The Bayfields Light Railway

A place for the discussion of garden railways and any garden style/scale portable and/or indoor layouts
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robbieg96
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The Bayfields Light Railway

Post by robbieg96 » Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:46 pm

Its been a while since I have posted anything, but finally I have something to post about!

Some of you may remember my previous railway, The Woodside Light Railway, which is in my parents garden. This was a 45mm line using LGB track. This line is still there, but has been shortened for ease of use.
After moving out, it was time for a new start. I also decided to use 32mm track for cost, look, scale and so more people could visit with their trains.
We moved in to our new house last May, and obviously the most important task was to build the garden railway...

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The garden is modest sized, with a shed and large summer house that we wanted to keep. I always liked the idea of the track going around the outside of the lawn, however this would cross access to the lawn and summer house, so I knew removable sections would have to be made.

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Firstly, I needed a base to operate from. The shed was watertight and in good condition, it just needed a facelift. A quick email to the Mid-Hants Railway secured me the correct paint codes for the Southern Railway green and cream and I was able to get this mixed at the local DIY shop.
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I decided to build the yard/station and steam up area first. Investing in a cement mixer was a good idea! This was my second atempt at bricklaying! The outer walls were then filled with hardcore and a concrete top put on. This gave a nice flat area to lay track and build platforms.
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Track laying begins. I have used peco track thoughout, with the larger radius points for the running line and the 38" radius for the sidings. The track is screwed down using small rawl plugs into the concrete. I needed an SDS drill for this, which was another good investment.
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With track down and platforms cast I was able to ballast the track using 3mm joining aggregate and quick setting cement. A quick photo shoot followed.
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After much thought, I decided to use Filcris for the rest of the trackbed. This will eventually be hidden by earthworks and rockery.
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At the same time, the shed gained some more railway items!
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Almost a full circuit, working anti-clockwise around the lawn. Using post-fix to set the posts really helped as this set in about 20 minutes. I could lay about 6 posts a day working on my own.
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The left side of the lawn was laid only a week ago. The filcris has been very easy to work with, and quick too. I have read stories of the material expanding in the summer months, however some people have had no issues. Only time will tell on this, however I have left gaps for expansion and it will all be buried in a few months anyway.
The point will eventually lead to the quarry siding.
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And to bring us up to date, the first steam train to make it around the garden!

Plenty more still to do, but I feel I have reached a major milestone in getting the track down. Now to make it all look pretty!
Rob
The Bayfields Light Railway & The Woodside Light Railway

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Post by stoker » Mon Jan 25, 2016 4:26 pm

I'm impressed!

I assume that you are young enough to cope with bending to a ground-based railway?

:D
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Post by tom_tom_go » Mon Jan 25, 2016 4:31 pm

Image

Great photo, thanks for sharing.

I wish I had known about Filcris when I was building my line, looks like great stuff.

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Post by Snailrail » Mon Jan 25, 2016 4:38 pm

Super job, Rob - and I love the shed !

That is very similar to what I have planned, although I have a slightly bigger area to play with. I have a station area already in a similar position with the track laid on concrete blocks within a raised flower bed. On the right hand side I have a section using Filcris but without the boards on top. I'm not very happy with it and will probably redo it as you have done.

I think I will persevere with the Filcris for the rest of it though it does seem a bit overpriced for what is basically recycled milk bottles ! I suppose it is worth it for the ease of construction and longevity.

My garden is pretty much level and the track will be about a foot above ground level all round. The bit I have done has a grass embankment sloping up to the track bed. In other areas I will probably use a retaining wall of some kind. I look forward to seeing how you deal with the landscaping.

My line seems to be taking forever - how long did it take you to do the work shown in your pictures ?
Brian

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Post by robbieg96 » Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:33 pm

Thanks for the replies and comments!

After the shed was done, I started work on the railway in August 2015. This was on the brick/concrete section. This took a month working weekends, as it went horribly wrong and I had to start all over again. Atleast it taught me reasonable bricklaying, and luckily I had help from my father in law who knows about this stuff. This was complete in September. I started filcrissing from October, trying to do atleast 3 days on it a month- even in the freezing cold!

I was fortunate to start with a level flat garden. A blank canvas! There have been no earthworks to deal with, so I will have to create hills and landscape by bringing materials in.

I'm in my early 30's, so bending down not an issue at present!
The line is about a foot off the ground at one end, and falls to about half a foot towards the summer house. Its quite decieving really, but I have managed to get the track level all the way around. This is great for the manual locos. I like to watch a train go round and not have to drive it as such.

I fully appreciate the benefits of a raised track, but I did not want to impact the garden too much and want it all to blend it eventually.

I agree that Filcris is expensive, but as its quite a short line so it hasn't broken the bank too much. I wanted something that was quick, solid and would not rot. I must have used about 12 meters of the ladder system in total. I was carefull to order the right amount, plus a few extra lengths. Cutting the track boards yourself also cut down the cost as you can by them pre-cut. In all, i am very happy with the product.

A train at a scale speed takes about a minute and half to do a lap, and I'm happy with that.
Rob
The Bayfields Light Railway & The Woodside Light Railway

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Post by Andrew » Mon Jan 25, 2016 6:19 pm

tom_tom_go:115846 wrote:
Great photo, thanks for sharing.
Absolutely! That's the one that got me too, it looks fantastic, well done! And I love the shed too... I'm very much looking forward to further developments...

All the best,

Andrew.

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Post by Annie » Tue Jan 26, 2016 1:02 am

I love your shed, - it's one of the nicest ones I've seen. Of course I'm biased having been an LSWR modeller in coarse scale 0 gauge at one time :D

The photos in the station area are lovely and very atmospheric. I particularly like the station building.
What has Reality done for you lately?

