New member from County Durham

[Reece]

Hello everyone I'm Reece from County Durham, I've recently bought my first home with a really nice private garden perfect for G scale railway. In a complete stroke of luck a friend at work was selling a loco and plenty of track.

I've literally no idea how to go about a garden railway yet everyone has to start somewhere I'm hoping to start it at the beginning of next year fingers crossed it all goes to plan.

 

[PhilP]

Welcome to the Forum Reece!

You might find some answers here.. Lots of banter, and we really like pictures once you get started!
So, for a start.. What loco have you got?
PhilP.

 

[Reece]

That's everything I got, but it's a great starting point, does this forum have a Facebook page?

 

[Zerogee]

Welcome to the forum, Reece - ask anything you want, there will usually be someone on here who can give you a sensible answer!

That loco looks to be battery powered, is it a scratchbuild? It also looks like it's most likely 32mm gauge?

Jon.

 

[PhilP]

Sorry, others will have to answer that one.. - Though I believe there is one..
Don't do 'Facilebook', 'Blinkered-in', or 'Twaddle'.. Live is too short!

 

[Rhinochugger]

Right, for a start, you'll never fit a decent layout in the boot of a car

And the forum is.............well, a forum so I'm not sure how FB would help.

There are some G scalers who do Facebook in preference to the forum. From my limited experience of FB - limited becasue it drives me nuts - it is much more difficult to follow old threads than it is here on the forum.

Here you can dip in and out, and catch up with week old stuff, without having to scroll through 50,000 items of dross. Whatever floats yer boat I suppose.

But I'd love to see some pictures of that little loco running in the garden

 

[Reece]

Yeah I only queried Facebook as I use my phone to access this forum trying to make life a little easier

The loco and track is literally the only thing I've bought so far so seeing it run in the garden is a world away yet!

I'm hoping to start collecting and saving to start building early next year based in the northeast I was wondering if there was.any local government scale layouts near by?

 

[idlemarvel]

Welcome to the fold. When starting your garden railway, do you plan to use the stuff you've been given as a starting point or start from scratch? If the former then can you measure the width of the track between the rails (it will probably be 32mm or possibly 45mm) and take a picture of the bottom of the loco so we can tell if it is ready made or hand made (sometime called scratch built). Then we can advise on how to build on that foundation. If the latter the usual way to start is with a "starter set" which includes all the stuff you need to run a simple railway; track, locos, transformer, controller, etc. But before any of this see if you can find someone local with an existing garden railway you can visit to get an idea of what the long term goal is. You may already have done that if so please share.

 

[Reece]

The track is 45mm and the loco was bought already built.
Is there anywhere on this forum to see people's progress threads and get an idea where to start from scratch.
I'd imagine I'll be building it on a budget but hoping to collect a lot of the materials over winter.
I'm yet to decide how raised I want the layout as the length of the garden is roughly 30metres long.

 

[idlemarvel]

Some forum members have posted progress reports but there is no special category of forum AFAIK.

I guess you are looking for a kind of blog. You could try Peckforton Light Railway as an example:
http://riksrailway.blogspot.co.uk/
There are also books on the subject (Kindle as well) such as Practical Garden Railways by Peter Jones.
Some retail web sites give general advice e.g.:
http://www.gaugemaster.com/articles/guides/getting-started-in-g-scale.html

Regarding height of the track, there is no correct answer. It depends on the geography of your garden, your physical dexterity (can you bend down to floor level), how well drained your garden is (water/prolonged damp is the enemy of all model railways), how you want to use or watch your layout (do you want to sit in an recliner beer in hand and watch trains go by at eye level), etc. Quickest and easiest is to lay at ground level, but for all the reasons above that may not be best for you.

Sorry it is not a simple answer, but most of the fun in this hobby is trying things out and eventually ending up with what you want rather than religiously following a script. IMHO.

 

[Reece]

I don't think any level would be an issue, I'm only a young lad not really known as a young lads hobby haha!
I was hoping to do the railway sleeper boarder but only the height of one so would still be rather low to the ground

 

[trammayo]

Hello Reece and welcome to the madhouse!

If you click on FORUMS - presuming you can do that from your phone (I'm a dinosaur so can't use that technology other than for phoning people) - then you can scroll through and see the specific headings which may, or may not, answer a few questions.

Quite a few of us use G Scale Pictures - which show the progress of our railways. Don't be afraid to ask a question (there's a wealth of information out there) - you might have to wait a day or two for the right answer!

 

[dunnyrail]

Welcome to the Forum, I have to say that on first view the Loco looked to be 32. But looking again the Track certainly look slike it is Peco so as it is a bit finer Rail than LGB or others it can be a bit deceaving. There are quite a few Start Uo Lines this Year on the Forum. Navigatibg through can be a bit tricky till you get to understand the Forum. Callum is a newish starter and his threads will probably give you some ideas:-

https://www.gscalecentral.net/threa...oject-update-12-august-september-2016.307931/

That link was a little vid of his recent extension.

Another who started his line recently was Henri

https://www.gscalecentral.net/threads/rabbit-hill-tramways.307258/

Both these will give you some idea's that should help the beginner.

Another on You Tube is Zac. Just search for "How not to build a Garden Railway"

His Vids are hilarious and give some good tips. But some are a bit shall we say doubtful. Still if you review his stuff you can see what works and what did not!

