Resurrecting a disused garden railway - the SCGR reborn

[Clive Tucker]

Hi all, I think this is the right place where I can tell this story.

The development of the line proper started in 2003, and went reasonably well. However, around 2010 for various reasons my interest in it started to wane, as the time and effort required to even get a loco to perform a full circuit unaided increased to a point where I didn't feel it worth it.

The weeds, and in particular the ivy I had naively planted at the start of the venture, needed no second invitation to really take over:

It was to be fully 6 years before I was able to summon the will to fight back, and ironically the moment came in June 2016 whilst I was on a period of compassionate leave looking after my wife as she had undergone a serious operation. During that time I learned what a vacuum cleaner looked like, how to operate a washing machine too... I also found myself yet again returning to the garden to somehow try and tidy it up. The tipping point for me was spotting that the ivy had reached the decorative block walling separating my garden from my neighbour's, and was proceeding to grow through it! That was it for me - the ivy had to go:

Unfortunately this meant completely dismantling a Cotswold stone 'wall' as the ivy roots were pretty much intertwined with the stones.

It also meant that the Lonicera bushes, planted at the beginning of the line's development as tiny seedlings, had to come up too; their roots were interweaved with the ivy. In truth they were getting too big and unwieldy, obscuring most of the line from normal view; another compelling reason to lose them:

The rest of this side of the garden quickly followed suit:

Next was a whole load of weeding, digging up clumps of grass etc. You will also notice black lumps scattered here and there - these are in fact strips cut from black plastic soil bags, an early and not-very-successful attempt at weed suppression. The weeds must have laughed long and heartily at that:

I decided to keep the Hebe and the Lavender bush as they are comparatively slow-growing, and certainly not invasive. Plus, when cut back, they are very convincing G-scale trees, I think

The next step was to lay a more stable, weed-proof bed for the track to run on. I decided to use 'Celcon' blocks as these are light, and easily cut to required shape with a saw - preferably an old one of course! Hint: if you don't have an old saw, get a new one - it will soon be 'old' after a session cutting these blocks!

The excavated soil was used to back-fill the stones as the wall - more shallow this time - was rebuilt:

Sorry for the pic overload, I'll continue this story soon!

 

[PhilP]

Hello Clive,
Don't apologise about the pictures! - You must have done something right.. The underlying track-bed looks pretty good for several years neglect.

Will be interesting to see this develop.. thanks for sharing.
PhilP.

 

[Sarah Winfield]

Excellent. How nice to see a line, that had fallen into disuse begin to be revived.

Please keep up the narrative and post more picture of the lines development.

Thank you.

Sarah Winfield

 

[Gavin Sowry]

Keep Calm, Carry On.

Jolly good show, keep it up. Amazing the skills you learn when looking after a crook missus. I mastered a new machine that I have nick named J Edgar. Bonus, more time in the garden when SWMBO is snoozing.

 

[dunnyrail]

Last Summer I recovered a load of track from a line that had been moribund for around 7 or 8 years. Amazing how nature takes over again though the bits that were on a raised low wall were fine, just lots of bird poo from the Conifer Hedge that it was under. Still a Power Wash sorted that out.

Good to see your line being resurected.

 

[Clive Tucker]

Thanks, all, for your kind comments.

While I was busy being a navvy, I was also quietly being a wannabe engineer - I was conscious of the fact that a lot of the bridges were very much the worse for wear and in need of replacing; particularly the bridge that carried the line across the path. This is how it looked when brand new, back in 2003:

I recall being really proud of this as it was made quite cheaply and easily (from 3 pieces of garden trellis), and it really blended in with the garden. Of course, the problem was always going to be what would happen when the weather ultimately took its toll. I guess in a way I should be grateful that it lasted as long as it did:

Not obvious from that last pic, but much of it was rotten!

So, what to replace it with? Well, I managed to obtain some plastic piping from a local plumbing supplier, which seems to be used in preference to copper piping these days, and came up with a basic design:

Here's how it looked with construction under way:

I decided to make the cross beams wide enough to incorporate a walk-way to the side of the bridge, to add a little visual interest and give some of my figures a place from which to watch the trains!

As it stood, it was already strong enough to take the weight of my heaviest loco:

However, in the interests of making it look right, I added some supporting braces at the top, and some supporting chains to hold the deck up. I also added some posts which would hopefully allow me to install some safety railings:

I then made a start on adding a walkway to the side, with strips of aluminium mesh:

Even now that's not actually finished, but that's another story!

