Carl Malone's Algerita Botanical Railway

Article and photographs by Carl Malone, San Angelo Texas
Contact Carl at cmalone@webstar.net

The Algerita Botanical Railway is my attempt at creating a free- lance American narrow guage railway with a logging flavor. It is my second attempt at garden railroading and I have been working on it for about a year now. I must admit that, at first, I just wanted to create a pleasing backdrop of garden greenery to run trains through. But as the model railroading bug bit, I began to also concentrate on a purpose for the railway. The setting, so far, has evolved into a period around the early 1900's in logging country. I have now come to enjoy watching trains in the garden a well as switching and operating the layout.

In the early days of construction, we suffered a major setback when the first three months work was destroyed in a 15 minute hail storm. After the storm, the plants looked like they had been put through a mulcher. Nothing was left standing including several structures which were also destroyed. Fortunately, LGB's elephant proof-track is also hail proof! Ah, the challenges of operating a "real" railway. Currently, I am using LGB brass and Micro-Engineering code 332 aluminum rail ballasted with chicken grit and portland cement. This has proven to be very stable in the Texas heat so far. In planning the layout, I wanted to avoid the round and round effect that many track arrangements produce. Therefore, the ABR's track plan consists of a point to point design with return loops. Large radius LGB turnouts were used with manual spring loaded mechanisms to allow for automatic operation of the return loops.

Our current eqipment roster includes two live steamers: A BLW Cricket and a Geoffbuilt Shay. There is one scratch-built battery powered diesel locomotive, "Sammy", built on a LGB powered tender chassis. The ABR also has two other battery powered steam outline locomotives which are radio controlled with a converted Aristocraft Train Engineer.

Out of the tunnel ABR#3 "Lillian" pulls a load of empties.

The board of directors of the ABR hopes to add two more live steamers in 1996 to handle the anticipated increase in freight and passenger traffic. I have enjoyed running live steam the most because there is more interaction with the models. However, it is nice to have the battery powered locomotives when I am short on time or if I just want to passively watch the trains run through the garden.

Spewing a great cloud of steam, "Lillian" clatters on her way.

Out of the darkness ABR#3 rolls in.

Geoffbuilt Shay hauling ballast on the Algerita Botanical Railway.

Ole #6 patiently waits for her next call to duty.

Through the turnout and into the Yard.

Geoffbuilt Shay ABR#3 rolls into the yard as the Railway's only diesel, "Sammy" handles yard duties. I scratch built this one on a LGB powered tender chassis. It uses a 7.2 volt nicad pack with an on-off switch Its great to just grab and throw on the track while I'm steaming up.

BLW Cricket- Algerita Botanical Railway #6.

Waiting at the station ABR#3 Geoffbuilt Shay.

Full head of steam!

The ABR is still a very new railway therefore much of it still exists in my thoughts and on numerous sketches. Hopefully construction on the second phase will begin soon!