Garden Railway Forum

The shuttering in place and the concrete pads poured:
And the gravel boards grouted in:
Trevor

An update on the bridge and the water tower. Both are now painted. Firstly details on the water tower. The water supply pipe is fitted, a length of 3mm copper pipe with 0.8mm brass wire supports. In the same place and arranged in the same way as on the prototype: IMG_0915.jpg I have yet to make a wa...

So were off! The second extension is started. Yesterday we levelled off and planted up the terrace above the first extension: IMG_0903.jpg and I laid out the first parts of the extension. I have decided to lay the concrete "gravel boards" onto concrete pads. the gravel boards are 6 ft long...

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Wed Oct 07, 2020 7:04 pm Somewhere I have seen a 16mm scale, motorised 'gravity' train, which is not in the spirit of the idea I know, but works!

Yes Peter I have seen them as well. As you say it isn't in the spirit of the thing - and I cant help but try to do it the hard way!

Trevor

Those name boards look vert crisp and clean. Very Nice.

Such an easy way to get the letter spacing correct - and the typeface constant! Well it is when you have worked out how to do it!

Trevor

How do I reduce the friction so that it runs even more freely? I suspect you are on a hiding to nothing. I did a bit of playing around in the workshop with some of my stock this afternoon while I was waiting for some paint to dry. The testing was done with a length of track on a board, propping up ...

You haven't given either axle diam or wheel bore, but you could try: https://www.wychbearings.co.uk/miniature_bearings.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjeO1jPCf7AIVQuDtCh0PZg_oEAAYASAAEgIi8vD_BwE They do "all of the colours in all of the sizes" to quote Beattie! Thanks That is what I was after Trevor

Looks fascinating. What is the actual level difference between the two tracks/steps, it looks to be something around 750mm? If so, at your 1:60 gradient you'll need a straight run of around 45metres, plus a bit more because of the curve on the gradient, but I'm sure you'll already have done those c...

I suppose I have not framed the question correctly! It should be where do I get small ball races which will fit into the hubs of the wheels, or on the axles? What I have done is to use 2mm stainless balls running on 3mm diameter axles, and turned a loose bore or housing to take the balls - as a sort...

Thanks for the kind comments! To bring you right up to date: IMG_0894.jpg I have finished the retaining wall behind the railway. Todays task is to start to level the terrace above it - where the wheelbarrow is lying. That will enable the gardener to plant the terrace. I envisage plants flowing over ...

I have built a model of Spooners boat. IMG_0618.jpg My railway has a constant gradient of 1 in 60. IMG_0552.jpg It sort of runs under gravity - but not quite. It moves but the slightest thing stops it. It has ball races in the axles, but the wheels are solidly mounted on the axles. How do I reduce t...

Continuing with some details of my track over the path: IMG_0581.jpg here you can see the stainless embedded roughly. The three way point is also shown. and a detail of the connection to proper track: IMG_0579.jpg While I am the first to admit that narrow gauge railways didn't invest in complex poin...

As the days rolled on I kept working at it, clearing about 2/3 cu metre per day: 1AA21550-9A70-4434-9EEE-644FEC8E3204.jpg The railway is going on the green bit above the path! 9A53264E-54BF-4278-B0B5-1DC91F2684E8.jpg 89B3888B-A222-4E9A-B182-B0BBA2D272FF.jpg You can see the beginnings of a retaining ...

So too the first extension: Just to give some background and context I have produced a sketch of the site: railway.jpg As you can see the cottage, which is the central green box, is built into the side of a hill - like many welsh cottages. The orange block on the right hand side behind the buildings...

ge_rik wrote: ↑Mon Oct 05, 2020 8:44 am That bridge looks beautifully engineered

Rik

Thanks for the positive comments! AND it isn't 3D printed!

The prototype is on the Welsh Highland Railway just south of Snowdon Ranger. That was the longest prototype I could find - and it is actually pretty close to scale length.

I am going to tell you about the extension to my railway which I have made during this last summer. As well as the further extension which I would be building now if it would stop raining for a few days. But: I think it might help if I show you how this all came about. It isn't a logical place to bu...

I have just finished priming the water tower. This is it so far:
Quite a bit of painting to go!

Trevor

Just catching up on this thread. So much inspiration here, having seen some of Trevor's models close up I was already eying a 3D printer as something to learn for a winter project (as if I need an additional one!) No doubt about it, I'm going to have to do it! 4415 looks fantastic Trevor, I love it...

Rik, Phil If you want the files for the water tank you are welcome to the original Sketchip file or the stl files. Rik, our motorhome habitation door catch broke and while it was under warranty I printed a replacement. I added a stainless plate to take the rotational stresses of pulling as you open ...

Here is the CAD drawing for the water tower and tank. The plinth is a stone plinth - which seems solid from the photos. I have based on photographs of the one at Tan-y Bwilch prior to preservation: Screen Shot 2020-10-02 at 22.17.51.png And the tank printed out. Each side took 3 hours to print, and ...