ago and one of my goals was to be a part of the 2014 layout tour. It took a lot of work to get the San Gabriel & Moonshine Creek Railroad ready for the tour but it was all worth it when I got to meet so many nice people from around the country and the world. We had visitors from as far away as Australia, Netherlands, Germany, and Austria, as well as a few neighbors who had no idea steam trains operated so close by!
The day started early as I needed to spread a few bags of mulch for a walking path because of recent heavy rains. Sure enough, I had my first visitors testing the new pathway as the last bag was being emptied! Shortly thereafter, I heard the hiss of air brakes coming from a charter bus pulling up out front. It was time to stop working and start hosting, which meant I could now play!
Visiting from Arkansas, my father Bruce Stockbridge was a tremendous help in the steam-up bay as the first visitors were welcomed to an engine being fired up for the initial run of the day. He helped keep engines and trains running the entire day. As the CEO of the Possum Grape & Oil Trough Railroad in Little Rock, he also has a huge passion for garden steam trains and I share every bit of it! My mother Carla, was also busy entertaining all the nice folks on the patio and offering cold water to thirsty guests – even though it was early in the morning it was starting to get pretty hot out! Thank goodness for the cool shade the Sunsetter awning offered. She was also a huge help in the days leading up to the tour – her taste in selecting and planting flowers is unmatched! I could not have done this without the help of my wonderful parents.
My very good friend Gerald Cain purchased his first 1:20.3 scale narrow gauge live steam engine only days before and proudly ran his train for all the folks to see. His “backwoods” shay pulling 4 loaded log cars and a hack was truly a sight to behold. Unbelievably powerful for its size, the little engine named “Tilda” easily hauled the 40 lb consist around the railroad at a top speed of 6 mph. Very cool!
It was incredibly gratifying to see so many nice people wandering around my layout all day, taking pictures and asking questions. I also learned a lot about other people’s railroads and I look forward to visiting their layouts someday as well. All-in-all, over 100 people showed up and signed the guest book, leaving wonderful and inspiring comments. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them all for visiting…