 

[Rhinochugger]

Thanks, all, for your kind comments.

While I was busy being a navvy, I was also quietly being a wannabe engineer - I was conscious of the fact that a lot of the bridges were very much the worse for wear and in need of replacing; particularly the bridge that carried the line across the path. This is how it looked when brand new, back in 2003:

I recall being really proud of this as it was made quite cheaply and easily (from 3 pieces of garden trellis), and it really blended in with the garden. Of course, the problem was always going to be what would happen when the weather ultimately took its toll. I guess in a way I should be grateful that it lasted as long as it did:

Not obvious from that last pic, but much of it was rotten!

So, what to replace it with? Well, I managed to obtain some plastic piping from a local plumbing supplier, which seems to be used in preference to copper piping these days, and came up with a basic design:

Here's how it looked with construction under way:

I decided to make the cross beams wide enough to incorporate a walk-way to the side of the bridge, to add a little visual interest and give some of my figures a place from which to watch the trains!

As it stood, it was already strong enough to take the weight of my heaviest loco:

However, in the interests of making it look right, I added some supporting braces at the top, and some supporting chains to hold the deck up. I also added some posts which would hopefully allow me to install some safety railings:

I then made a start on adding a walkway to the side, with strips of aluminium mesh:

Even now that's not actually finished, but that's another story!

That's quite ingenious - and structurally sound without any computer calcs

 

[PhilP]

Clever!
And almost oblivious to the effects of weather..

 

[Clive Tucker]

Thanks chaps. Certainly the weather has not altered it much over the past 2 years; this is how it stands as of about an hour ago:

The only thing that's been affected is the chains, but since they are cosmetic only I am not too bothered about that. My cunning plan is, one day, to spray the structure all over with Halford's grey (or possibly red) car body primer, and then have a go at making it look a bit more rusty/weather-beaten. So good luck with that then!

 

[ge_rik]

Glad to see that the line is being resurrected. Fascinating thread, will follow with interest. Great looking bridge BTW.

Rik

 

[dunnyrail]

Thanks chaps. Certainly the weather has not altered it much over the past 2 years; this is how it stands as of about an hour ago:

The only thing that's been affected is the chains, but since they are cosmetic only I am not too bothered about that. My cunning plan is, one day, to spray the structure all over with Halford's grey (or possibly red) car body primer, and then have a go at making it look a bit more rusty/weather-beaten. So good luck with that then!

For Rust you could Caseys method of Iron Fillings and Vinegar, works overnight for the impatient. Great idea well executed. Though the old one looked perfectly salvageable to me!

 

[Clive Tucker]

By October 2016, and with 5 blocks still unused, I turned my attention to the other side of the garden.

This section was initially completed in 2004:

Over time, it evolved slightly, including the addition of a 'private siding' for a pipe manufacturer. This was taken in 2010:

Of course, as with the rest of the line, 6 years of neglect allowed nature to take over, and even the attempt to clear it back in 2015 made little discernible difference. This is how the eastern side looked prior to work starting:

For the first time in 12 years, the track was lifted, and the 'weed-proof' covering removed:

Then the last of the blocks were laid:

In doing so, it showed that the blocks that form the station platform were too low, so these needed to be dug up and relaid to maintain the height relative to the track bed.

With the remaining blocks all bedded in, the track was repositioned. Of course, the opportunity was taken to perform a quick 'system test':

The following weekend another 5 blocks were bought and laid:

Then, after an extensive period and several portions of elbow grease, I managed to clear and clean the entire circuit, enough to have a loco travel round it unaided for the first time in more than 6 years. The event was captured on video:

https://vimeo.com/album/4187735/video/189527542

Another weekend, more blocks (and more heavy duty bags for holding the spoil from my excavations) were procured; however the weather meant that there was not much opportunity to progress the new track bed in this area - but, 4 blocks was 4 less still to do:

Of course, as with any excavation work there is always the possibility that archaeological evidence will be uncovered revealing past endeavours:

And that's how it stood as at the end of 2016...

Thanks all, for your kind comments and suggestions!

 

[FrenchChuffed]

welcome back Clive, glad to see you are back on Track.

 

[Sarah Winfield]

Thank you for the update. I'm following your progress with interest.

Sarah Winfield

 

[Clive Tucker]

Thanks Sarah for your interest, much appreciated.

Hi Brian, how are you doing sir! Not there yet by any means but I have rediscovered a bit of mojo, so hopefully the momentum will build from here.

 

[dunnyrail]

By October 2016, and with 5 blocks still unused, I turned my attention to the other side of the garden.

