jimbob

You obviously have a better class of skips round you way than I do, slim pickings recently. Have to be careful as well as the those nice traveller gentlemen in there transit pickup's don't like people muscling in on the territory either!

The original coaching stock was 9, later 10 carriages and on articulated bogies al a Eurostar (there's nothing new in railways!). If I remember correctly the Hornby coaches weren't articulated and not well streamlined either. Case of paint it silver and hope no one notices. That said I have seen then for silly prices on E Bay.

Another five star video, showed it to a friend who couldn't work out how you keep the camera so steady whilst running alongside the track ! I see video's like this and feel that despite the wind and rain I should be out the doing something, well maybe if it stops for a while.....

I think you'll find that it doesn't hold water that well so dry's out quickly. The down side being that it fades and goes brittle in the sun after a while. p.s. It's hammering it down here in SW London, but the it's the first rain I've had for over a month so can't complain. Well I could but no one would listen!

Over engineered makes them sound far granader than they are. There in sections just over 6ft in length so they could be fitted to the fence posts. As I was determind to use up wood I already had they are not the normal plywood set up rather various lengths of planking laid across a ladder style framework cut to width and screwed down. Time consuming yes, but to all intense and purpose, no cost. The first four where built 10 inches wide, to allow for extra track to fiddle yard or station in the future. The rest are narrower as there a bit more bespoke as the have to fit round or through some bushes. The narrower ones are fine but the wider ones weigh a ton and I think they may be a bit much to be self supporting from the fence posts. Now considering the options of Metaposts or brickwork piers to rest them on. Trying to work out which will take the least effort ! It may not be the tried and tested way but last year I knocked up some temporary outside storage shelves the same way and considering the were not preserved or covered in any way the have survied without warping or rotting etc. It may not be the best methord of constuction but given the budget (nil) it don’t look to bad.

Well not many “railway hours” in the afternoons this week due to work. BUT, last of the baseboards, well the straight ones anyway, finished and ready to be put in place. The plan was to attach them to brackets screwed into the fence posts but because I’ve built them from whats available rather then what’s needed there a bit over engineered, for want of a better expresion, and weigh more than I thought and I don’t think the fence will take it. So I think it’s either brezze blocks or separate posts/ brackets to put it on. Shall have to measure up tomorrow (Sunday), hopefully the expected rain will hold of long enough for me to deliver my Christmas catalogues in the morning without getting soaked and do a quick line survey latter. The larger base for the staion area has been a disater, serves me right for trying to do it for nothing, so I’ve admitted defeat and will have to BUY some ply to do it with. The garden needs to be levelled off there as well so still plenty to do, Autum or not. To my mind a garden railway is an all year round thing (weather permitting) and I certainly will be out there, Damart thermals and all, all over the winter !

Without getting into the rights and wrongs of it copying a recording from someone else's CD, record, whatever for use in an engine IS illegal without permission. Off course one class 37 sound like another so who would know. To be honest if I was paying that sort of money for a sound chip I would expect it to rattle the windows not sound like it has laryngitis ! My wallet is glad I haven't moved into the modelling 21st century yet.

Does anyone have working semaphores on the layout? Would love to have working signals but they seem to cost a fortune. Colour lights are much more affordable but semaphores look much better. Needed not be electric, just praticle, cheap, easy and idiot proof.

Would have to agree with that. I'm not technical but we are used to sound bouncing of walls etc, so in a confined space it sounds louder. Putting a speaker in a loco is a bit like taking a radio out in the garden, close up you can hear it but move more than a few feet away and you need to turn the volume up much more than if you were indoors. So do you face the speaker down so the noise bounces or would it be better up into the body work allowing it to use the body as an amplifier?. A question, but no answer sorry.

It's criminal what some people throw in skips, but it's never actually what you want at that time. As a "that'll come in handy one day" person I have a shed full of tat that I am slowly working through (just how many ball cocks does a man need to keep for emergencies?) Skip spotting for Themilte bricks at the moment, may try some "proper" building.

Full set of tracksetta gauges and 6ft way thingy on shopping list. Can't abide a kinky curve ! I will have to mock up the curve in cardboard just to see what fits and and where and the use that as a template, all this advice and professionalism is starting to rub off on me, OK, just a light coating admittedly, but every little helps. This afternoons "railway hour" was taken up with marking up the fence for a level trackbed/base. The promised borrow of a laser level never happened so I improvised with a £1.49p (inc P&P) laser pointer from ebay taped to the fence (checked with spirit level first) and then a a piece of paper held in front of fence post and level marked. Job done, £1.49p, expensive this garden railway lark isn't it.

On paper the curve one end is about a 5ft radius but I am waiting till the bushy area it will run round is pruned back so I can measure up properly. Hopefully the bush will hide the tightness of the curve. The other end may be a bit more tricky as it has to run under the conifer trees. The plan was to remove them but the quotes I've had so far are way over what I can afford so at the moment they stay and I fudge it. As for Christmas, I deliveried my first artifical tree at the beginning of August, takes the magic out of it really.

Blimey, I had an idea that worked ! I might get to like this civil engineering lark. Well impressed with that George, you make it look easy (bet it's not) might have to have a play myself. The planing on my line lacks a "feature" and this could be it.

As a “Viaduct Virgin” with the DIY skills of a Baboon, what struck me looking at your plan was how much it looked like something like you make with kids wooden building blocks (not meant in a rude way). So why instead of carving it out of one single block and perhaps mucking the whole thing up right at the end make the sections seperatly and then “kit build” it. Two upright towers separate and the the arched and bottom pier sections . From what I see Themilite can be drilled with care so the centre section could be drilled and metal bolts/pins inserted to line up with holes in the tower sections, dolop of cement to hold it in place and clamp together till set. Same for bottom piers. If you done it on a production line basis they would all look the same then. But as I say what do I know about civil engineering, bucket of nails and a bit of wood and I’m happy for hours!

