Garden Railway Forum

A winter steam up:

DSC_0177 by simon mace, on Flickr

Over last winter, the raised station area alongside the decking was built. This was a long job (it is about 6' wide and 30' long), using about 100 blocks, and 8 tons of fill.... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49217175743_7a4605a80c.jpg 2019-12-14_02-33-09 by simon mace , on Flickr https://live....

Meanwhile, my wren steam loco "Jynn" had been nearing completion at south west steam. The coming of the new loco has meant the sale of the Marie Estelle (although it is very likely to return for a visit). https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48937494711_73f470ec20.jpg DSC_0129 by simon mace...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48876315477_ff79a64ab0.jpg DSC_0105 by simon mace , on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48876315512_9176920824.jpg DSC_0106_1570609337990 by simon mace , on Flickr Dad rebuilt an old Roanoke diesel loco for the Kensey Valley railway. It came to the gabl...

Building piers and laying trestle timbers. I intentionally left a gap between the timbers to allow rainwater to drain - the ballast is retained by a layer of steel mesh and landscape fabric: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48750782121_6111fa4e2a.jpg DSC_0087_1566850634991 by simon mace , on Flic...

As the garden slopes, and the soil is largely clay, I had to allow for rainwater to easily run off - the next section of track is therefore a 32' long trestle constructed using landscaping sleepers on concrete block piers. Pouring foundations: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48615993437_e3acc0c1...

Pushing onwards, the embankment is blockwork on the "front" and stacked turf at the "back" https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48466269352_3c985ccfc1.jpg DSC_0078 by simon mace , on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48466122756_be3fee9c7d.jpg DSC_0057_1564228002051 by si...

Building bridge piers: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48340997656_79a08b76df.jpg 2019-07-21_09-58-52 by simon mace , on Flickr And the bridge itself: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48339648161_171ca4b5fb.jpg DSC_0062 by simon mace , on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48339645561...

The Marie Estelle loco in steam:



And a low level view of the ballasted track:

No mechanical digger - just a spade and a lot of excercise!

I have a desk job monday-friday, so this saves on a gym membership at least!

Fortunately I had some help in spreading it: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48251887872_23998a0e1d.jpg DSC_0053_1562787561368 by simon mace , on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48251819771_ae95d5a4c1.jpg DSC_0054_1562787561101 by simon mace , on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/6...

The first 5 tons (!) of ballast is delivered: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48251816691_f8d7deaaee.jpg received_2603362169698139 by simon mace , on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48251885672_845f18d382.jpg received_325610658324124 by simon mace , on Flickr https://live.staticflickr...

Building a higher capacity wagon for hauling larger construction loads: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48103030897_ae8d265715.jpg DSC_0029_1558723351775 by simon mace , on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48221818336_b96aa4a19f.jpg DSC_0053_1562180804707 by simon mace , on Flickr http...

More construction trains:

DSC_0053_1561287258214 by simon mace, on Flickr

DSC_0051_1561287258603 by simon mace, on Flickr

A trackside rockery takes shape: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48102919786_dd5121963f.jpg DSC_0030_1558188660757 by simon mace , on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48102918946_1eae6009e3.jpg DSC_0030_1558612634631 by simon mace , on Flickr Digging and pouring bridge pier foundations...

Gave the steam loco a (short) run: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47773555032_a46a682b17.jpg DSC_0033 by simon mace , on Flickr And dad brought his loco for a visit: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48103029517_255cd89380.jpg DSC_0030_1558381425738 by simon mace , on Flickr Furry track inspe...

As the track progressed down the garden, the cutting became an embankment. The rear wall was built up from stacked turf: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47791174221_a9ba2a49ab.jpg DSC_0029 by simon mace , on Flickr And the future site of a bridge marked out: (The railway passes over a drainpipe ...

I found digging a "guide trench" to be an efficient way to keep the trackbed more accurately aligned: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/46920357684_f31ebf536f.jpg DSC_0021_1555692355392 by simon mace , on Flickr Not all of the rocks dug out were of a convenient size! https://live.staticf...

Marking out the curve: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/33753512268_669178ab56.jpg DSC_0021 by simon mace , on Flickr The view from the bedroom window as the dirt pile grows: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/40664411893_298eda402e.jpg DSC_0020 by simon mace , on Flickr Construction trains: htt...

An obstacle: https://live.staticflickr.com/7873/47554850002_849e6f1b5b.jpg DSC_0003 by simon mace , on Flickr Cleared and dug: https://live.staticflickr.com/7860/46692246845_d431d74d33.jpg DSC_0014 by simon mace , on Flickr At least I had a ready means to move the dirt - this was all piled up near t...