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Further work. And with the platform surfaces stuck in down. A nice little project, done in a week.

The hospitable owner calls this a garden railway... which yesterday's visit suggests is technically correct, it being next to his house. Very kind of him to let visitors have the run of the place for the day!

I would have loved to have been able to get that shot! But never mind, I just hope I don't get another opportunity.

Progress The tracks are wired up. I need to add the lead that will connected it up to the DCC. I also need to build a support for the station building to rest on the end.

A photo of the pigeon on top of the train would have been a good illustration of one of the additional challenges of running OO in the garden. You can't have your phone/camera with you every second of the day although some people get very close to it. Your words have let us imagine the scene in our minds very well.

I almost forgot about this one. I've mentioned before about the damage that pigeons do to the parapet walls of the viaduct, in particular along a spot towards the bottom end of the garden where there's a tall shrub that they've decided to nest in. Well last Sunday while I was filming the 'Black 5 Excursion' video I'd sent the train out on its journey exiting the rear of the shed, running along the bottom of the garden, past the afortementioned shrub and then onto Stack Gill viaduct. I was waiting up by the house for the train to make its way round to me but grew increasingly concerned about it's later than anticipated appearance so I went down to investigate. I really should have taken my camera with me but unfortunately I didn't. I was greeted with a stationary train and the sight of a pigeon perched on top of the second rearmost coach. By the time I had been and got my phone/camera the bird had of course gone and this was the result. A small piece of parapet walling just to the right of the '2015' pillar had been dislodged and had derailed the loco bringing the train to a stand. The pigeon had then decided to land on the coach to the rear of the train toppling it over. That's another section of walling in need of repair.

It's probably 3 years or so since I purchased those 4 lengths of lawn edging to add an element of safety to the elevated curved section. Obtained them from my local garden centre and it was probably the last time I was in there so I haven't a clue if it's still available.

I got some lawn edging the same for my garden about 6 or 7 years ago. I went back to get more the following year but couldn't find it anywhere. If anyone finds a supplier, I could do with some for the lawn. (I say lawn, dead moss patch is more apt)

It's a type of plastic lawn edging Ken. Lots of different sorts and designs and useful to prevent stock going over the edge.

Well done Chris. Your trackwork is very good and I love your sweeping curves. I am jealous.

Everything about this garden railway hobby is personal to the builder. I for one as you know marvel at all your time, effort you put into Worsley Dale. Also look forward to your update videos. Just a question on some products you are using after the loon viaduct. What is it. It looks like blue insulation. It would be useful on the sides of my boards where the line is close to the edge. Please keep up your wonderful work.

Meanwhile, over on the big railway... Services after yesterday are being restricted because of fire risk

The trackwork looks great Chris. It's certainly worth the effort if you can achieve more reliable running resulting in a sense of greater satisfaction. Enjoy the running sesssions!

Putting yourself out there in any way you have to expect criticism though some of the comments I've received are actually helpful. I do actually prefer to see loco's with snowploughs for instance but if they never did have them fitted then I feel obliged not to put them on or to remove them if I'd already done so. Yes I'm aware that when it's heard on video the sound doesn't come across all that well. You're only seeing a short clip where the sound doesn't change and clip after clip it can become a bit annoying after a while. This particular soundfile doesn't have a great deal of drivability though maybe I could play around with CVs to improve it and allow it to 'coast' a bit. It's a different story out on the layout because the steam sound actually sounds quite nice running round the garden. We each have our own perception of what sounds pleasing to us and even if I went out and invested in the very best sound equipment and reproduction techniques there would still be an element of viewers that were displeased. But hey...it's rare that any of my videos generate such responses so perhaps I should get those 'Black Label' locos out there too!

It's not a problem at all Dave, in fact I welcome any comments whatever the viewers opinion and everyone is entitled to their own. I only add videos to show progress on the layout and to share them with members of the forum - it's certainly not the end of the world (or indeed Worsley Dale) if someone has something that might be considered negative to say. Probably in some cases though I'm not so sure in all although to be fair I don't really purchase factory-fitted sound anymore so I may be doing it an injustice. I still think that the work of Paul Chetter is as good as anything released by anyone else but it's not just his soundfiles but also the way the sound system is installed in the locos. The Sutton Loco Works class 24s and the Rail Exclusive class 47s that I own are top notch and clearly a lot of thought went into those installations. The TRS system looks amazing and it's about as realistic as you're going to get. Talking of high quality sound and realistic smoke my thoughts just turned to the Dapol 'Black Label' range of A4 loco's! Disappointing to say the least which is why my pair are rarely seen in action. There'll be plenty more to come. If the sounds awful then the volume can be turned down and if they're not what anyone wants to see then they don't have to watch them!

That's certainly something to take into account. I've noticed that a running session can be troublefree for much of the day but as soon as the temperature begins to fall moisture begins to form on the rail tops. It's easily rectified in my case by sending the CMX track cleaner round to wipe the rail tops but something for you to bear in mind.

Actually I have a WW2 air raid shelter that I am going to use. Perfectly dry inside and bomb proof!!

Well I think most of the rolling stock they sell her is English (Hornby). There are a couple of small companies doing Irish rolling stock, but I'm not particularly interested in diesel trains

Started working on a stubby version of Colwick Station. The baseboard is 20cm long, which is 100cm shorter than Colwick. It will allow the tracks to be extended by 12cm, which will enable a couple of my trains to fit in the platforms. It's main purpose is to prevent trains running off the cliff edge. The small baseboard will be self supporting. Rods extend out of the platforms which then slot into the electrical trunking that form the base of my platforms. This is strong enough to hold it in place. I've painted on the undercoat. Top coat next and then I'll pin the track down.

I've not tried it outdoors I've put train detection on my indoor tramway using MERG block occupancy detectors. These are DCC only and trigger when a current is drawn. No reason why there would be a problem outdoors.

I just went back to the video to balance up the comments. Reading the video description again, I think the negative comments were agreeing with what you put in there. Although the sandpaper comment was still a bit harsh.

Hi Paul, That is some garden. Are you going to be operating from a shed or garage with trains running in/out? You're trying something new with block detection outdoors by the looks of it so you will have to be the pioneer.

Thanks for the feedback. I’m not intending a track plan that’s too complex, effectively a large loop with long straights that give illusion of a double track with a station and some sidings. I have quite a long garden, about 50 metres, so it would be great to get some long runs down the garden. However before I attempt such a large scale I think I might start with a test loop to experiment with block detection outdoors. I’m not sure how moisture might effect false occupancy readings but I guess there is only one way to find out! Will keep you posted. Thanks