You'll be glad to hear that the power tools stayed in the shed today although the neighbours did have half hour of nailing and sawing to endure! I do parcel delivery for a living which means I work Monday to Saturday, one of the company's I work for has decided to issue there Christmas catalogues starting next week (!) which means working the next couple of Sundays to keep up so some urgent mowing, pruning and trimming needed to be done today instead of railwaying today. Still did measure up for the loops at either end and try to work out how I will build them, straight lines are fine, but curves will challenge my limited DIY skills.

The sun is shining so another late finish today but still managed to get my "railway hour" in. I would do more but there was a sideways comment from one of the neighbours of "ain't you run out of nails yet". Still, need to cut up some more wood so power tool time tomorrow morning, how to make friends and influence people! I should point out that the neighbour in question does let his dog out for a pee at 5am every morning and it then barks for ages to be let back in so an hours hammering in the afternoon is reasonable I think.

Well, now have 2x 6ft sections ready to go up with another 2 ready to go together this weekend hopefully. Also have the boards ready for the station section sorted out but they didn’t go together that well so may need to try again. A vist to a home for deluded DIY’ers, or B & Q as it’s known is on the cards Sunday as I need some more roofing felt (still yet to find any in a skip!). May also be short on wood in the end but that’s away off yet. Total spend so far £15 (plus Sundays felt). Not bad really. Thought I had a deal on some broken Thermlite bricks that were destined for the skip as fancied a go at a viaduct sometime (ace job Mick by the way) but the skip man came early so away they went. Nothing actually going up yet as I am waiting to borrow a laser thingy to line everything up on the level, or as level as a DIY idiot like me can anyway. Track fund almost there so may actually order it the end of next week. It will all seem a bit more real when I have some track in my hands. No turning back then. Is this a garden railway thing, I have to work six days a week but do finish early on some of them. Why is it the days I finish early it rains and the days I’m snowed under the sun shines! Those the Gods wish to destroy they first make mad, with a garden railway!

Although not considering DCC at the moment I did find this web site and found there reviews very help full. Just thought it may help other Luddite's and ditherers like me in there deliberations. http://www.dccconcepts.com/index_files/DCCadvice1.htm Shame it's more than a bus ride away !

Thanks for doing the photo Mick, the tutorial was much appreciated ! Will try again when I do some more work. Any gradients will be slight, no more than one inch over a 6ft panel (1 in 72?). I would like to get going while the weather holds, and the meagre budget lasts. The whole thing is being financed by a rationalisation of various cherished collections from over the years, or tat as everyone else seems to call it, what would we do without E bay. So far the track fund is about there and the base board is being built with what is to hand and suitable although I do need to get some more roofing felt. On which note DON'T buy the cheap B&Q stuff go for the slightly more expensive stuff, it's much better. Now a quick question, has anyone tried using a car battery to power there layout, either through an inverter or direct. Outdoor power supply wont be on for a while and was looking at alternatives to extension cables trailing everywhere.

If I've done it right above this should be a image of the garden, if not back to the drawing board ! (nope it didn't but it's in my gallery if you want to look) Still. nothing done today as treated myself to a trip to the Spa Valley Line, all work and no play etc. The pilot bit of baseboard I have produced is timber braced on all four sides underneath so I hope that that is stable enough, will suck it a see and learn from any mistakes. There will be a slight incline built in, maybe more than one with my building skills, we'll see. Several grand schemes were dropped in the planning stage, large terminus and gradient down to low level circuit etc. I can dream can't I. Anyway IF the picture has come out the line will run along the fence on the left hand side. Trees, bushes, leaves I can here you say and yes I know and plans are being made to cope with that hopefully. Several reasons for choosing that side: 1. Its my boarder fence where the opposite side is the neighbours so don't want to fix anything to it + it needs to be replaced soon. 2. That side is out of the sun most of the time and leaves withstanding is pretty well sheltered and protected from the elements. 3. It's a new fence so I wont have to disturb the track etc. for a while. 4. Plenty of breeze for a windmill. Shall keep you updated as I go along.

Thank you all for the warm welcome, well after working till dark and coming in looking like a mud wrestler because of the rain yesterday the final bit of the fence was completed this morning. (excuse for lunchtime drink if nothing else). Bigger cause for celebration was that I put together the first 6ft section of trackbase, so no going back now. The wood for the next bit is cut and ready but the back and knees aren't, also my neighbour could do with a break from the hammering and swearing when said hammer makes contact with my fingers! As requested I will post photo's but could someone tell me how to resize them, the digital revolution hasn't past me by, it just keeps moving when I catch up with it!

Hello, my name is Jim and I’m planning a garden railway (sorry that sounds a bit like a model railway anonymous meeting) I’ve read the posts, here and elsewhere watched and dribbled over all your video’s on You tTube, I have studied the do’s and don’t and hell that looks easy I could knock that out in a weekend, OK then I wake up. So stage one, the planning has been done, in my head if not on paper. So where do I start, well I have an 84 ft long fence in urgent need of replacing which, when done is just begging for a “railway shelf” along it. The fence is part way up and hopefully I will be finished this weekend weather permitting. Stage one, a simple dumbbell with a station in the middle giving the impression of double track. All so simple really, except that my practical model railway experience stopped some 40 years ago with a 6 x 4 train set in the bedroom and my DIY skills would send shivers down your spine. OK so I have some friends who are serious modellers and let me play, sorry operate there layouts so I do have some knowledge of what going on out there (and hopefully some practical help as well) So once the fence is done, were off and running. Oh and one last little problem, hardly worth mentioning really is that the budget for all this is, well almost nil. No problems then.