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To prevent the train from falling several feet into the depths in the event of a derailment like last year, I have started to build protective walls in the exposed areas.

Thanks Ken for your comments. The lighting is powered from 2 AAA batteries with a latching reed switch so they can be turned on/off by passing a magnet over it.

What a wonderful station complex you have built and the lighting just makes oh so much more. How you manage with the winters weather. I was very tempted to take the covers off Howey Valley but notice warnings of snow and frost coming next week. Thanks for sharing your great modeling skills. Ken B

The lighting is very impressive.

Hi All, Another little update on my Garden Railway! It's the first time that I have assembled all the station buildings together! Regards Mark

Ahem!…’Hornby’……🙄

Hi, I'm currently repairing my A4 ‘Andrew K McCosh’ Have ordered a replacement front buffer stock, but it will need painting. Any suggestions as to the best match for the black on this Horny version? Many thanks chaps!

You get better with time. In the beginning, I made mistakes, too, working with cheap speaker cables, for example. They crumbled. I had to rework and replace a lot of them. Today, I only use high-quality cables from industrial (automotive) and landscaping suppliers. In fact, this is one of the few areas where, in my opinion, the choice of material is more important than one's own skills.

Many thanks Thomas for your kind comment. My layout is very simple compared to yours, I wouldn't no where to start with all those impressive bridges and tunnels, plus all the wiring that must be involved. Wiring is not my strong point!

I still think this is truly remarkable for an outdoor station. The overall impression is spot on, right down to the smallest detail, and as I said: I know plenty of indoor layouts that can't compete with this! High praise for you.

Hi All, I've made a bit more progress with my other station in the garden. I've added lighting to my first platform canopy. Still more to do on it, but it's another step forward.

My track has always been firmly pinned down with very little problems with track expansion / damage. Ive always used Trevor Jones "rubbercrete" method when using a concrete trackbed. Ive also used MarkE method of glueing the ballast - the warmer day the better to get the glue to go off.

More Pics.

So, thanks to the warm weather, work on the cutoff and the new bridges is progressing quickly.

Hi Thomas, Well that's very kind of you to say, but my station structures are quite straightforward, made out of folder aluminium sheet and clad in textured plastic card! Your layout is so complexed, especially all the bridges.

Well, that's really great! It even puts many train stations on large indoor layouts to shame.

And some more progress.

Useful to know. I'm always receptive to any more tips.

Water with a drop of washing up liquid could be an alternative to IPA. Also, I found when using SBR mix it takes longer to set compared to PVA, so check the weather forecast before you start ballasting. In full sun it goes off much quicker, but sometimes it is necessary to apply a second application of SBR.

Thanks Mark. Good to know. I've got a couple of IPA spray bottles from pandemic days which I almost got rid of.

Yes, the method is very similar to laying track indoors, I spray the ballast with IPA first to dampen the ballast down, then I dribble the SBR/water mix with a drop of washing up liquid to reduce surface tension, with a pipette dropper.

With the 2:1 SBR/water mix, did you use an eye dropper to dribble the mix on, or some other method? Did you dampen the ballast first with a spray or just drip it on the dry ballast? On an indoor layout using a PVA mix the recommendation is to add a drop of washing up liquid. Did you find that was necessary? I hope to start tracklaying as soon as the weather is a little warmer so it would be good to have the benefit of your experience. Regards, Riddles

PS. I've never tried it, but Trevor Jones, a photographer for Hornby Magazine used a "rubbercrete" topping to his concrete trackbed and then nailed the track down with stainless steel track pins.

Hi Chriscool, Yes, wellcome to this forum. As Clay Mills Junction said, there is no right or wrong way to lay track and everyone works out their own method that best suits them! I've tried many over the years, but after many experiments the final method I've settled on works well for me! My layout is just above ground level on a concrete trackbed, first I glue the track down with a "no more nails" type adhesive, leaving a small gap at the rail joints to allow for any expansion, I then bond each length of track by soldering a solid core copper jumper wire across each rail joint, but making sure to leave a small loop in the wire for any movement, (please don't solder the fish plates to the rails!) Then using a "real stone type" ballast, I fix it all down with SBR glue/water mix, (2 parts SBR to 1 part water). These are some photos of my layout, the track through the station was layed many years ago using a dry cement (it does work, but I wouldn't recommend it), the other photos was using SBR. I hope this is helpful advice. Regards Mark