Garden Railway Forum

Hello everyone
Now to put it straight, I know barely anything about railways in the garden. Having a large but narrow garden, I thought it to be a good idea to build an o gauge mamod track. However, I will not have very much time to build it. I have heard oo gauge isn't good in the garden, and having had experience with mamods - I have a MM1 and an SW1 -
I thought a mamod engine would be good as all the others are so much money you could buy an apple laptop and we all know how much they are... So basically I am asking for advice, help, and anything else related to the GR world.
Thanks

Hello Arthur,

It sounds like you have an interesting if challenging space to work in. I can't claim to be any expert in garden railways, I'm still at the Civil Engineering stage myself, but I've done a good deal research and a good deal more planning!

As a starter, how narrow is 'narrow'? It sounds like it will be the limiting factor for your track alignment and may well be the most critical element of how well a garden railway will work for you.

All the best,

Andrew

Soar Valley Light:114864 wrote:Hello Arthur,

It sounds like you have an interesting if challenging space to work in. I can't claim to be any expert in garden railways, I'm still at the Civil Engineering stage myself, but I've done a good deal research and a good deal more planning!

As a starter, how narrow is 'narrow'? It sounds like it will be the limiting factor for your track alignment and may well be the most critical element of how well a garden railway will work for you.

All the best,

Andrew

Thanks Andrew. When I say narrow, I mean maybe 3-6 metres in width. I can't measure it at the moment as it is dark and cold outside, but it's not too narrow, it goes round the back of the house like this [ .

The first thing you need to do (if you haven't done it already) is to join the 16mm Association www.16mm.org.uk - as part of your Joining Pack you'll get a handbook on garden railways which may well answer many of your questions, a DVD with video of other lines (good to pinch ideas from) and most importantly a local area group whose brains you can pick!

Thank you!!

Some other things to think about :

Is you garden level or will you need viaducst & tunnels ?
(Think of the extra work & costs).

Do you see the line being at ground level or raised ?
(As you get older raised is good but more engineering & cost).

Do you want a continuous run to watch the trains go past or something else ?

Will you have a mixture of locos (live steam, clockwork, battery, rail fed) ?

What sort of control system for the locos (manual, radio, through rails or a mixture) ?

Loads more to think about - the above are just some to get you started.

Would be a good idea to measure up the available space and draw up a plan of your garden so that everybody can see what you have to work with.

Whatever you decide Arthur the main thing is to enjoy building and running your line !

Chris M

I recently joined the 16mm association. I am looking forward to their DVD and magazine because I, too, have an oddly-shaped and small garden.

Ok thanks

The newer designs from mamod are superior to the original design. I started with mamod track but changed to peco sm32 track which is superb for running all sorts of o gauge trains. Second hand track is often available on ebay if money is restricted. Points are the most costly part of the railway. Design you layout and build a station while the weather isn't being kind.

OO is a nightmare outside as the smallest twig can cause derailment. 32mm is ideal in limited size gardens

I thought the older mamods would be better. Thanks for the information.

Old ones are still great but the technical spec of the more recent ones has really got better including double action pistons, in line oiling and gas firing.

On saying that the sl1 and its variants keep me happy too.

I think for my first engine I'll try an sl on eBay

A very good place to start. Mamod loco's run well on sm32 track, you do need to have the largest curves possible in your garden area as it helps keep fast running locos on track.