Dave's Garden Railway

[Dave]

Well, now the contracts have been exchanged and we have a moving date of next Friday, it no longer seems TOO early to start my own thread. I have already tackled perhaps one of the more difficult planning issues - the naming of the layout. Dave's Garden Railway seems to sum up everything I want the layout to say about itself at the moment. It may change at a later date, but it'll do for now

I visisted the house this morning to do the final pre-sale meeting with the builders and my parents came along to have a look around the house, too. My mother caught this shot of me and Dad planning the DGR already!

The current plan for the DGR involves a shed containing a fiddle yard at the back end of the garage (the building in the photo) and just in front of where my Dad is standing. The line will head out down the short section of fence behind Dad and then down the longer section of fence behind me. It isn't so clear in this photo, but this long section of fence is a touch over 43' long.

I've still got a lot more detail to work out, but I think I'd probably better get on with the packing and moving and unpacking and some other bits in the garden, first, or I'll be in trouble with my wife! But I'm pretty excited about planning this layout on the sandy blank-slate of a new-build garden!

Dave.

[mick]

Great to see you've started already Dave, even if it is just at the planning and thinking stages. You've certainly got a nice sized area to work with (if you've got the necessary permission for its use as a railway) and at 43 feet in length you should be able to accommodate all your requirements. It will be interesting to see this develop from the blank canvas.

Good luck with the packing (just had a quick look at your website so I can see you've got lots of packing to do) and hope all goes well. Will your father be assisting with the railway construction and does he share your interest?

Mick

[Dave]

Thanks Mick! We're hoping the move will work out well, too All of the railway stuff and the model soldiers from the garage are packed, now, and my wife has the house mostly done too - just taking a 15 minute break in the middle of sorting out the final bits.

My Dad probably will end up helping out with bits and pieces. He encouraged me to have my first model railways when I was a kid and he is a model builder and a railway fan, too. He used to go and watch the locos with his brother in Doncaster when he was a lad and has always had been interested, mostly in steam. Most lately he has been building 1/24 Airfix kits of a Spitfire and a Mosquito, but he's also half-way through the Dapol Evening Star kit, too He's certainly already come up with some good ideas, one of which was moving the shed that both increases DGR's running length as well as giving my wife's planned vegetable patch more sunlight - a win-win idea!

I have made double-sure that I have got permission. I'm not sure my wife 100% believes I'll actually go ahead and build DGR, but she should! But I'm likely to get assistance from her father as well. He is the proper train buff of the family. He's also got a 5 inch gauge loop in his garden with a full sized signal and he's just bought a OO9 layout, so I'm getting plenty of moral support and he's given my wife a good understanding of model rail enthusiasm!

Better get back to the packing, though ...

[Dave]

Just two small updates today:

* House move worked well with very few hitches, so we're now in the property and surrounded by boxes!

* Found some of my indoor track and had a fun hour playing with my Flying Scotsman and InterCity 125 on a small oval last night, just to make sure they still work and nothing more, of course! Not had them running for about four years, so I was a little concerned to be sure they were OK. Still not found the box with my A4 in, yet - but there are plenty left to unpack!!

Many other little jobs all around the house are to be done before I can properly get into building DGR, but I'm hoping to make some more progress within the month!

[mick]

Good to hear you're settling in to your new home. I'm sure you'll have plenty to occupy yourselves with over the next few weeks before you can seriously think about cracking on with the DGR. Wouldn't want you getting into any trouble for neglecting other duties so there's no hurry

I've always been amazed at how models that have been stored away for a number of years or left lying around in cupboards, drawers or boxes, can immediately spring back into life as soon as a few volts are applied to their wheel treads. I wouldn't like to hazard a guess as to what proportion of purchased locomotives are packed away in boxes for years on end without ever turning a wheel - it must be quite high from my own personal experience There are so many different models available these days that it's highly likely that most modellers have a good number of locomotives that they rarely ever use.

Mick

[Dave]

I think you're right about the number of models packed away for years on end, Mick! The one loco I've not dug out of the boxes yet, my little green tank, can't have been run for over a decade and must be nearly twenty years old, but oddly, I'm less worried about that one than I was about the Flying Scotsman.

A small an unexpected amount of progress was made this week. Since it was my birthday this week, I was treated to 25 yards of PECO SL-100! Yay! Got to say that Gaugemaster were very good - not the cheapest supplier on the net, but I chose their standard postage option and the track arrived the very next day!

