First ever garden railway project

M

Monk_1987

Registered
Country flag
Hi Guys

We have been having some nice weather here in Wales over the past couple of months so I decided to start my first ever garden railway project.  The interest started when I was a young teenager watching Garden railway with Mark Found, and once I bought my own house a few years ago I really wanted to give it a go.  I started through the winter with a couple of modelling projects which can be found in the links below.  Once I started these it really got the bug going.  So I thought I would create a new topic for people to watch my progress and for anyone to give me advice would be greatly appreciated....

Model 1

https://www.gscalecentral.net/index.php?topic=300791.0

Model 2

https://www.gscalecentral.net/index.php?topic=301057.0

As I don`t know exactly what I doing I decided to build a station down one side of my garden so that I could experiment with what works and doesn`t etc.  So that I can learn and apply what I have learnt to the rest of the garden.  So I started out by digging a small trench down the side of the garden.
1. Dug long trench stage 1.jpg

I then filled it in with concrete and started working out the measurements for the siding.
3. Working out the siding stage 2.jpg
4. Working out the siding close up Stage 2.jpg

I then started building a mold for the siding using the measurements I had taken earlier.  I screwed spiked posts into the mold in order to secure it into the ground.
5. Siding mold back close up stage 2.jpg

I then bought some flexible wood and worked out the correct curve from my measurements and clamped them in before I screwed it permanently.
6. Siding mold close up stage 2.jpg

Siding mold sits in place.
7. Siding mold in place stage 2.jpg

Siding mold filled in.

8. Siding mold filled in and removed close up stage 3.jpg
9. Siding mold filled in and removed stage 3.jpg
10. Full length garden with siding stage 3.jpg

I then put in the garden border to hide the side of the concrete.  Pretty pleased with how it`s come out so far.
11. Full length garden with siding and border stage 3.jpg
 
Brilliant work keep the pics coming .
 
Welcome to the forum. a very nice start. I have a feeling that your expectations may expand given time!
 
Alan beat me to it..

Good progress..
Though I fear if the bug has really taken hold, you may find your loop / siding limiting in the length of train you can accommodate.
Oh, and I hope the conifers are a dwarf variety? - Trunks / roots of something like a Leylandia (sp?) will damage the trackbed.
 
;) Like your neat workmanship, well done.

A point to ponder, though. With that nice edging you have put alongside the concrete, have you considered how you are going to mow you lawn and cut right up to the edge? Personally, I'm a fan of mowing strips (read.. too lazy to get the strimmer out (besides that, no one has invented a strimmer yet that actually works)).
 
Nicely done. Looking forward to your progress.
 
Great start,keep us up to date with the build,and of course ,,,,welcome ;) ;)
 
Gavin Sowry said:
;) Like your neat workmanship, well done.

A point to ponder, though. With that nice edging you have put alongside the concrete, have you considered how you are going to mow you lawn and cut right up to the edge? Personally, I'm a fan of mowing strips (read.. too lazy to get the strimmer out (besides that, no one has invented a strimmer yet that actually works)).
Click to expand...

Me too re the Mowing Edges. I like to Cement A Block Paviour edge all round the Lawn.

But re the size of the Loop, would not be a massive job to extend with all of Rio's undoubted skills with the Cement. Plus better to start manageable then build up later.

To keep those Conifers in check, lift them out and replant into Plant Pots and plant those in another slightly larger pot. Remove each Year Trim to size both the Plant and Roots. Basic Bonsai Technique.
JonD
 
well done that grailer!! great to see a new line being born..
 
From one "Newbie" to another, great start and good to see another garden railway take shape.
 
Gavin Sowry said:
A point to ponder, though. With that nice edging you have put alongside the concrete, have you considered how you are going to mow you lawn and cut right up to the edge? Personally, I'm a fan of mowing strips (read.. too lazy to get the strimmer out (besides that, no one has invented a strimmer yet that actually works)).
Click to expand...
Hmmm, as lawn mowing contractors we beg to differ. We use a trimmer every day and it works very well for us and for all of our colleagues. But they do take considerable time to learn how to use properly. On the other hand, I have yet to come across a mowing strip that actually works... Oh, I get it, it's our grass: Kikuyu grows vines that defeat them.

