More a garden layout than a garden railway!

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Sarah Winfield

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I've just returned home after a few days away. I visited Deeping St James and Sheffield.

If I may I would like to describe my garden and ask for members thoughts on how I best utilise the space I have available.

The width is 15' and the length 19'. There is an inwards opening gate in the LH far corner. I think it would be reasonably straight forward to convert this into an outward opening one; or I'll have to put in a lifting section.

On the RHS is a 7' x 5' shed with the 7' along the 19' RHS fence. There is space all round the shed although not very much. There is 14" along the back and 12" along the side.

I would like my railway to be, say, 24" above ground level.

Thanks in anticipation,

Sarah Winfield
 
Sarah, good start! Now you have your measurements get yourself some graph paper and draw it out to scale, as big as possible, include your restrictions, shed etc., and go from there. You need to think if you will use the shed for storage and if so will you want drive-in/drive-out, so you can incorporate that now, even if you intend do that bit later. It's not too difficult, just requires forethought.
 
Hi Sarah, are there any existing features (a large tree, steps, pond) you need to avoid?

What state is the garden presently in? - Grass, flower-beds, pile of builders rubble..

What is / are the ground conditions? - Clay, sandy, boggy..

Is the area concrete / slabs? - If so, what state is it in? - Will / has it settled?

Finally, are you *sure* 24" is going to be high enough for ease of use / maintenance? - This is going to be an ongoing project.. It would be a shame if several years down the line you could no longer maintain it.
 
Also what length will your maximum train be including loco :) and what country, if any, inspires your collection?
You could make a loop wiggling around the whole garden going through the shed so it easy to drive trains in to store on shelves.
If the stations were either side of the shed you could operate it as a loop or end to end depending on your mood.
Couple of very rough ideas on the phone.
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Thank you for your layout suggestions and I have some graph paper to try developing my layout.

Just a little more about the area.

The house was built 2.1/2 years ago and the garden probably covers the builders rubbish.

There are no major features in the garden except for the shed which is on a concrete base. (If I use it to hold my trains will I need to insulate it please?

From the house two patio doors open on to a slabbed area which is 6' deep x the width of 15'. The rest of the garden is stone chippings.

The far gate opens out onto a narrow strip of my garden with a pathway leading to a parking area. Also to a thin strip of my property which I did think might be a later development.

As far as my interest is concerned I am just interested in seeing my trains running. I guess it is mainly continental with a Germanic bias.I would like to see a short mixed freight train of say 8 or 10 vehicles, plus a rake of vehicles say tank wagons and a couple of passenger trains of 3 or 4 carriages.

I thought 24" would be high enough to work on. I'm not really able to get down easily so cannot have a ground level railway. I welcome any further comments.

Sarah Winfield

Most of my track, rail vehicle and locomotives are LGB.
 
Having a railroad not at ground level (good decision) I think it is recommended to take the biggest benefit. from that.
24 inches / 0.61 meter is in between and will lead to to be bent over your railroad.

I have an indoor railroad of similar sized of your circuit and at 34 inches/0.86 meter height. So I stand up straight in front of my railroad.
I addition with similar height you can see your Rolling stock from the sides and not from the cars roofs !
 
I concur on the height.. Unfortunately, time is passing at one second per second, for all of us.. I guess for all of us our mobility will get less?

Have you seen Mike's Lazy Grange Bay III thread? - That is really a 'Garden Layout'!
 
24" will work ok as it's higher than most seats so you can easily work on it or watch from a stool without having the layout even higher.
Insulation is only really needed if you put the control equipment out in the shed. Lgb rolling stock is already weatherproof so manages fine in unheated sheds. If there is a rear access though you might want to add metal brackets between the roof and sides as extra security as it's considered the 'easy way in' to most sheds. I wouldn't keep locos or control equipment in a unheated shed as it's condensation that does damage to electronics and they are higher value items.
If you raise it up you can do so on battens made from treated wood or upvc soffet boards, (which will last even longer), and hide the legs with shrubs or climbers. A raised wall of breezeblock or similar also works well and is fast and can be skimmed with cement, faced in brick or stone as time and budget allows.
 
