The Leawarra Nayook Railway
Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 2:38 am
The Leawarra Nayook Railway
A brief history
The L.N.R. represents no particular railway, although it borrows heavily from the Victorian (Australia) Railways narrow gauge system of which Puffing Billy is probably the most well known. After the constraints of modeling the Victorian Railways in 5inch gauge, and HO to a set period, and upon moving back to the garden, I wanted to be free to choose locomotive types, rolling stock, liveries etc. and also to be free to use the landscape as presented, one of the extra benefits of the garden railway. With very few exceptions, I don’t believe there is anywhere you cannot build an outdoor railway of some kind. The railway and its surrounding landscape is a constantly changing environment, much as a real railway. Track formations and infrastructure must cope with these changes, and the ravages of sun and rain mean that the ‘permanent way’ is a much sought after dream.
I enjoy the many aspects of a working garden railway: the engineering skills in building locomotives and rolling stock; the civil engineering aspects of putting a line through the landscape; and the research work involved in finding facts, measurements, photos, drawings etc.
Australia is a big country - our railways in the 1920’s covered large distances in a harsh environment, and with little habitation. Artists talk of the ‘light’ in the Australian landscape. This ‘light’ and space is something I wanted to re-create in my railway, and although narrow gauge railways, by their very nature took up less space, their orientation at stations is one of length not width.
To this end my railway is not long, containing only two main stations and a small halt, allowing the taking of photographs without having other tracks in the background. If I could only remove fences, life would indeed be good. I gain a sense of distance by running three laps of the track, after leaving the main station of Leawarra,(Mile post 19) to arrive at the halt, Warringine,(MP 32) followed by another three laps to arrive at the ‘terminus’ of Nayook.(MP 38)
Traffic consists of passengers, general goods, and timber out of Warringine, but because of a trailing siding, it is forwarded via Nayook anyway.
Grant (LNR)
Mile post 19 in the middle of Leawarra yard. (to the right of buffer beam)
Mile post 38 opposite the crew room at Nayook.
A brief history
The L.N.R. represents no particular railway, although it borrows heavily from the Victorian (Australia) Railways narrow gauge system of which Puffing Billy is probably the most well known. After the constraints of modeling the Victorian Railways in 5inch gauge, and HO to a set period, and upon moving back to the garden, I wanted to be free to choose locomotive types, rolling stock, liveries etc. and also to be free to use the landscape as presented, one of the extra benefits of the garden railway. With very few exceptions, I don’t believe there is anywhere you cannot build an outdoor railway of some kind. The railway and its surrounding landscape is a constantly changing environment, much as a real railway. Track formations and infrastructure must cope with these changes, and the ravages of sun and rain mean that the ‘permanent way’ is a much sought after dream.
I enjoy the many aspects of a working garden railway: the engineering skills in building locomotives and rolling stock; the civil engineering aspects of putting a line through the landscape; and the research work involved in finding facts, measurements, photos, drawings etc.
Australia is a big country - our railways in the 1920’s covered large distances in a harsh environment, and with little habitation. Artists talk of the ‘light’ in the Australian landscape. This ‘light’ and space is something I wanted to re-create in my railway, and although narrow gauge railways, by their very nature took up less space, their orientation at stations is one of length not width.
To this end my railway is not long, containing only two main stations and a small halt, allowing the taking of photographs without having other tracks in the background. If I could only remove fences, life would indeed be good. I gain a sense of distance by running three laps of the track, after leaving the main station of Leawarra,(Mile post 19) to arrive at the halt, Warringine,(MP 32) followed by another three laps to arrive at the ‘terminus’ of Nayook.(MP 38)
Traffic consists of passengers, general goods, and timber out of Warringine, but because of a trailing siding, it is forwarded via Nayook anyway.
Grant (LNR)
Mile post 19 in the middle of Leawarra yard. (to the right of buffer beam)
Mile post 38 opposite the crew room at Nayook.