Personally, I just spray glyphosate along lawn edges.

Sorry, I don't want to hijack the topic...
 
dunnyrail said:
Me too re the Mowing Edges. I like to Cement A Block Paviour edge all round the Lawn.

But re the size of the Loop, would not be a massive job to extend with all of Rio's undoubted skills with the Cement. Plus better to start manageable then build up later.

To keep those Conifers in check, lift them out and replant into Plant Pots and plant those in another slightly larger pot. Remove each Year Trim to size both the Plant and Roots. Basic Bonsai Technique.
JonD
Click to expand...

Hi Jon

Thanks so much for the advice about the trees. Genuinely appreciate it big time as I don't have too much experience with them. Do I plant the pots in the ground too? What about the wind blowing a gale? Will they hold? I only want them to grow around 4-5 foot but need them to fill out. Any tips on that?

Thanks
Rhys
 
You need to know what species you have bought..
Leylandi will grow, and grow.. Others have a more compact habit.

Five feet might be a but much for the 'pot' idea, but I bow to others knowledge on that..
 
Update 2....  Thanks for all the advice.  In terms of the siding being small and I will want to expand..... Unless I have a serious pay rise there is no chance of me expanding the siding due to the size of our garden, plus my wife has been great allowing me to build it I am not sure she would be too happy to expand further into the garden.

The points on the trees are very useful and I will look into `sorting them out` as I never considered the roots being a big enough problem, but I don`t have much experience at all with the garden as I am still a `Pup`  :P

I saw a topic on here a while ago with a middle section between the tracks that I thought looked really smart so I decided to do it.  Here is the mold below, and it being filled in.
12. Middle mold stage 4.jpg
13. Middle Mold filled in stage 4.jpg

I put some ridges in to add some detail to it.
14. Middle mold with riges stage 4.jpg

The molds have been taken off.  The 2 holes (explained in the next couple of pictures) will be for some lights that I am planning on making while it`s raining (which is looking likely according to the forecast).
15. Middle mold finished stage 4.jpg

I had some spare elbow joints from a job I done a while ago putting a radiator in for my Nan so I thought I would put them to good use.  So I buried them into the concrete with a small pipe sticking out in order to feed the cables that will go in there.  I thought the copper pipes were ideal as I can easily slot a 15mm pipe in the hole left by the elbow joint.
16. Pipe idea stage 4.jpg
17. 2 holes from pipes stage 4.jpg
 
Excellent bit of 'forward planning' there! ;) ;D ;D
The elbow should make it easy to push the cables round the bend..
 
PhilP said:
You need to know what species you have bought..
Leylandi will grow, and grow.. Others have a more compact habit.

Five feet might be a but much for the 'pot' idea, but I bow to others knowledge on that..
Click to expand...

I will look into PhilP. Thanks very much for the help. Maybe I should buy some slow growing bushes. Any ones you could recommend?
 
Monk_1987 said:
I will look into PhilP. Thanks very much for the help. Maybe I should buy some slow growing bushes. Any ones you could recommend?
Click to expand...
You need others on here for 'haughty-cultural-advice'! :D
I am not a good gardener!! ::) :(
 
PhilP said:
You need others on here for 'haughty-cultural-advice'! :D
Click to expand...

Wearing my Horticultural Hat, they look like one the following, Leyland cypress 'Castlewellan', Cupressocyparis leylandii 'Castlewellan Gold' or Cupressocyparis leylandii 'Galway Gold'

Cuprocyparis are large, very fast-growing evergreen trees of narrowly conical or columnar habit, with tiny scale-like leaves in dense sprays, and small spherical cones.

'Castlewellan' is a vigorous columnar evergreen conifer to 25m, with flat sprays of golden-yellow foliage, sometimes tinged bronze.


Some info on what best type of hedge.....https://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Right_Species.html
 
A little like this Rhys -

IMG_3176.JPG
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom