Worsley Dale Garden Railway

[traingeekboy]

Mick, what's the status on the viaduct? Seems like you were getting really close to completing the circuit last time I was on here posting.

I remember when I did my railway, and even now that it needs repair, the final connection was a real conundrum for me. Getting it all to line up when it's not just boxes of wood as in an indoor layout, just added stress for me. It is a lot of why I haven't bothered to repair mine yet.

[mick]

A beautiful morning over in Worsley Dale but sadly no time today to do anything about getting the layout completed. However, whilst cleaning out the Koi pond I did deem it worthy enough to take a photo of the aubretia alongside the large viaduct which were planted only last year. They establish themselves in no time at all and put on a glorious show.

The ones further up the line are also aubretia but a different variety and have yet to come into their own.

What a lovely day it would have been if there had been chance to run some trains over that viaduct. I really do need to get my finger out and get something done. Seeing the garden in the sunshine really does give you added motivation.

[Riddles]

Delightful shot, and the railway looks as though it has a purpose and is going somewhere, instead of just going round in circles. Trevor Jones's Great Wakering is similarly inspiring.

[traingeekboy]

The flowers really look nice with that viaduct of yours.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Mick, agree what Griff has said with the flowers, what the plants name , like the purple colour, will look even better with w train on the Viaduct.

How are you going with the last section of your layout plans.

Tony from down under

[mick]

 

aussietmrail said:

....what the plants name....How are you going with the last section of your layout plans...

The plants are just a variety of aubretia, a low ground covering plant. These particular plants were purchased on a visit to the Yorkshire Dales but they are of course widely available elsewhere.

I've not touched Worsley Dale so far this year Tony as I've had so many other things to do but I'm sure once I get started it shouldn't take me too long to make that all important connection.

Riddles said:

Delightful shot, and the railway looks as though it has a purpose and is going somewhere, instead of just going round in circles....

That's why I've tried to keep things simple so that you don't see trains circling. I wanted them to appear from one direction and exit to the other so that, just like you say, they appear to be running somewhere with a purpose. I'm sure some people will be wondering why I just laid single track when I've got ample room for quadruple (although the viaducts would have been a little more testing) but that's the scenario I set out to create. It's going to be a preserved line on some days and on others I'm hoping it's going to have a bit more of a Scottish theme, although I'm not sure I'll be going so far as changing all the interior station details.

[mick]

Having spent the day cleaning up the garden, I have decided to begin erecting the remaining baseboards for Worsley Dale tomorrow providing the weather stays fine. I have plenty of suitable timber in the shed to make brackets and to add supports to the plywood boards which, by the way, have still not fully dried out from their bitumen coating last summer! I'm not sure just how I'm going to be able to handle them without getting covered in bitumen. I think wooden brackets will be sufficient and I can make them so that there's a small amount of adjustment possible to make up for any errors I've made with the levels to date. The boards are 10 inches wide which are too wide for a single track but I am contemplating adding an additional line from that point so that one runs into the indoor station to complete the continuous running loop and the other into a fiddle yard along the opposite side of the shed. That will allow me plenty of operational possibilities and for the sake of one point and a bit more track I'm sure it will be worthwhile doing. It will also leave me with space to add some scenery if I decide that's a good idea. Hopefully I will have some progress to report tomorrow.

[shaung75]

Great news Mick. The weather is looking good for the next few days, well at least I hope it is anyway as I've booked off today and tomorrow to work on my layout because of it!

Look forward to seeing your next update

[mick]

I've actually got loads of things I need to be doing Shaun but I'm determined that today I will make a start on completing the outdoor layout. I find it easier to motivate myself if I plan ahead and know what I'm going to do before the day actually arrives and so the weather forecast has been part of the equation and yes, it looks like being a fine few days. I'm not sure I'll be able to spend the whole week out there but maybe a couple of days at least.

Make the best of the fine weather and good luck with your own layout. Look forward to comparing our progress later.

[mick]

As promised yesterday, there's been progress down on Worsley Dale today (maybe it should be Worsleydale?). I'm not sure just how much I'd expected doing but I'm happy with where I've managed to get.

So, we're working along the bottom perimeter fence on the section that will link the newer viaduct up with the indoor section at the rear of the railway shed and complete the garden loop. The baseboards along the bottom of the garden are elevated and will be fixed to the existing fence posts with brackets. I was going to purchase metal brackets, either hanging basket or greenhouse shelving, but decided instead to make them from pressurised timber battens. Here's the three I made first thing...

So, with the brackets made I needed a way of fastening them to the concrete fence posts. I was concerned about drilling the posts but having been reassured by IanR that it was easy with an SDS drill I purchased a cheap one from Screwix. It will come in handy for other jobs too I'm sure. This one's a TITAN and it included several drill bits and chisel accessories. Well worth the money but very heavy.

Rather than fasten my brackets directly to the posts I chose to fasten some timber left over from an old pallet to the posts first and then simply screw my wooden brackets to those. That allows me to move them up and down easily in order to get the whole thing level at both ends. The posts did indeed drill easily and the bits of old pallet were soon in place.

And so to the brackets. I just fastened them loosely in position with a single screw until I can level them out.

And on top of the brackets went my still tacky bitumen coated baseboards which were given additional support with timber battens along both edges.

As things stand they are currently too high and need lowering by almost two inches in order to be level with the end of the viaduct. I have already cut the curved plywood that leads from the viaduct to these boards so it shouldn't be too long before it's all connected up. Then there's just the short section to the rear of the shed to complete.

