Resurrecting a disused garden railway - the SCGR reborn

Some decent weather today, coinciding with some free time for me - a rare combination it seems but welcome for all that. So, mixing up yet another couple of batches of mortar this morning, I continued the task of getting the track bed more stable:

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Slow progress is still progress I guess!
 
That looks a good idea, I like how turning it over it’s a seat. I would be good for my new varying height railway when the bricks turn up.....had you heard there is a national shortage of bricks especially when you want a specific colour?
 
John S said:
Found them to be pretty useless, invested in a couple of these, gives some purchase when hauling oneself up, less chance of injury or damage, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOLDING-...134724?hash=item1a1fe33944:g:BPEAAOSwBjdaCv7i, can also be used a stool, have one in the shed and the another in the workshop, and you can also obtain "pockets" to hold all the various gizmos and gadgets that seem to be needed when constructing or working on a garden railway project.
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Couldn't manage without these type of devices. Only drawback with the couple I have is that when they got left out in a few downpours last year they started to rust a bit. However they still do their job.
 
John S said:
Found them to be pretty useless, invested in a couple of these, gives some purchase when hauling oneself up, less chance of injury or damage, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOLDING-...134724?hash=item1a1fe33944:g:BPEAAOSwBjdaCv7i, can also be used a stool, have one in the shed and the another in the workshop, and you can also obtain "pockets" to hold all the various gizmos and gadgets that seem to be needed when constructing or working on a garden railway project.
Click to expand...
Had one of these for years in fact, I have been using only today to build a garden arch. It allowed me to kneel and dig down to ‘plant” the uprights. Keeping the knees raised a couple of inches from the floor makes it more comfortable too.
 
Ralphmp said:
Couldn't manage without these type of devices. Only drawback with the couple I have is that when they got left out in a few downpours last year they started to rust a bit. However they still do their job.
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A squirt of WD40 after leaving it out has resurrected mine - several times.
 
On the very subject of kneeling mats/seats, had this very nice birthday pressie today:

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Oh, and there was some modest progress on the new track bed too:

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Also went on a shopping spree this morning, as you do on your birthday, and got hold of 3 large bags of horticultural grit:

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On the way back, I noticed one of my neighbours was merrily filling a skip with all manner of rubble, including Celcon blocks! A quiet word and the promise of a bottle of something suitably fizzy, and they were mine!

Happy days!
 
Clive Tucker said:
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:

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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!
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I'm probably a bit weird, but I would have been tempted to keep the old bridge until it literally fell apart in some kind of horrible Tay bridge disaster! :D
 
The old bridge was literally turning to dust to the touch, I was able to break lumps off between forefinger and thumb. I certainly wouldn't have wanted anyone else's kit plummeting to the deck, so it had to go.

I also have to replace the bridge over the pond, which is about 6ft long and accommodates 2 tracks. I have an idea for a replacement: a truss girder bridge made of aluminium, but I think that's a way off yet.
 
I believe so, the cemented areas have remained weed-free as expected, whereas the area I cleared of weeds completely back at the end of April now looks like this:

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Once I've got the track bed down in this area and cemented everything in place, it will be pretty low maintenance for a long time to come, hopefully.
 
Clive Tucker said:
On the very subject of kneeling mats/seats, had this very nice birthday pressie today:

40808561860_886098ef86_b.jpg


40808561820_8dae59d391_b.jpg


Oh, and there was some modest progress on the new track bed too:

42515037372_68a7218b86_b.jpg


Also went on a shopping spree this morning, as you do on your birthday, and got hold of 3 large bags of horticultural grit:

40808561640_94b93eee0f_b.jpg


On the way back, I noticed one of my neighbours was merrily filling a skip with all manner of rubble, including Celcon blocks! A quiet word and the promise of a bottle of something suitably fizzy, and they were mine!

Happy days!
Click to expand...
Ah skip raiding the premise if the garden railway builder, no skip is safe near me when I am in build mode!

As for your weeds, if you can get the blighters out before they flower things are so much easier. But it does take perseverance and probably good working legs on a ground level line. But cement is the best weed barrier.
 
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