I was very happy to attend the National Garden Railroad Convention 2022 in Denver Colorado this year. The club was great and put on a great convention. Thanks to all who helped out. As usual the highlights of the convention were the layouts at the homes that I was able to visit. All were great and you could see the many many hours that were spent on the layout to get them ready for the show.

After visiting all the layouts, I have compiled a list of the top highlights from the layouts I saw. I usually look for unique things that I might want to implement in the future. I can’t wait to showcase some of these ideas in my layout in the future

– Concrete Houses, Looking for a house construction type that will last outdoor for years, looks like a concrete type structure will do it and it looks great !

– Landscape plants & trees, Lots of great landscaping ideas.  Great use of shrubs as well as ground cover. I love the Mary statue.

– Cemetery, Love the cemetary idea.  I want to incorporate with our relatives.  The tombstones can be 3D printed very easily and would be a great addition.

     – Shay Engine, I love these engines.  To see them in action is great.  I need to add this type of engine to my layout

     – Mining using HO cars, Great use of the smaller HO track and cars to simulate mining operations

     – Railroad Crossing at top of house, Great way to signal that a train is in the back yard and when the lights are flashing it says to your neighbors that the train is running

     – Engine Damaged around corner, Great use of an old engine.  How many times do you see old engines by the side of some railroad tracks

     – Broken track with workers fixing, This always happens in real life, why shouldn’t it happen on a model train layout

     – Buildings on fake grass for yards, Weeds are such an issue on my layout.  This is a great way to limit ground so that weeds won’t grow between structures

     – Campsite with tents and hikers, Love the use of canvas tents and a campground.

     – Buildings with open roofs and scenes, plexiglass roof so you can also see the interior, You always see the outside of buildings, why not the inside.  Two options I saw were great.  A roof that slides to open to see the interior.  Another option it to have a pexiglass roof that allows the building to be outdoors all the time and allow people to see the interior.  It would be great to have LEDs and working machinery in these type of structures.

     – Old box car with plants in it, Great use and old box car turning it into a planter.

     – Box Car building with people, Great use of an old box car that turns it into a building.

     – Dinosaurs, Who doesn’t love dinosaurs 

     – Building on bases , Easier to move houses and you can add people and other accessories to the house and have them move at the same time.

     – Flags and Balloons on or around buildings, Flags brightened up the layout and are a great addition

     – Roof in Train Shed on hinge, Great idea, great access and easy to open.

     – Switches on Box Car, Nice way to hide switches on the layout and not very apparent.