Hi

dunnyrail

DOGS, Garden Railways, Steam Trains, Jive Dancing,
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25 Oct 2009
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St.Neots Cambridgeshire UK
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Fred2179G

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20 Apr 2017
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Try to use a single (or the longest you can get) length of track in a tunnel. Don't make it more than two arm-lengths long, and make the scenery around so you can get that full arm-length in to retrieve the derailed items.
I totally agree with Phil. My pal (an artistic but not mechanical type personality) has a tunnel with a bend in it. It is longer than 2 arms-length, and trains are always derailing because he has a track joint in the center without a decent track bed under it. I persuaded him to cover it with flagstones so we can get the derailed train out - but as my trains are live steam, that gets tricky at times.
On my original garden layout I had a 6' tunnel ducking under a tree (which dropped crud all the time, so the tunnel helped.) It was straight, made from 3 off 2' x 9" chimney liners (std over here, but I don't know if they are available in the UK.) The track was laid on a plank that passed right through and strips of wood kept the track in the center of the plank.