[chris]

What height is that above ground level? Looks like the slope in your garden has given you a nice ground level garden railway at one end and a handy shelf railway at the other.

[mick]

 

chris said:

What height is that above ground level? Looks like the slope in your garden has given you a nice ground level garden railway at one end and a handy shelf railway at the other.

Yes, a sloping garden does have it's advantages and I get to have a variety of layouts all in one. In that particular area along the bottom fence the baseboards are at a height of 43 inches.

I've managed to do a little bit more today although visually it's much like it was yesterday. I started off by making sure the brackets were at the correct height and after tracing the line round to the shed it appears there's a difference of about one inch between the viaduct and the indoor section. That's pretty good considering I've used only a spirit level throughout. I've started raising the baseboards to take that discrepancy into account. The brackets were screwed permanently in place and given a coat of creosote as I'm still trying to use up a container that's been lying around the garden for a few years now. I also added some additional bracing to the underside of the plywood baseboards and this can be seen in the following photo.

I then added the roofing felt on top of another coat of bitumen felt adhesive. The warm sunshine made it super easy to lay as the felt was supple and the adhesive nice and soft. I tacked along the edges with felt nails being careful to nail only into the timber battens and not the plywood edges. The timber batten on the edge of the board is for the curve section that joins up with the viaduct. I'm not sure yet how this will be fastened so give me some time with that one.

And finally an image that's been long overdue, a shot of the viaduct with the new elevated, felt covered boards visible along the bottom fence to the right. Yippee!

[shaung75]

Great work Mick, finish line in view!

[mick]

 

shaung75 said:

Great work Mick, finish line in view!

Finish line is just 16 feet away - 12 of that is dead straight with just one more curve. I think I have enough materials to do most of it so all I need is the time.

I've decided that the single track coming off the viaduct will revert to double track as it runs onto the new boards. The line that will be furthest from the boundary fence will run into the current indoor station and complete the garden loop enabling continuous running. The line adjacent to the fence will run into the opposite side of the shed, perhaps just a fiddle yard or maybe a second but smaller station, in order to give the line a more prototypical scene of operation. I do like to feel that an operating train has a purpose rather than seeing it exit the shed at one end and enter from the opposite a few moments later. That's just the way I view things - my personal preference.

The fiddle yard/second station will be done last of all as it will require some baseboards constructing inside the shed although I don't intend these being much more than 12-18 inches wide - just wide enough to hold perhaps 2-3 trains.

[TheQ]

A beautiful picture Mick, not far to go now. Real creosote much better than the modern replacements.

[mick]

 

TheQ said:

...Real creosote much better than the modern replacements.

 

It is but the fumes can be over-powering. I was ill the whole following day the first time I used it so now I only use it in moderation. Get the stuff on your skin or clothing and it takes weeks to get rid of the odour. As a wood preservative it's excellent but not so good if you're wanting to make friends.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Mick, gee you sure have being busy as you say not far to go,, love the curved viaduct, what the radius, my biggest radius is 24 feet,12feet, 7feet smallest is 6feet, than will change till when I build stage two, way to go planning a passing loop after the viaduct.

Wonder if you are doing any work on the layout afternoon your time.

Be now work on my layout tis weekend my train club is having its train show was there today handing out pamphlets to tradies and layout people and ticking them off on the list, tomorrow I will be manning an exit, hope to get some time to take pics and video and buy stuff mainly wagons.

Mothers day on Sunday so my wife is going visit her mum , my turn to look after our son, that is fair, I can't go on Sunday would like to, up early tomorrow, opens 9am.

Keep the good work up Mick be looking forward to seeing a video of the first train running around the layout, how long has it taken you to get this far.

Tony from down under

[mick]

 

aussietmrail said:

..., love the curved viaduct, what the radius, my biggest radius is 24 feet,12feet, 7feet smallest is 6feet, than will change till when I build stage two, way to go planning a passing loop after the viaduct....

My maximum radius is only 7 feet Tony, but I've done that in order to keep the layout more or less round the outside of the garden so that it doesn't encroach too much into the central area where I would then need to step over or crawl under. 7 feet radius is fine, even with my mineral wagons and their scale instanter couplings. No problems even when pushing them.

I wasn't sure where to start today so seeing my remaining part-sheet of plywood standing in the shed I decided to cut it into the narrower strips required to complete the baseboards round to the shed. One of the wider sections is for the remaining straight, the other will be cut to form the curve. The two narrow strips are for where the tracks will split - one going to the inside station and the other to the fiddle yard. Only the straight section needs to be used at it's full length, all the others will require trimming to fit as necessary. The pieces are all 8 feet long and I only need a total length of 16 feet

I've given all the pieces an initial coat of bitumen adhesive thinned down with white spirit so that it soaks into the wood.

I now need to construct another 2 brackets so I'll make a start on that and then perhaps get the two posts drilled ready for mounting the boards.

[mick]

I constructed the two brackets needed to support the remaining boards and then decided it would be wise to creosote the fence panels before the baseboards were in place. I gave the two brackets a coating too. With that done I then cut two lengths of timber from the same old pallet as before ready to fix to the fence posts once I'd drilled them. It was then, while I was collecting together the necessary bits and pieces, that I discovered I had only one suitable fixing left for the posts and I need four of them. I didn't fancy a quick trip to the DIY so it's now been left for another day.

[TheQ]

I love the smell of creosote, I associate it with my Grandfather the ganger, for not only did he have newly treated sleepers to look after, but they were responsible for maintaining the fencing. Creosoting fences posts regularly.