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Below are some web pages that we have found to be of interest to many in the live steam hobby. Please send any additions or corrections to
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- Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad
- A very nice park train in the Los Gatos (San Jose) area.
- California State Railroad Museum
- Certainly one of the best railroad museums in the United States, the CSRM also runs two railways -- the Sacramento Southern and the Sierra Railroad. The former is based right there in Old Sacramento alongside the museum; the latter is in the Sierra foothills in Jamestown. At the museum, the dioramas of California-oriented steam engines are powerful; at the railroads, real steam powers both lines. The Railtown 1897 shops are something to behold and the equipment has been in many movies and TV shows ("Petticoat Junction").
- Garden Railways magazine
- A sibling to Model Railroader and Trains, this magazine is the ultimate source in outdoor railroading in North America. Plenty of how-to columns and though there is only one regular feature devoted to live steam, many writers for the magazine (Vance Bass, Kevin Strong, Jack Verducci) are all live steamers, as is the magazine's editor, Marc Horovitz (see his personal site below).
- Gauge One Model Railway Association
- Known as G1MRA (pronounced gim-rah), this British group has a somewhat misleading name: few of its members use electric trains and it is an almost exclusively live-steam group. For those of us on the Left Side of the Pond, the rationale for joining G1MRA is to receive the group's quarterly Newsletter and Journal, a 48- to 60-page magazine-sized affair with contributions from members worldwide. Even if you're not into British-profile railroading, so many good techniques are discussed in these pages that it is really worth the investment to join.
- Golden Gate Live Steamers
- One-and-a-half-inch scale railroad group in the Berkeley hills, the group has a small 45mm ground-level track.
- LiveSteaming.com
- Extensive web site provides technical information, photos, frequently asked questions, classifieds and community information about live steaming in gauges two feet and under.
- Pacific Coast Live Steamers
- A club that has no rules, no officers and no dues, PCLS coordinates the opening of backyard Gauge 1 railroads for live steaming throughout the pleasant months.
- Redwood Valley Railway
- The park railroad of the Berkeley hills, Redwood Valley supports two-foot gauge equipment.
- Santa Cruz Lumber Co.
- This is a wonderful site that takes you on a tour of Dwight Ennis’ truly great garden railroad (steam-powered, natch) in Silicon Valley (just over the hill from the real Santa Cruz Lumber Co., whose history Dwight doesn’t neglect). Not only does Dwight give you pictures of his layout, but he explains the origins of many features (be sure to visit Mick-elangelo Falls).
- Sidestreet Bannerworks
- The personal site of the editor of Garden Railways magazine, Marc Horovitz. In-depth monthly reviews of various small scale live steam locomotives -- with archives dating back to 2000 -- as well as an on-line store for the sale of videos, books, plans and used live steam locomotives.
- Small Scale Live Steam FAQ
- Frequently asked questions about small scale live steaming, with the answers provided by Vance Bass, longtime hobbyist and columnist in Garden Railways magazine. If you've got a question, the FAQ has got the answer.
- Southwest Oregon Large Scale Trains
- The garden railway club in Medford; many of its members come to the Summer Steamup (it's just a quick run down Interstate 5). Open in the the second and fourth Sundays of every month in the spring, summer and fall in the Medford Railroad Park, the club has an outdoor layout that includes lots of track and plenty of buildings.
- Steam in the Garden Magazine
- The site is new (under new administration) and Ron and Marie Brown are still feeling their way with the web. But the magazine itself continues to provide in-depth coverage of new products, techniques, how-to projects and steamup reports. Six times a year and can't be beat. If you anywhere near serious about this hobby, you have to subscribe to SitG.
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