Garden Railway Forum

I was a bit concerned when I heard you were chopping up coaches just for the chassis. Then I looked up the coaches, and (if these are the ones) there's not much more to them than chassis! Looking forward to your bogie coach with the remainders.

As the surrounding paver patio takes shape, plans for NVT begin to crystallize. The visible area for the main loop has been set at 9 by 8 feet, with potential for a siding around the corner of the house or a spur along the edge of the patio. All I can say for sure is that compared to prepping the ar...

This is adorable! Really love the proportions. I think I need a couple of these to mix into a tipper skip train, and a stubby brake van to match!

Don't know why I didn't see the replies until now, but thanks! It was a big hit! I saved all the toppers in case a similar layout is called for next year. Some notes for my future self, if there's a next time: - Food color spray is awesome, but it needs to be used on a light/white background to show...

A very interesting read! I especially liked the old family photo with the people riding on the train.

Far as I can tell, it stands for "Styrene Butadiene Rubber adhesive". I have seen it referenced a lot (paging Peter Butler) but haven't yet tracked some down for myself.

I'm increasingly finding that getting materials from retailers is the sucker's method - not that I've spent much time looking for free stuff. :lol: That stainless rail will hold up well. I've been a scavenger all my life and I've gradually learned that while you don't always get what you pay for, s...

It came into our area about 15 years ago, possibly on transported firewood... the effects have been devastating to the ash population. Dead trees all over town, in the farm fields, everywhere. It's been sad to spot the trees gradually balding year by year until they're completely gone.

It's always sad to lose trees, but I like your plan to run around the bush. I'm glad you've been able to work out a plan to restore the line to operation! We have been losing ash trees left and right lately due to the emerald ash borer which is rampant in our area. We had to take down a big one a fe...

I'm loving the look of the NVT so far, ands very much looking forward to seeing how it develops... At some point I plan to make a rusty/decaying pile of signal bits to dump by the line somewhere - the Welsh Highland's predecessor, the NWNGR did have "proper" signalling to start with, but ...

ge_rik wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 7:04 am Looks prettier than my efforts

Rik

I took some major shortcuts, nothing a strategically-placed failure to focus can't hide. In the car world we call that a ten-foot paint job: looks good from ten feet away. (Though with my cars it tends to be twenty... or thirty!)

I have also toyed with the signal issue, but as yet not got around to it. Time for our holidays soon and things for the line are in a queue... :lol: :lol: The cost of materials are silly at the moment and I am afraid they won't get any better will they. I would go around building sites and see what...

Thanks Rod for the photos, that's some food for thought for sure. I've been reading about Hydrostatic Dazza's tunnel construction on the POR as well, and rewatching the Mark Found program(me) for some tunnel tips. The more immediate puzzle is figuring out how to build a raised bed for the pond and r...

While the railway waits for some other yard/garden projects to catch up, I got the idea into my head that my small single-track loop couldn't possibly be complete without a signal. Following (and deviating slightly from) Rik's excellent guide on the subject , I produced this: Screenshot_20230627-233...

BertieB wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2023 10:47 am Thank you all — glad you’ve enjoyed it (and relieved).

The moment I press the button to publish a new video is immediately before the moment when I cringe about not having taken a little more trouble with it…

No cringe necessary! I've been watching your older ones too and they're all class.

Great video! Always love seeing your semi-scale stuff. I'm taking notes on your creations, because my kid keeps requesting his favorite Thomas characters and I'm trying to figure out how to squeeze them down to 2ft gauge.

Whilst I to like the idea of the line disappearing behind / under the upper pond: You will need substantial foundations (and support) if the pond is not to mive/settle. It might be an idea to have an opening (or the back open) of the tunnel, with 'pedestrian access' around the back? - Does not have...

Love the inspirational shots, Rod. :thumbup: I think I could make that work if I reroute the tub drain from the upstairs bathroom directly above. ;) I hadn't thought of starting the waterfall from where the rock is, but that would give some interesting possibilities. (There's a downspout in that cor...

Still working on the exact pond configuration. Today I started laying everything out to get an idea how it'll fit together in the space. Need to smooth out the curves a bit but I was impatient to practice bending the rails. Once I get the layout of everything finalized and approved I'll need to do a...

I was skeptical of gearmotors at first but at Rik's suggestion I picked up a can gearmotor unit for my steam outline scratch build. At 176RPM it's plenty fast and I've started running it at half voltage to keep it on the tracks! The wheels are somewhere around 22-24mm dia and the bevel gears are 1:1...