Of course, I've got to build something to lay the track on, yet, but a couple of small cash gifts will be spent on appropriate timber at the weekend And maybe a few bricks and some concrete to provide a stable base! I'll try and sketch up and post my plans in the next few days.

But I did find the box with my Mallard and express points in it, amongst all of the other boxes waiting to be unpacked!

[mick]

Belated birthday greetings Dave and well done with the Peco track. You do know you're going to want a lot more yet?

Whichever way you decide to go do spend some time getting it right from the outset. A stable base is a necessity but so is a level base (unless you've planned some gentle gradients) and without that you're not ever going to be 100% happy. Even a small unwanted gradient will hinder successful operation of any steam loco's you might wish to run. Don't rush it, you can always run end to end whilst construction is ongoing.

Look forward to seeing your plans.

Mick

[Dave]

Thanks Mick. I think I'll be needing at least two more packs of 25 yards - probably more

I've been doing a bit of sketching here at work in between tasks. Basic dogbone loop will be perfectly flat (if I get it right, of course!), even though I don't plan on running any steam at all right now and I'm working on a design for a stable base that will be raise the running level of my track up to more-or-less waist-height.

I'm kind-of planning on (even counting on) the fact I'll never be 100% happy with it and will want to tinker - that is where some of the fun comes from for me. Worrying about curve radii right now, though. I was planning on 30" minimum, but I don't know if that is going to be too large. I guess some practical experiments in the garage with my new track are called for this weekend!

[mick]

I agree, part of the fun of building the layout outdoors for me is the constant battle against nature and the elements to keep it fully operational. I'm also always thinking of ways to add or change things around. I think that's why, although I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do from the outset, I never had any firm plans and tended to make it up as I went along. I look upon it now as an operational railway that needs frequent remedial work and regular maintenance - just wish that the track could be laid loose on ballast so that it would be easier to 'tamp' when you get the odd bumps and dips appearing - you know, like the real thing!

...Worrying about curve radii right now, though. I was planning on 30" minimum, but I don't know if that is going to be too large.

Do you mean too large in that it might not fit in the space you have available? All I can suggest is that you use the largest curves you possibly can, not only because your trains will look much more realistic whilst going round them but also because you'll have far fewer problems with loco and wagon couplings (that's another of my experiences). If I remember correctly, the tightest curve on my outdoor section is a 72 inch radius just before the viaduct and I do sometimes wish I'd made it larger. It doesn't cause any problems but I like to see the trains going round large radius curves. Saying that, inside the shed I am down to roughly a 30 inches radius and they haven't caused any problems to date but bigger is most certainly better!

[Dave]

I considered using a ballast tray, but since I'm planning on being brave and putting points outdoors, I felt the opportunities for ballast fouling the points would be too high a price to pay. Maybe I'll live to regret that decision, but I'll stick with it for now

The problem I've got with large radius curves is that I'm only really going to be running up and down the back fence - I don't have the necessary permission from my wife to use the whole garden! So I need to execute a 180⁰ turn at each end, which I'll fill with suitable scenic work before the lines come back together for the main run down the fence. I'm heading towards a 24" radius split over two 90⁰ turns, with a short straight section in the middle. This is only slightly larger than Hornby's 4th radius curves (which are 22.5"), but I think with a little bit of superelevation this should be fine.

As always, I think some more playing in the garage will be in order!

Sorry if this is all a bit dull for everyone else, but I'm finding it helpful documenting my thought process. Thanks for the space to do this, Mick!

[mick]

I've seen a number of garden railways using small radius curves and if it's a necessity then you have to go with it. It shouldn't be a problem operationally because almost every item of RTR rolling stock currently available is designed to work on such curves but I have had problems with certain tension lock couplings as you might have read before. You should be able to disguise the degree of curvature with scenic work if you wanted but that all depends on how you feel about it.

Documenting your thoughts isn't dull, in fact I find that they are very interesting. I've always enjoyed reading about the development of layouts both indoors and outdoors and the ideas behind them, from the time before the first wood is cut right up to the final scenic work. There's plenty of space available to you so you're gonna need to keep your thinking cap on.

[Dave]

Thanks Mick. Your posts about your preservation railway are making me want to build a smaller indoor layout as well ... must resist It doesn't help that as I keep unpacking boxes of an evening I keep finding odd bits of track and scenery that had been squirreled away in the old house and I'd forgotten about! We had lots of help from family and friends when packing, so I didn't see it all go in.

