Yard [archaic]

Yard: [archaic] A layout-like display that may or may not include a model train.

Usage: My yard includes a model of the town where I grew-up.

Source: ‘Yard’ is an archaic word that predates electric model railroad layouts, but whose roots are not yet well established. Adolph F. Frank, in his 1981 book, Animated Scale Models Handbook, implies that ‘yard’ might derive from the term ‘Christmas tree yard’:

When I was a small boy, it was customary for families to have a "Putz" or Nativity scene as part of their Christmas decorations, which were usually found under the Christmas tree. Many of these families were descendants of old European craftsmen who made ornate and elaborate displays. I'm speaking of a time in our industrial history when a large portion of the labor force was extremely skilled with their hands. They were artistic types - machinists, pattern makers, finish carpenters and other artisans - who being fine craftsmen, seemed to delight in outdoing one another in making these displays. As a result, the Nativity scene slowly became just one part of a much larger display, commonly called the Christmas tree yard. In this yard was found anything from a model of the family home to a model of the entire village in which they lived.

As I grew older, in the late '20s and early '30s, the electric train came into prominence and was added to the display or yard. Automobile dealers took their entire display rooms and built large villages with waterfalls, as well as working trains and automobiles. I was immensely intrigued by these elaborate displays.

Mr. Frank might be the Adolph F. Frank who was born in Pennsylvania in 1918, and enlisted in the US Army on 15 Oct 1942, and if so, the dates stated in the quote, along with the date of birth and enlistment, suggest the term ‘yard’ was in use in the 1920s, and maybe the 1910s. Further research and citations are required.

Laurence T. Gieringer in his article 35-Year Old Model City, that appeared in the January / February 1938 issue of Lionel’s The Model Builder, uses ‘yard’ in a casual manner which suggests it might have been a well-known term to the magazine’s readers, although since it’s bracketed by ‘’ it might have been verging on archaic by that time:

“Ninety percent of the material that has gone into my little ‘yard’ has been discarded by someone and includes old tin cans, worn-out sunscreens, old bed sheets, old doors, cheese boxes and cigar boxes,” Gieringer explained.

Mr. Frank concludes his book by noting that by 1981 a model train is more-or-less a given for any layout:

Undoubtedly, you have noticed that I have not discussed the field of model railroading. I did this on purpose, for there have been volumes written on the subject, and anything I could write would be anticlimactic. There is, however, one thing certain: no layout or display would be complete without a model train.

from The Dictionary of Non-Existent Model Railroad Terms, 2nd ed., 1999.