Dikitriki
Flying Squad
Hi
My wife has always wanted a garden railway.
I have always refused to build one. I didn't see how a garden railway could satisfy my finescale desires.
Then Steve went and built his Castle and my wife and I visited Simon's layout, and Fred Phipps is about to release a D600 warship, and I started to ponder. What about a G1 garden line - a simple affair, just to run trains in the garden for the hell of it. I already have one of Freds D800 warships to build, so I was already considering G1 (1/32), but assumed I would go elsewhere to run. Several members of the Heyside team have G1 stuff, mostly Finescale Brass, so it was possible that they may be enthusiastic enough to assist.
Anyway, a rough outline was agreed with SHMBO, a tentative budget agreed, and when the mob turned up today to work on Heyside, we spent the first hour or so discussing a potential garden railway. Allan just happened to have his surveying equipment with him and we did a quick survey to look at ground levels to see if my outline idea was a starter.
The ground drops by about 3' over the layout area which is ideal as far as I was concerned, so let me take you through the plan.
We start at the part of the garden nearest the house, where the layout would be at ground level....
The post bottom right is where the line turns through 180 degrees, continuing on a right hand curve to the second post, reverse curve at the third post and then off left in front of the 2 flower beds.
The line goes in front of the 2 flower beds and then goes through a 180 degree curve round the far one, going past a staging/steaming area - the only points on the layout. By now, the track is 3' above ground level.
We've now gone past the staging area and are on a concrete viaduct running round the back of the 2 flower beds. There is a 90 degree right hand bend at the end of this run and then a run up to the starting point.
The starting point is the 180 degree bend round the ash tree in the furthest bed in the picture and round to the first post mentioned above.
Total run about 175 ft, double track, minimum radius 10'. I am awaiting the detailed results of Allan's survey to determine levels to see whether embankments , walls, stilts are appropriate, but both my wife and I are insistent that any railway should complement the garden rather than dominate it.
Will it happen? No idea, but great fun planning and thinking.
Cheers
Richard
My wife has always wanted a garden railway.
I have always refused to build one. I didn't see how a garden railway could satisfy my finescale desires.
Then Steve went and built his Castle and my wife and I visited Simon's layout, and Fred Phipps is about to release a D600 warship, and I started to ponder. What about a G1 garden line - a simple affair, just to run trains in the garden for the hell of it. I already have one of Freds D800 warships to build, so I was already considering G1 (1/32), but assumed I would go elsewhere to run. Several members of the Heyside team have G1 stuff, mostly Finescale Brass, so it was possible that they may be enthusiastic enough to assist.
Anyway, a rough outline was agreed with SHMBO, a tentative budget agreed, and when the mob turned up today to work on Heyside, we spent the first hour or so discussing a potential garden railway. Allan just happened to have his surveying equipment with him and we did a quick survey to look at ground levels to see if my outline idea was a starter.
The ground drops by about 3' over the layout area which is ideal as far as I was concerned, so let me take you through the plan.
We start at the part of the garden nearest the house, where the layout would be at ground level....
The post bottom right is where the line turns through 180 degrees, continuing on a right hand curve to the second post, reverse curve at the third post and then off left in front of the 2 flower beds.
The line goes in front of the 2 flower beds and then goes through a 180 degree curve round the far one, going past a staging/steaming area - the only points on the layout. By now, the track is 3' above ground level.
We've now gone past the staging area and are on a concrete viaduct running round the back of the 2 flower beds. There is a 90 degree right hand bend at the end of this run and then a run up to the starting point.
The starting point is the 180 degree bend round the ash tree in the furthest bed in the picture and round to the first post mentioned above.
Total run about 175 ft, double track, minimum radius 10'. I am awaiting the detailed results of Allan's survey to determine levels to see whether embankments , walls, stilts are appropriate, but both my wife and I are insistent that any railway should complement the garden rather than dominate it.
Will it happen? No idea, but great fun planning and thinking.
Cheers
Richard