I think 24" is where I'm going. A bit of experimenting last night with ad-hoc plasticard superelevation showed the corners can be handled at a good lick by my trusty old 4472 with three coaches. So I think its time to stop worrying about that and start worrying about where I'm going to put stations and where all of the points are going to be placed!

[mick]

As I said last time, model railway stock is designed to go round sharp curves so you should be fine at 24 inches but you'll probably find that 'a good lick' is way over fast. When I first started running trains round the garden I also obviously had them running far too fast but it wasn't apparent until I'd actually recorded them on video. Once you get accustomed to it, a prototypical speed round the garden actually looks much more convincing.

An indoor layout too...? Well when the bug bites it really digs its teeth in. It's not such a bad idea though as they are completely different types of layout.....

[Dave]

No real progress on DGR in the last couple of weeks, except for getting other chores out of the way.

But I did want to record that I picked up from ebay this week a lovely Lord of the Isles loco with three clerestory coaches, two composite and one brake. Runs pretty nicely, too

Hopefully, I'll be able to start on some structural elements in the next few weeks. My sister is knitting me some partially fingerless gloves with a railway theme so I can do some work outside in the winter! I might try and lay some more paving this weekend so that I can get to more of the garden without it being too muddy underfoot when it all gets really damp and horrible.

[mick]

Take it from me Dave, you'll find underfoot conditions are the biggest hindrance to winter running so do whatever you can to make the area more accessible. I remember what it was like here last year but so far I haven't done a darn thing about it Mind you, last year I was erecting a shed and constructing the extension into it - won't be doing that this year!

Fingerless gloves will come in useful, with or without a railway theme. The delights of a garden railway eh?

Good to hear your stock list is growing and that you've had chance to test them out. Won't be long before there's some videos now

[Dave]

A few more slabs are down in the garden and the lawn was seeded a couple of weeks ago, but its not growing much with this cold weather, oh well!! Some lumber and slabs are now sitting idle in the garage waiting for my attention to make them part of the DGR, but other indoor chores have been taking precidence, once again.

But I did at least get in what might loosely be called a running session with my kids (age 3 and 5) in the living room a couple of weekends ago. After I received some mineral wagon in the post courtesy of ebay, the kids wanted to play with my train set, so I set up a large square of track with 3rd radius corners and 1 yard sides, dug out some of the trains I care a little less about and let the kids have fun.

Here you can see my oldest daughter managing the "station" where the baby Sylvanian families go for train rides, whilst her younger sister controls the train out-of shot.

http://www.azaleanempire.co.uk/rail/images/SylvanianRailways.jpg' alt='URL>'>

It turns out that the mineral wagons are just the right size for this purpose! I was impressed with the running schedule they set up, going around the circuit to the station, changing seats on the train and moving off again before the girls switched seats and doing it all over again. The scale irregularites didn't seem to bother them, nor did the SNCF diesal, which they liked for the working directional light. I wasn't allowed to run anything even closely prototypical until after they were in bed, but we all had fun!

One day I hope we'll be able to do this outside, though!

[mick]

One things for sure Dave, your daughters will love seeing the trains running round the garden so it's something they can share too. However, as you point out, having a young family does mean that your indoor chores must take priority so you'll have to find the right balance in order to get construction underway. It certainly looks like you all had a lot of fun with the trains running in the house and that's the main thing. You'll have plenty of time for building the DGR.

[Dave]

All been quiet on the DGR front for a while, apart from the purchase of a large Thomas lot from ebay for the girls (and me!) for a Christmas Present

However, I shall be going to the Warley Show at the NEC on Saturday with my Dad and my father-in-law. Anyone been before? Anything particular worth looking out for? Sounds like it should be a good day.

[mick]

Back in the early 1990s myself and a group of friends went all over the country attending various model railway exhibitions. To be honest it was always a bit too hectic for my liking but we always had a great day out and would usually come home with some new purchase or other along with the obligatory souvenir programme. I'm sure exhibitions are much the same now as they were back then and it's been some time since I last visited one. It's much easier these days to view layouts via the internet from the comfort of your own home where rarely do you get the rear of a rucksack thrust into your face. I've never been to Warley but I would imagine that if you can put up with the crowds you should all have a brilliant day. Here's hoping you do.

[Dave]

Thanks Mick. I've been to plenty of similar shows for the wargaming and miniature painting community, so I know I'll be fine with the crowds bit. I'll report back after the weekend!