Suggest insulating the shed, celtex at 25mm will work very well between the uprights. Cuts well with a breadknife or old saw but wear a mask. This can also be used on the floor which can then have those small roof loft panels of chipboard on top to make a nice insukated floor for you. The walls could be faced with thin mdf that you could get cut to size if you have a BnQ near to you, they can arrange delivery and will also supply you the chipboard loft flooring. Think you may need to get the celtex from a Builders Yard. Trying to think of things that you can manage yourself. It is nice to have a comfy insulated shed to admire your trains in, Pauls suggestion re the roof is a very sound ine and oerhaps some good padlocks on the door may be worthwhile. If insulation instaled (do not forget the roof) will be fine to keep your control kit in but house for the locomotives as they are the largest value.
 
Not a lot of point insulating anything unless you are going to heat it.
 
It's surprising what a difference it makes in the summer preventing it from overheating particularly if you block the windows when not out there as the sun superheats it. Also in winter it keeps out drafts and as it retains heat you can work on stuff and test run it all year :) and you can watch trains from inside ;)
 
stockers said:
Not a lot of point insulating anything unless you are going to heat it.
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Very true.

A word of advice - Do not store your locos or controllers outdoors.

Keep them in a warm, dry place indoors. If you leave them outdoors, eventually circuit boards will corrode and fail.
 
AustrianNG said:
Very true.

A word of advice - Do not store your locos or controllers outdoors.

Keep them in a warm, dry place indoors. If you leave them outdoors, eventually circuit boards will corrode and fail.
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Plus of course not everyone who enjoys trains is honest, there's probably a few who covet other folks goodies, and don't want to buy their own.
 
Personally I would go for a waist height level as has been said previously we are not getting any younger .
What is said shed for?
Would there be room for a shelf along one wall that could be used as a storage area, see post 4 but sidings instead of a straight run.
 
As you can see Sarah the advice is well meaning contradictory and all over the place. All I can say is that I have had my control gear in two different well insulated Sheds now for in excess of 18 years with no ill effects. But both have been insulated as I suggested in my Post #9. However in the one prior to moving here I had a Dehumidifier going for a couple of hours a day as it was a little damp due to next doors garden being higher than the shed. Oh it was also a Brick Built one. The Control gear was brought inside for the winter in this one.

But much of it boils down to how much work do you want to do before you can run Trains. On my line I only have to take out some engines, turn on the controller, fire up the compressor, open the shed mini doors and I am ready to go. But the work of a few minutes.
 
Digical equipment really dosnt like being damp and then having power run through it...it's entirely up to you which advice or system of powering your railway *( see rule 8)*..
My lines raised up..about 36 inches but it varyes as the ground wasn't flat.
I run continues with a model village outlook..it has to look right as much as run right..best advice I could give build it big enough to be fun and small enough to manage ( time/maintances)20180126_132157.jpg
 
Personally, I'm not that enthralled with the all invasive 'backyard empire' style. Bit of the classic British 'round the edges' fan. Think of access to every square inch of the layout.... excessively elevated track will have you climbing over, or crawling under your railway. Reading between the lines, I gather that you have mobility issues, therefore, a railway that you walk into, rather than climb into, is probably worth consideration. For continuous running, return loops at each end. If the technicalities of these are too daunting, just run a second 'main line' back to the other end. A railway 'on stilts' is always going to look just like that, however, to lessen that effect, I'd suggest planting hedge type trees under the track formation. Eventually, you get greenery enhancing your garden and railway. I think they've used that trick at Pecorama. Also helps when you get the enevitable derailment (you will, because the base boards will warp over time) in that your valuable stock lands softly in the growth, rather than scoring points in the 2 foot free diving competition. Points? Yes, you get points for the more pieces that you break off, and like Golf, lowest score wins.
 
Given a blank canvas I’d build the trackbed on a combination of blocks and planks which I’d then enclose with raised beds/rookeries to allow scenery to be developed.

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38thfoot said:
Given a blank canvas I’d build the trackbed on a combination of blocks and planks which I’d then enclose with raised beds/rookeries to allow scenery to be developed.

38
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Cah! Rookeries!! :eek:
Think of all that track cleaning! :eek::oops::giggle::giggle:
 
I'm all for offering, and receiving, advice... that is one of the strengths of this forum.
The challange I would like to put, is that those offering advice, back that up with practical examples/photos, be it their own, or properly credited.
As we say, Rule 8 prevails, but, there is usually not only one answer to a problem, just some are better than others.
 
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