The Rylston Light Railway (Mark 2)

[Tom the blacksmith]

Hi Andy,

I too was completely taken in by the first two photos in this post, the penny only dropped with the later picture of Tom and even then I had to go back and check.

Far from Boring!! I for one would be very interested to read more about your track design. I'm sketching out ideas at the moment and have been thinking about views so this thread is real food for thought. I'd very much like to see how the sketch would relate to track plans or CAD images.

Tom

[Soar Valley Light]

Hi Andy,

You make some very interesting and relevant points in that last post. I'd never considered the finer points of viewing position. I realise it has a big effect on the realism of our railways but I'd never considered the details of viewing angle in those terms, nor the difference that the topographical angle can make.

Please keep the details coming, this is great stuff and so useful.

All the best,

Andrew

[LNR]

Looking at the Crumley layout, it has what I believe to be the optimal topography for a garden railway, with sloping hillsides with trackwork cut into it, and so being able to control the background.
Fences are the bane of my life so far as photos are concerned. One advantage of small digital cameras is the places you can get them to take a shot (especially if they have a swivelling viewfinder, which mine does not) In these examples as you can see the fence is to the left,

Rail Garden Pics. 476.jpg (130.98 KiB) Viewed 6045 times

But put the camera against the fence looking in as you describe and the lenses limitations pull trees and bushes, which are actually across the yard right up to appear behind the station building.

Rail Garden Pics. 480.jpg (138 KiB) Viewed 6045 times

I guess a lot depends on the reasons we build our railways, apart from my love of live steam, a sense of realism is also my aim.
Grant.

[ge_rik]

I guess a lot depends on the reasons we build our railways, apart from my love of live steam, a sense of realism is also my aim.

Very much achieved, Grant. That. together with the imaginative way you frame and stage your photos.

Rik

[RylstonLight]

That is the effect I am after, Grant, but the difficulty I have is being hemmed in by house walls, and the garden width gives no depth to use distant 1:1 vegetation as a back drop. The adjoining properties abut right up to the boundary of my garden so their house walls are the boundary itself. Cheap on boundary maintenance for me, but it means I cannot have a raised track bed around the periphery of my garden on that side anyway.

This means the railway has to be away from the wall which again leads back to the clover-leaf concept. The plot available to the railway is a rectangle and so the clover-leaf is distorted to fit. CAD plans will follow when I work out the best way to export them to read here.

At least the house walls are Yorkshire stone which helps give them a neutral effect to a slight degree.

The garden itself would be twice the size if I didn’t have to accommodate a car turn-round (as I live on a busy narrow trunk road). If anyone wishes to convert the A628 to a residential street then my railway plans will expand .

Andy

[LNR]

if I didn’t have to accommodate a car turn-round

On the basis of "many a good idea said in jest" what you need is a small wagon type turntable for the car Andy.
Back to your problem, I understand now. You mention the wall is stone, I have looked at several ways of trying to make the fence at Leawarra look like a stone retaining wall, I can think of worse backgrounds for a railway. I've also seen a fence painted or covered appropriately to resemble large industrial building walls, with drain pipes vents etc. as railways often run through the back end of town so to speak. Are you able to work a piece of track up the middle somewhere and concentrate your super detailing there. Just some thoughts, it's all down to your personal choice and it has to fit the "aura" you want to see in your mind.
Grant.
PS on the basis of your clover leaf track plan what sort of curve radii are we talking about.

[Dwayne]

My previous Nonaim Tramway and the current Two Dogs Railway both incorporate curves to draw the eye to narrow views at a given time. I also use the "keyhole" feature (a permaculture gardening technique) that brings the human body into the layout. There are almost no straight sections of track used on my layouts. Curves are the rule.

[tom_tom_go]

Who doesn't like curves...

[Hydrostatic Dazza]

I like the bike with the up turned bars

[FWLR]

Who doesn't like curves...

Depends on the curves Tom….

[IanC]

I admire your aims of producing a railway with good viewing positions. Something I'd like to achieve when I build mine.

I fear the size and layout of my garden will preclude this objective, but it is something I will seriously consider at the design stage with a view to incorporating some photographic spots if possible.

Iàn

[River Lin]

"On the basis of "many a good idea said in jest" what you need is a small wagon type turntable for the car Andy." (LNR)

I'm off to Porthmadog next month.
Behind the old engine shed at Boston Lodge, in the garden of what once was a cottage owned by the FR, is/was the old loco turntable. The story goes that when the cottage was sold many years ago the new owner put his garage on the turntable so that he could drive in, and when needed, turn the turntable 180 degrees and drive out of the other end back down to the road. It was not practicable however due to not being able to balance his car centrally every time so he didn't use it. Whether this story is 100% fact I don't know but I will have a look and report back. I'm told the turntable is still in situ but in its day was only large enough for the England engines.
David.

[IanC]

"On the basis of "many a good idea said in jest" what you need is a small wagon type turntable for the car Andy." (LNR)

I'm off to Porthmadog next month.
Behind the old engine shed at Boston Lodge, in the garden of what once was a cottage owned by the FR, is/was the old loco turntable. The story goes that when the cottage was sold many years ago the new owner put his garage on the turntable so that he could drive in, and when needed, turn the turntable 180 degrees and drive out of the other end back down to the road. It was not practicable however due to not being able to balance his car centrally every time so he didn't use it. Whether this story is 100% fact I don't know but I will have a look and report back. I'm told the turntable is still in situ but in its day was only large enough for the England engines.
David.

Well that's different! Presumably the car driver didn't like using reverse gear

I look forward to the report.

Ian

[River Lin]

Hi all.
So as not to hijack the thread I have started a new one of Ffestiniog Turntable in 'Off Topic'.
David.