This section was initially completed in 2004:

Over time, it evolved slightly, including the addition of a 'private siding' for a pipe manufacturer. This was taken in 2010:

Of course, as with the rest of the line, 6 years of neglect allowed nature to take over, and even the attempt to clear it back in 2015 made little discernible difference. This is how the eastern side looked prior to work starting:

For the first time in 12 years, the track was lifted, and the 'weed-proof' covering removed:

Then the last of the blocks were laid:

In doing so, it showed that the blocks that form the station platform were too low, so these needed to be dug up and relaid to maintain the height relative to the track bed.

With the remaining blocks all bedded in, the track was repositioned. Of course, the opportunity was taken to perform a quick 'system test':

The following weekend another 5 blocks were bought and laid:

Then, after an extensive period and several portions of elbow grease, I managed to clear and clean the entire circuit, enough to have a loco travel round it unaided for the first time in more than 6 years. The event was captured on video:

https://vimeo.com/album/4187735/video/189527542

Another weekend, more blocks (and more heavy duty bags for holding the spoil from my excavations) were procured; however the weather meant that there was not much opportunity to progress the new track bed in this area - but, 4 blocks was 4 less still to do:

Of course, as with any excavation work there is always the possibility that archaeological evidence will be uncovered revealing past endeavours:

And that's how it stood as at the end of 2016...

Thanks all, for your kind comments and suggestions!

Good to see the. Refurbishment of a nice line that has sadly been moribund for a while. Great refurbishment and will clearly improve as you continue. Though that grade at begining and end of the vid requires some carefull driving, tricky when you are taking a vid!

 

[Clive Tucker]

Good to see the. Refurbishment of a nice line that has sadly been moribund for a while. Great refurbishment and will clearly improve as you continue. Though that grade at begining and end of the vid requires some carefull driving, tricky when you are taking a vid!

True, I tend to send live steamers up that slope as it's less likely to end badly... ask me how I know...

 

[Clive Tucker]

Progress on resurrecting the line stalled during 2017 with a combination of appalling weather, and an injury sustained during the removal of a rather invasive shrub from adjacent to the viaduct.

Before:

After:

Unfortunately, during an extended period of kneeling to remove the trunk of this shrub, both my knees 'locked'. It took me an age to straighten my legs, and two of the loudest, most stomach churning 'clunks' ever heard. I couldn't kneel down for months after.

As a result, that was pretty much the sum total of the progress for the year.

It won't surprise you, I am sure, that Mother Nature wasted no time at all in attempting to re-establish her grip on the garden in my absence.

Having given up work back in March this year - I want to call it 'early retirement', however I am not actually drawing any pension at the moment so technically I am merely unemployed - I found myself with an unhealthy number of hours to fill during the day. Fortunately the weather picked up over the subsequent few weeks, and so being out in the garden was not the ordeal it would have been back in the first quarter of the year.

Foolishly I neglected to take a 'before' pic - but if you can imagine Day of the Triffids Meets Dr Beeching then you'll not be far off. Who knew dandelions had it in them to assume tree-like proportions in the space of 2 years?

Thankfully the ground was soft enough to allow me to evict the worst of them without too much grief, but it was a rather intense couple of days' work. Thus by the beginning of May, I then commenced to cementing in the blocks I laid in the 'Chipside' area two years previously:

The seemingly endless days of mixing and applying mortar took their toll, unfortunately - kneeling down to apply a newly prepared batch, my left knee locked out again!! Worst of it was, I was unable to move, I was home alone (wife was out shopping), and my mobile phone was on the garden bench about 5 feet away from me! Luckily I had the forethought to put up a parasol to shade the area in which I was working, otherwise I would have been properly toasted! As it stood of course, the mortar was going off right before my eyes; I had to carry on filling those gaps I could reach as best I could from where I was stuck! I am sure it would have looked amusing to someone, but that someone definitely was not me!

After that rather unpleasant interlude, things looked like this:

A bit more progress as of a week ago - other tasks were, and to some extent still are, taking precedence recently:

I reckon I am about half way through getting these blocks cemented in, so not bad progress overall given I started at the beginning of May.

So there you are, bang up to date; more progress as and when I am able to make some!

 

[dunnyrail]

Hm looks like you should have though about a raised line! Mine is 3-4ft abive ground mostly and a joy with no knee work! But then I do not have a SWMBO to worry about!

 

[voodoopenguin]

Good luck with it all, you do seem to be suffering more than most for your chosen hobby.

Paul