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Craig - Reading UK, Planning Stages


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Hi,

Thought I'd take the opportunity to post in the forum as I am a new member! I'm Craig, 35 from Reading UK. I've always wanted to do model railways having had one when I was young on a 6x4 board that I used to lean up against the wall when not in use in the spare room. Since 'growing up' (and I use the term loosely) I've always wanted something a bit larger, and relished the idea of building a large more permanent model railway indoors. Well I am currently in the position to do this now, being older and having my own place, but (there's always a but isn't there), the problem is loft clearance is too low so this leaves the garage (spare rooms are taken up with offices and beds).

So for a while I'd been looking into this, and have been posting on another forum for indoor railways. My track plans initially started with an 8x4 board, then a 10x5, then an L shape but the problem was always going to be where to put it. The thing is the garage will ultimately become a room and utility in the near future with some garage remaining at the front (it's quite a large garage, full house length). This means that if I were to put a layout in there eventually it would have to go. This doesn't appeal to me so I went back to boards that I could store and take down, but I think this wouldn't be much fun either.

The first question most ask on the forums is "well, what is it you want?". This isn't a good question because what I want is a olympic swimming pool sized model railway indoors, but as we all know there are compromises. So perhaps the better question is what spaces do you have available and what compromises do you need to make to use them? I thought about what compromises I'd make, and what I wouldn't. I want to run long trains, steam locos with circa 8 coaches, the sorts of thing you'd find running on the NYMR, in fact I pretty much want that sort of feel to it. I want a loop, for continuous running, but the ability to drive, stop at a station, etc. Nice to haves? A yard of some description, coaling area and sheds. To do a lot of this I need space and this was when the garden came into mind, it's large enough (not massive but certainly not small), it can be permanent and taken down when I move worst case.

Let me describe the garden to you. I think I'm going to use my back garden. The house is link-detached and the rear of the house has just a porch feature in it sticking out perhaps 1 meter or so from the centre of the house. Other than this you can think of the garden as a long rectangle (long edge running along the property walls) around 30 to 40 feet by about 20 - 25 feet (not huge I know). The garden is fenced all the way around (or will be soon) with a gate at the back to give access. The diagram below will give you an idea of how it is setup.

 

Garden Plan.jpg

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Hi Craig and welcome to the OO Garden Railway forum. Apologies if you've had to wait for your 'first post' approval as I'm not always available right away.

My personal opinion is that the garden is a wonderful location to house a model railway and if you can combine the outdoor running sections with some kind of indoor section then so much the better. I'm really excited about your plans, especially as you mention the NYMR, because I get the feeling we're on similar wavelengths. What I'm trying to achieve is the feel of a preserved line along with all the associated maintenance that goes into keeping such a line operational. There's an awful lot of maintenance required to operate OO gauge successfully outdoors as well as a lot of prior thought and consideration into its construction. You cannot cut corners otherwise you'll be left with nothing but frustration when your locos run intermittently, derail, become uncoupled etc. There's plenty of us on here who've made the mistakes already so hopefully there'll be something here you can learn from.

craigreading said:

....what I want is a olympic swimming pool sized model railway indoors....

There was a time when that's what I wanted, the space to build a large indoor layout where I could run much of the stock I have accumulated over recent years but now my feelings have changed. Any indoor layout would have to be in addition to the garden layout as I wouldn't want to lose the experience and enjoyment of running trains round the garden. I like that 'hands on' feel that you can only get by facing nature head on. I think you would love the experience of building that tunnel beneath the pathway (I would certainly advise against anything you have to step over) and it's certainly not overly ambitious to contemplate.

You want a preserved type railway so think of the whole project as just that. You've got to build it, make it work, keep it maintained and so on. Read through all our mistakes and then go out and do it right from the outset. You've got plenty of space available to you but don't try to fill it with track as you probably would with a similar sized indoor set up. Try to recreate what you would find along the NYMR - keep it small and simple.

Looking forward to hearing more about your thoughts and plans.

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Welcome Craig,

Like me you have come back to a hobby after a long break. Things have changed so theres lots to think about. I went for a single track loop (so it looks double) along one side of the garden giving me about 120ft running running track, but all out in the open. In year 2 I extended this along the bottom end of the garden (another 50ft of track) and this year I finally got under cover with a 10 x 8 shed and another 30ft of track. Did I take months in planning it all? Nope it just sort of happened, which is really the problem. Now I spend ages cleaning the track and the kness and back pay for it so here are sime words of wisdom.