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Post by SimonWood » Tue Jan 26, 2016 10:09 am

Very inspiring! And I have a serious case of shed envy now...

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Post by -steves- » Tue Jan 26, 2016 10:13 am

Very inspiring indeed, great start to a garden railway, it almost gives me the intensive to start mine this year, so much planning to do before doing anything though :(
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Post by flying scotsman » Tue Jan 26, 2016 1:35 pm

Looks marvellous. The buildings have a certain 'presence' to them.

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Post by TTHLRMatt » Tue Jan 26, 2016 7:37 pm

Loving the station area and your very fast progress! For what we have built so far of our line, we have used a similar method to you with the filcris but instead of filcris slabs, we have used heavy timber, largely because of apples falling in the summer.

Off topic to the railway itself, but I notice that you have some Swift Sixteen bulkhead flat wagons. What method did you use to get the planks to be a realistic wood colour? I have always been put off from getting some as I have not yet found a good method but yours look stunning, as does your Jack inspired Accucraft loco! :D

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Post by invicta280 » Tue Jan 26, 2016 10:22 pm

A splendid railway. Especially like the corrugated station building.

The SR shed looks very smart too.

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Post by MDLR » Tue Jan 26, 2016 11:06 pm

TTHLRMatt:115874 wrote:Off topic to the railway itself, but I notice that you have some Swift Sixteen bulkhead flat wagons. What method did you use to get the planks to be a realistic wood colour? I have always been put off from getting some as I have not yet found a good method but yours look stunning, as does your Jack inspired Accucraft loco!  :D
I painted mine in my standard grey (rattle can grey primer) and washed over the result with a very dilute wash of black - what we in Derbyshire call "Dutty Black" - because I couldn't find a good wood coloured paint! The result is quite good from six feet off............
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Post by robbieg96 » Wed Jan 27, 2016 2:55 pm

Thanks for the replies!

I am glad you noticed the Accucraft 'Jack'! That was exactly what I was going for!

The Swift Sixteen flats are done with a paint set from Lifecolor called 'Weathered Wood'. In short, I built the wagons and then roughed up the woodgrain effect with a wire brush. This brought the detail out a bit more. The then sprayed with Halfords grey primer.
Using the Lifecolor set, I used a base colour fairly diluted, I built up the layers of colour. Use it like a wash, rather than a paint.
The chassis of the wagons, and iron parts were painted with Humbrol matt black and weathered with carrs weathering powders.

This link to my flickr page shows the wagons better-
https://www.flickr.com/photos/woodsidel ... nVQ-j3sAkZ

I did my Swift Sixteen D Wagon in the same way, and its come out very well.
Rob
The Bayfields Light Railway & The Woodside Light Railway

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Post by Soar Valley Light » Wed Jan 27, 2016 7:38 pm

Excellent work Rob. You've made great use of the space available and the results are superb.

I agree filcris is expensive and decided to shop around for alternatives. I thought I had found a couple of much cheaper alternatives but after pricing up what was needed to do the job they were equal to Filcris. I think recycled plastic in general is expensive; as someone else says, this seems daft for a recycled product. I'm only just on the verge of starting construction (after several years umming and ahhing) but have decided that the cost of filcris is well worth it in the long run.

All I need to do now is work out how to recreate (and find space for) a smashing little shed like yours.

Keep the pics coming,

Andrew
"Smith! Why do you only come to work four days a week?
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"

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Post by robbieg96 » Sun Feb 14, 2016 5:47 pm

More work done today...

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After a delivery of rockery stone, we have set about landscaping. Building up to the Filcris, soil has then been used to infil the gaps, ready for planting.
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The last section of Filcris went in for the quarry sidings. The breeze blocks at the back are a base for the second station.
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I have not decided on planting yet, but I spread some temporary trees about just to get a feel for what it might look like. I'm looking forward to hiding the filcris with balast.
Rob
The Bayfields Light Railway & The Woodside Light Railway

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Post by stoker » Sun Feb 14, 2016 6:32 pm

Looking very,very good.

I guess that you are not local to me?

I have topsoil spare....

:oops:
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Post by Soar Valley Light » Mon Feb 15, 2016 7:06 pm

Hi Rob,

Thanks for sharing this latest update. I am greatly encouraged by seeing your efforts. It's very useful reference for my planned construction of a Filcris support to the track. In my case I plan to omit the 'decking' and instead lay a strip of geotextile over the top of the runners and fix the track down on top of that.

I was wondering what intervals you have spaced the support posts at and whether you used spacer blocks between the runners in between the posts?

All I need now is some drier weather!

Andrew
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"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"

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Post by Joe » Mon Feb 15, 2016 7:44 pm

thats looking really good its starting to look real already; looking forward to seeing further progress!
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Post by robbieg96 » Tue Feb 16, 2016 1:21 pm

Soar Valley Light:116286 wrote:Hi Rob,

Thanks for sharing this latest update. I am greatly encouraged by seeing your efforts. It's very useful reference for my planned construction of a Filcris support to the track. In my case I plan to omit the 'decking' and instead lay a strip of geotextile over the top of the runners and fix the track down on top of that.

I was wondering what intervals you have spaced the support posts at and whether you used spacer blocks between the runners in between the posts?

All I need now is some drier weather!

Andrew
Hi Andrew,

I have spaced each post 50cm apart, with a spacer inbetween. Filcris can sag , so you need to make sure its well supported. The trackboards on top do add stability to the entire construction, and it is solid.

I would be tempted to use more spacers or posts closer together if you are not using trackboards on top.

I will have to see how my trackbed behaves over the next year to really know the ideal method for filcris. So far im very impressed.

-Rob
Rob
The Bayfields Light Railway & The Woodside Light Railway

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