Garden Railway Forum

As I prepare to turn 40 this year, getting down on my hands and knees isnt getting any easier.  I am really thinking about raising the railway this spring Oh dear, is 40 when ground level starts to get too low?! I turned 38 last week and am in the middle of reconstructing my line - at ground level....

Glad you like it folks. I did wonder about a larger smokebox but wasn't quite sure where to get one (would a Millie one fit?), or if it would still take a chuff-pipe, and I'm not much of an engineer. So I decided to work with what I'd got and thought I'd bulk out the front end with RH Ffestiniog-sty...

Hello, Firstly, aplogies to those on the 16mmngm Yahoo group for cross-posting - it seemed a good way to support Locoworks and other small suppliers of bits and bobs. Anyway, about 6 months ago I decided to do something about the appearance of my RH Bertie, inspired by Chris Bird's excellent article...

Looking good! I agree re the culvert - rarely modelled but a lovely touch. And that photo of the carriages awaiting scrapping is very poignant... I built some 4-wheelers a while back that I'm supposed to be grounding as lineside huts but I don't know if I'll ever be able to put my sentimentality asi...

Scale snow! Great photos, thank you...

Hello again, I'm pleased to report that, despite the short length of line currently available and a lack of facilities usually associated with steam locos (like run-round loops, or even stations), regular train services can return to my back garden following the introduction of specially designed Ra...

Thanks guys - and I have two more films in the can from Friday for future release.... Bring on Spring indeed  :D Cheers Chris I shouldn't worry too much about spring Chris, that film's got a wonderful wintery charm, fantastic stuff. Must've been a bit nippy for the poor quarrymen though... Cheers, ...

Hello again, The drawings I used are here: http://www.wdlr.org.uk/wdlr/drawings.htm Hope they're useful, they reproduce very nicely at 16mm scale. I originally purchased Andel WD bogies for a Hudson toastrack which I've still not finished three years later (nothing on your 25 though!) then decided t...

Hi Rupert, I've nearly finished a pair of D class wagons which combine scratchbuilt wooden bodies with Andel bogies and strapping etc - Andy provided me with those parts separately as a special order. On the whole I'm quite pleased with how they've come out, although I'm struggling with he finishing...

For an unusual but very light railway feel you could use combined starter/home signals on a single post at each end of your stations, like the KESR, Southwold (I think?) and others. They'd add character and I've never seen them modelled in 16mm. Back when my railway was intended to be a freelance Co...

Brilliant photos, thank you! I particularly like the ones on the trestle bridge...

Great film, thanks for posting it. I've been enjoying the picyures in the papers too, very atmospheric. Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner... My only experience of mainline steam as a passenger was "Steam on the Met" years ago - I think I was pulled by the 94xx pannier tank and possibly a S...

I think it would be a shame if an idea with such potential were to miss out on major exhibition invites etc because it developed a repution for being a bit of a visual hotch-potch...   From my point of view, having a hotch-potch is part of the fun! You'll never build the same layout twice, and if f...

Hello all, It does sound like a really interesting idea - it's not something I could contribute to at the moment but one of the idea's strengths is that there's no hurry, sections can be added when they're ready. One thing that strikes me though is that whilst standards regarding baseboard depth, cl...

Wow, what a site! That's extreme garden railwaying... Open days are going to be fun... See what you mean about the difficulty of busting out of 8x6... And yep, I definitely reckon a Regner's the way to go if you want a steam engine. Sidings etc are going to be very tricky, but a Konrad or Vincent wo...

Hello! I admire anyone who's so determined to build a garden line! 6 x 8's pretty small - is there any scope for just a little more width? That way you could use the new Peco 38" curves for the "mainline", with a passing loop using their tighter curves at one end, because you're going...

Hello again, A couple of cold wet weekends of work have seen the new line extended by about 20' or so round the patio. This section is on a timber structure designed to take up as little space as possible - come the spring I'll add pots etc underneath to try to make it all look a bit more natural. I...

Yeah, it felt a bit like that! I wish I'd dug out the hi-vis vest I've got somewhere and made Mark wear that... It's a really old one in the style of a natty little waistcoat, with loads of buttons and a label inside reading "Bristish Railways" - my uncle found it on a building site years ...

Hello Si, I like this sort of thing. My wife and I have noticed that when we visit friends' new houses she'll immediately start planning where they could extend, knock through and add en-suites wheras I'll head straight to the kitchen window to work out what radius of curves they can afford to use.....

Last weekend saw further progress on the new line, with construction moving to the section that will go round the patio. The trackbed will consist of modified bits of my old line together with a new curving section in front of the plum tree. My mate Mark kindly agreed to lend a hand and proved that ...