Plan by all means but dont over think it. A loop is the easist track plan to do , no fiddley electicks etc.. A station in the garage can come later when its to cold to be out side. What height do you want your line off the ground, if at all, remember you will have to clean the track.

As I have found out, big is not always best and most of the time I just use the bottom loop using the long run on high days and holidays only.

All the information you need is here if its not just ask someone will help.

If your looking for insperation type in oo garden raulways on You Tube and see what others have done.

But most of all enjoy !

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Welcome to the forum!

Your space seems large to me. My layout is around 19 x 10 feet. It's still larger than anything I could have done indoors.

I'd agree with others who say, go look at you tube.

Also, once you get the garden railway bug it completely alters your perception about model railways; indoor railways seem too static and unreal. I see beautifully done but tiny shunting layouts and wonder what the point of it all is.

My best advice:

1. If you can have a shed or a part of the house that trains either run through, or into, it really helps. A huge drawback of my railway is the hassle of not being able to leave the wagons on the rails when I take a break. Back yard helps though, mine is in the front yard.

2. Layout height. Taller is easier to maintain, but not as scenic. I love seeing the ground level stuff, but I doubt my knees would like it. Also, I really like the feel of seeing trains at eyeball level when I sit in a chair. But again very personal choices.

3. Start smaller and expand. Maintenance is a huge hassle. Make a smaller loop and see how you like it. Otherwise you make make something you just let sit unused for years.

4. Planning is good, but going by feel has it's bonuses too. You may want to do a little of both.

5. The biggest bonus of the outdoor crowd is that most of us actually do build a railway unlike a lot of indoor people. So don't worry too much about the details and get a layout going. :)

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Hi Craig and welcome to the exciting and very real world of garden railways.

I certainly have to agree with the others when I say the important things I would consider are :

1) Keep it simple to start with.

2) Think about the level you want your railway at - this may depend on the topography of your garden - there are examples of great railways built at ground level (easy for building paths over but ouch my knees would hurt) or higher levels (these are more in the camp of model railways located in the garden as opposed to garden railways) on this site.

3) Make sure the trackbed is fairly gradient free (especially if you are wanting to run steam locos) and level across its width - refettling a dodgy bit of track is not always so easy to do.

4) If at all possible, have the line run into a garage or shed, so some stock can be left on the line - obviously secuirty is an issue

My, now deceased, line was somewhere in between ground and high level, but was way over engineered! It worked well over the years, but was a pain to clean the track, when I finally had "powered rail" (first 2 efforts were battery powered large scale), as it ran through an established garden landscape.

I am between permanent houses at the moment, so every time I view a property, my main considerations are how big is the garden and / or is there a garage and shed! If the garden is fairly small, I am thinking about how a dumbell / dog bone shape could be used, to get the maximum running length, without the complexities of crossing paths, doorways etc. It wouldnt be impossible, if you are having a baseboard mounted outdoor layout, to utilise a helix and have storage sidings underneath the main layout. If this is how you decide to progress, you need to think carefully about the materials you are using, with regard to durability, weather proofing etc etc.

Most importantly, Have Fun! Some layouts will take years to develop, but it should always be enjoyable.

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  • 1 year later...

Hi Craig 

We have several things in common,  we have not grown up (I'm 61!) we both love model railways in the garden and we both live in Reading. 

I joined this forum last summer. The help and support I got was overwhelming.  Having read a few threads on layout construction, I took their advice and was going for a height of 3' above ground. I was overruled by the the office of domestic services (my wife) so ended up with just under 2. I have used deck boards for the base. It is supported on 2x2 posts and ground spikes. Have a look at "new member new railway" in this category for a glimpse of a complete novice and my layout so far.

WARNING this hobby is highly addictive. Have fun.

Dave 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Welcome to the site,

To me it appears you have a choice;

Low level winding through the the plant life, possibly with raised garden beds as part of the build.

High level with scenery made by yourself .

One possible option in a small garden, is not to have a walk in shed, but to build  a garden cupboard where you lift up the roof and open the door . Then you can have a station / fiddle yard to park up your stock without dominating your garden with a shed.

Your knees and back may take building very low level now,  but if this is a long term build and you are not likely to move. Then I would consider 18 inches+, if domestic authorities require, much of that height could be made with the raised beds. You could for instance do 18 inches of raised beds and then 18 inches of raised railway height to make the railway height less visually imposing.

My own choice, has been to go for around 3ft off the ground as that is the height it will be coming out of the shed. Although I'm lucky as my shed is about the same square footage as your garden, this gives the problem of too much time shed building, not enough model railway building...

Time for breakfast then out to carry on fitting out the shed....

 

Good luck with your railway.

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