Very small layout

[daan]

When I started my garden railway hobby, I didn't have a lot of space. Better said: The Misses didn't allow a lot of place to be taken by the railway So i made this small mountain line. It is just about 2.2 x 2.2 meters, so about 7x7feet. I used the standard settrack of LGB and the line was about 2,5 feet from the groundlevel.


This is the railway in the setup stage of the building.


The railway had a small waterpart with a trestle bridge and was made on ytong foamconcrete building blocks.


Styrofoam retainingwalls and tunnel entrance..


The mountains in the middle of the layout to provide a viewblock. this way the layout looks much bigger then it is.


The water part and the second line along the pond.


Concrete added on the mountains, our cat is testing the clearance of the tunnel..


With earth and a few plants, testing with trains. Our cat again looking that everything is working well.


Small station area, with lights.


Ideal for small trains.


With station buildings and a water tower..


Small layout ydille


The water part. I even had some salamanders in it..


Fot small trains a really nice layout!


A work train on the bridge..

This layout has been gone for 3 years now. My interest in big locomotives of american outline made working with it impossible. I made a deal with my wife to make a big terrace and in return I could use a bigger area to model my layout. But since not everyone has a lot of space, this small layout is really a nice alternative and is even workable with small live steamers like a Beck "Anna", a Merlin mayflower or a accucraft dora for example..

[artfull dodger]

I REALLY like that. I am normally all about smaller is better. Excellent use of the space. That railway would be perfect for a Roundhouse Katie or Billy live steamer, or an older Merlin Mayflower. Do you have any pictures of the construction of the table itself? Benchwork isn't my strong suit. I am searching for a solution as my nearly ground level line keeps being torn up by our beagle puppy. And its time for a better/smoother/more level line for live steam. My Merlin Major would handle that line very well, as would my Roundhouse Sammie. Mike.

[ge_rik]

Lovely piece of work. Looks great, with potential to operate in different ways. That railbus looks interesting. Any details of its construction (or origin)?

Rik

[Peter Butler]

I agree with Rik, very well constructed and modelled and lovely stock. A great attraction for anyone's garden.

[artfull dodger]

My wife and I are going to try to build something very similar, same track plan, but different scenery. Probably use this Roundhouse engine of mine and go with a logging theme. We will also raise it up a bit more, probably 36 inches off the ground overall to keep the dogs from getting up on it. I am thinking of planting small bushes around the edge to help hide the underside of the table and blend it into our exhisting landscaping. There will be no track power as I am all live steam with couple engines that are battery powered. On his line, I would be concerned with the foam tunnel lining and live steam, if one stalled for a short spell inside the tunnel, the hot gasses up the chimney might do a little melting! So happy he posted these pics, its the solution my wife and I were looking for. Then this line can remain for my USA style trains and the new line along our fence will be my 16mm UK style in the near future(hopefully next year or so). Mike

Here is my thoughts on a nice live steamer for that little layout. My Super Sammie!

[daan]

Absolutely, these little steamers would fit there as if it where their natural habitat Construction is really simple. I used the remains of an old wooden terrace. The stands are impregnated wood fitted in those metal spikes used to make fencing poles. Then a sort of roofconstruction is used; a few beams holding multiplex wood sheets to make a flat area lifted from the ground. then in the middle there is a waterdrain, otherwise it's going to be a pool instead of a railway. Then some impregnated wood sides and a liner to keep soil and moisture away from the wooden substructure.
I used clay balls for houseplants to keep moisture in the earth, they suck up water and give it to the soil over a length of time, keeping the soil moist, but not soaked. Plants grow well on a mixture of those clay balls and soil.


The drain can be seen in the middle, I used styrofoam to protect the liner from stones and the space between the sheets is used to lay cables and gutter the water if it's raining a lot.


If trackpower is used, one of the way's to keep electrics away from water are these boxes used in the army. they are cheap to get in a dumpstore and close up watertight.

And yes, if using a live steamer I guess you'ld better change the styrofoam tunnelentrances. Smoke effects would be terrific, but only for a short time I'm afraid..

[artfull dodger]

Well, the plan is afoot, I have pulled up my railway and most all the buildings are now on the shelf in our shed. I laid out your track plan to get an outside dimension size. Now we can go to the home store to source treated wood, the landscape cover to protect the wood. Might be using bricks and such where you used foam. I have never seen building materials like that in the USA locally. But I have plenty of common red bricks on hand. I am going higher up, to match the height of our deck railing, then one can sit on the deck and enjoy the railway. There will be no track power as I went dead rail many years ago. I prefer to run steam. I will be using some of your ideas, like the tunnel and scenery break, but the theme will be USA logging. My other buildings will go into storage till we build the second line in a year or two. I do like your small shallow pond, working on cloning that idea as well. Might try to extended it more back into the layout a bit so a small creek can flow to the area under the curved trestle. Hope you don't mind us cloning and building on your idea, it solved a problem we were uncertain how we wanted to fix. And on a tight budget. Thanks Mike

[daan]

Hi Mike,
Nice that you can use some ideas of it. Indeed you can go absolutely crazy on features, like waterfalls and so on. In our garden centres they sell small waterfeatures with a pump and everything in it. You can put one of those easily in the landscape and have special reason for a bridge.
I'm looking forward to see your version of the small timberline

Cheers Daan.

[artfull dodger]

Thanks Daan, I am working on ideas to feed the pond with a small stream of sorts. I will need to make the pond a bit deeper so it can be a basin to put the small pump in. Also have to provide a means go drain it as we go well below 0'F in the winter time. If it turns out like I want, I might sell my Merlin Major and Pearse Countess and get a second Sammie and do the same modifications to him. He is just the right size, not to complex to operate, has a water sight glass, and the wonderful Roundhouse quality. I tend not to keep models if I am not going to use them. I cannot afford to collect things like I want to and never will be able to. So, like my indoor trains, its time to rein in the G scale and go with the "smaller is better" theme and concentrate on a small layout that isnt overwhelming. And getting me overwhelmed isnt good, not good for anybody who is autistic. Mike

[rebelego]

Very nice and compact layout. Thanks for sharing.

[JCSteam]

That's a really good idea laying the track on the foam

Easy to profile mountains too