Railway Layout

[Catweasel]

I only have a small garden to play with and I can't go ground level. So I've come up with this idea. The green line is at 18" off the ground and drops to 12" ,in blue, to go round the lawn, From there the line will continue over the path and onto the patio at a height of 12". The idea is to have a continuous run or point to point if I choose. Locos will be battery diesels with the option of steam at some point. No Garrats I'm
afraid. Any comments are welcome of course.

[hussra]

I do like the two-termini-with-continuous-run idea - eventually that's the vague plan for our line (currently focussing on finishing the 1st half of the continuous run!).

I suppose the question will be about clearances where the green line crosses the blue (there are plenty of locos that are in the 160-170mm height range, then allow for depth of track and trackbed), and gradients for the drop from there to the point where the two lines meet. The size of the oval will have a big effect; will be interested to see how the gradients work out.

[Catweasel]

Clearances will need some thought. The garden is only 18 feet wide and the available length is approx. 20 feet, with the lower terminus adding about 6 feet. I can bring the blue line down to 6" off the ground which will give me plenty of headroom without hurting my back to much. The gradient shouldn't be too fierce from the upper level to the lower at the point indicated. My locos will all be all wheel drive and have a fair bit of oomph. The GRS Hudswell I'm building has a 12 volt dry cell under the bonnet for example. If only the weather would ease up.