Garden Railway Forum

Part 4 Lower station Area I have decided that the upper level station will be called “Claymine” (because there is a clay pit there). And the lower station will be called “Pottsville” (because there is a pottery factory there !). The Pottsville station area has virtually the same track layout as Clay...

Thanks for those hints and links Graeme. Will check them out.

That looks great there Greg. This may give you some ideas on how to do mountains in a corner. https://ringbalin.blogspot.com/p/about-railway.html I am starting to do a background similar to the one on here down my back fence to hide it. I will use poly styrene foam and acrylic concrete render to co...

Part 3 The upper to lower level connecting track This section is just 13’ of track long and rises 10 1/2” from the lower station. It is VERY steep and sharp curves, but it will let me do some scenery of mountains and tunnels etc. Maybe even a high trestle bridge. the curve and dwg.jpg For the 12&quo...

I did find an article about the logistics, but can't now track it down. There were 25 four-car sets which they could only run downhill and in so doing generated 4000kwh of power. I've tracked down this other article which gives some of the stats Rik Thanks Rik. My first thought was it 'must be goin...

Most weird - why and how?
But as an electrical engineer, I would have to wonder what special power arrangements were put in place.

I thought I'd see if anything like your turnouts exist(ed) in the real world. This was the nearest I could find. A dual gauge straight and curved turntable on a miniature railway in Brussels Rik Amazing. Really just a turntable as most of the tracks could not be lined up for 'through' running. But ...

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Mon Nov 07, 2022 10:00 pm
Thanks Greg, a different approach to the normal, I think, and plenty of scope to make alternative small locomotives which can be paired with 'Sparky'.
A tiny two-pin plug is all that connects the two, so easily swapped over.

An even smarter idea.

Claymine station – the upper level Tracklaying is complete at the upper level - I used lots of plastic track from cheap 'christmas train sets' where possible – these are 2’ radius. The crux of the whole small layout idea, allowing space saving, is the 'circular turnout' which I have devised. Instea...

philipy wrote: ↑Fri Nov 04, 2022 9:27 am Hi Greg,
It's good to see you feel able to start a new project.
This is looking very interesting and I'm looking forward to watching progress.

Thank you Philip.

Brilliant modelling as usual Peter.
Very smart to think of a permanently coupled pair.
(I can just see them running around my new indoor layout)

Three years ago I started this topic on my dreaming of a small indoor G layout. https://gardenrails.org/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=12349 I tested and proved that I could run my smaller ‘outdoor’ locos on 12 INCH radius curves, and I could build an 8” long rotating turnout to save space. This old video...

Does the auto changeover switch actually charge the battery?? If not, you could use a simple manual changeover switch or just a plug and socket. (and remember to keep the battery charged) I investigated the same problem here in Oz, then found that the incoming fibre system did not have battery backu...

This poor soul still believes that Timetables are adhered to.
(BTW - no photo-shopping - this is a cardboard figure)

Have you actually created the new box with four speed control knobs or are you still in the planning stage?

Will it be a new 'box' or are you using one of the existing HK Tx?

I have never been game to fiddle with the 2.4GHz stuff, so will watch with interest.

Great video again. I do like the way you mix the narrative from one minute telling how you make the wagons or name the locos, to then describing the train operations as if they are 'real'.
I love the name Grist Mill.

Very cleverly put together. The old and new videos were woven together so seamlessly.

As soon as I saw that paint peeling from the fibro, I was taken back to the old garage in the family home. Must have been the post war paint or fibro composition. Great work by you. But the interior. Surely no railway office was without its Seth-Thomas pendulum clock. I expect to see a working model...

My line passes through a natural overhang in the sandstone ledge. It seems the overhanging rock has slid down a little with all our rain, and the railmotor radiator now hits the roof. radiator hit.JPG (you can see how the sandstone is turning back to sand on the sleepers.) I am not looking forward t...

Another change of plan. I had planned to hang the hurricane lamp from the cab roof, and since the cab lifts off for access to batteries, I would have needed a plug/socket. But with a bit of lateral thinking I decided to attach the lamp to a ‘pipe’ in the cab floor. At window height the pipe is not v...