Re your Track,mnot sure what space you have, but inevitably you will need some Points and Curves. Peco can be curved but can be devilish tricky to get Even Curves with it. I have a couple of Templates that I use. However if you are happy to take Tight Curves then Peco do Setrack ones, these for the beginner will give you a Guaranteed Curve admittedly tight Radius but equivalent to the Sharpest LGB ones at around 600mm Radius.

Good luck with your efforts and do not be afraid to ask more as you get going. Oh plus lots of pictures as well!
JonD

 

[idlemarvel]

I don't think any level would be an issue, I'm only a young lad not really known as a young lads hobby haha!
I was hoping to do the railway sleeper boarder but only the height of one so would still be rather low to the ground

If you mean laying track on railway sleepers that is a good height to avoid water, slugs, snails etc and is the same height as my layout but a devil of a job to cut to make bends. Hope you like sawing!

 

[Reece]

Small update the track is in fact 32mm I double checked this morning at work
I was going to use the sleepers as the boarder but haven't really looked into yet.

 

[Zerogee]

Small update the track is in fact 32mm I double checked this morning at work
I was going to use the sleepers as the boarder but haven't really looked into yet.

I thought that the sleepers looked very wide in comparison with the track gauge, which pointed to it being 32mm rather than 45mm..... that puts it more in the realm of 16mm NG modelling rather than G (the "16mm" refers to the scale, at 16mm to the foot, which works out at about 1/19 scale). I think there are a number of other members on here who work with 32mm gauge, but you will find that most in G scale use 45mm. If you decide to stick with the loco, coach and track that you have just bought, then you will find it very worthwhile to take a look at the 16mm Narrow Gauge Association (16mil NGA) in addition to this forum; joining the 16mil association gets you a really professional magazine four times a year (actually two mags at once, one glossy colour one and a separate issue on Association matters) plus various other benefits and freebies. While 16mm is largely associated with live steam, there is also quite a bit of battery power covered, often for use when weather or time prevents firing-up the live steamers.
The single best show for you to visit to buy stuff will be the 16mil National Show at Peterborough, usually sometime in May each year, but there are several other smaller but very good shows around the country too.

Jon.

 

[Reece]

Thanks for that Jon I'll have another look into it now that you have give me that info

 

[dunnyrail]

Thanks for that Jon I'll have another look into it now that you have give me that info

Just for your interest, much of what I said is still valid 16mm Scale 32mm Track or G Scale 45mm Track. What is also relevant is that Peco do Setrack Curves in 32mm Gauge at a far better Radius. So worth your while looking up some stuff.

G Scale and LGB Wagons or Coaches can be regauged to 32mm Track Gauge by the simple expidency of cutting some meat out of the Plastic over the Metal Axle. Keep the Metal Axle intact. You can get from GRS replacement Wheel sets as well. Size wise (G Stock) they do look pretty good with 16mm Locomotives as a rule.

Ready to run is not quite so readily available in 16mm, it is certainly a Kit and Scratch Builders Scale. Jon advice of joining the 16mm Assn is sound advice, I am in fact a member. The Mag will give you plenty of advice and details of what is available. Plus there are plenty of Local Grouos to get involved with should you wish to. But you have a start already so good luck.
JonD

 

[Gizzy]

Welcome to the forum Reece.

Might be worth you joining a local Model Engineers Club if there is one near you....

 

[Reece]

Just for your interest, much of what I said is still valid 16mm Scale 32mm Track or G Scale 45mm Track. What is also relevant is that Peco do Setrack Curves in 32mm Gauge at a far better Radius. So worth your while looking up some stuff.

G Scale and LGB Wagons or Coaches can be regauged to 32mm Track Gauge by the simple expidency of cutting some meat out of the Plastic over the Metal Axle. Keep the Metal Axle intact. You can get from GRS replacement Wheel sets as well. Size wise (G Stock) they do look pretty good with 16mm Locomotives as a rule.

Ready to run is not quite so readily available in 16mm, it is certainly a Kit and Scratch Builders Scale. Jon advice of joining the 16mm Assn is sound advice, I am in fact a member. The Mag will give you plenty of advice and details of what is available. Plus there are plenty of Local Grouos to get involved with should you wish to. But you have a start already so good luck.
JonD

Just for your interest, much of what I said is still valid 16mm Scale 32mm Track or G Scale 45mm Track. What is also relevant is that Peco do Setrack Curves in 32mm Gauge at a far better Radius. So worth your while looking up some stuff.

G Scale and LGB Wagons or Coaches can be regauged to 32mm Track Gauge by the simple expidency of cutting some meat out of the Plastic over the Metal Axle. Keep the Metal Axle intact. You can get from GRS replacement Wheel sets as well. Size wise (G Stock) they do look pretty good with 16mm Locomotives as a rule.

Ready to run is not quite so readily available in 16mm, it is certainly a Kit and Scratch Builders Scale. Jon advice of joining the 16mm Assn is sound advice, I am in fact a member. The Mag will give you plenty of advice and details of what is available. Plus there are plenty of Local Grouos to get involved with should you wish to. But you have a start already so good luck.
JonD

Hi Jon, I'm still trying to get used to what scale im using and what buildings I'd need to buy am I right in thinking the 16mm to the foot?
I've searched peck and can only find the flexible track?
Don't suppose you have any links to good websites.

I'll have a better look into adapting wagons and coaches once I get to that stage I've got till next year before I even start my layout