Garden Railway Model Club

The Emerald Coast Garden Railway Club is an informal group of garden railroading enthusiasts. We have members with a long history of garden railroading and we have novice members just getting into this aspect of the model railroading hobby.

We operate under the West Florida Railroad Museum and enjoy the use of its facilities including the active FGAR mainline. We share the Museum’s purpose of providing information and education to the public concerning railroading in general. We also focus on garden railroading in particular. The Club provides public shows demonstrating various aspects of garden railroading.

G scale railroading uses the 45mm gauge track across several different scales. There is 1:32 all the way up to 1:22 scales. The most popular size is 1:29 and is shared by many of the model railroading hobby manufacturers. All of the various G scales are compatible and run together on the same G gauge track. Power for the G locomotives is done through the traditional wired power pack as well as radio-controlled onboard battery power. And there are also live steam G scale locomotives using butane boilers to create real steam to power the locomotive.

This garden railroading hobby encompasses a number of interests and talents. Of course, there are the gardening aspects and the cultivation of small scale plants that give a typical garden railway its depth and charm. There are also technical aspects with laying track outside to withstand the elements as well as electrical considerations in getting engines powered and cars lighted along with track side signals. Many people enjoy the operating opportunities of making up trains and delivering rolling stock around the layout while other folks like the enjoyment of just running long trains. The hobby has something for everyone.

You can visit their website at https://www.ecgrc.com