Vale of Fairway

A place for the discussion of garden railways and any garden style/scale portable and/or indoor layouts
Post Reply
bazzer42
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1215
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:37 pm
Location: Forest of Dean

Vale of Fairway

Post by bazzer42 » Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:50 pm

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

I know this is back to front but I have promised myself to start a thread on the development of the Vale of Fairway Light Railway. These are the works from the last 24 hours, the building of the platform at the harbour terminal. I have used slices of concrete tile as the platform wall and infilled with concrete. The white tiles are mosaic tiles for swimming pools. The fuchsia is and will be a pain but I'm grateful to have been allowed to extend.
The later pictures show a planned loading or unloading platform for goods, namely mackerel inwards and canned fish outwards.
We are in France next week and I hope to find the time to write up the history of the railway and some photos of its development to date.

User avatar
Peter Butler
Driver
Driver
Posts: 5219
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:33 pm
Location: West Wales

Post by Peter Butler » Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:04 pm

That looks very neat and tidy.
Have you used Gripfill before and if so does it survive wet and freezing conditions?

bazzer42
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1215
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:37 pm
Location: Forest of Dean

Post by bazzer42 » Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:10 pm

[quote="Peter Butler:102964"]That looks very neat and tidy.
Have you used Gripfill before and if so does it survive wet and freezing conditions?[/qurote]

Peter, I have used it on some of the piers that will appear in later photos and these have survived since last summer, so far! It is blooming horrible stuff to get off of your hands which gives me hope. It sticks like the proverbial to a blanket.  Do you get freezing conditions in West Wales? :D

PS it was a burger to shift the first set of platform uprights after 24 hours when I realised Lady Anne wouldn't take the curve around the edge of my first platform build :oops:

User avatar
steamie1
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 685
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2012 11:04 pm

Post by steamie1 » Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:27 pm

Cor!

User avatar
Peter Butler
Driver
Driver
Posts: 5219
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:33 pm
Location: West Wales

Post by Peter Butler » Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:29 pm

I have tried various ways to stick materials together and still experimenting. My first thought was to use hot glue sticks to bond slate blocks for buffer stops. To some degree it works but the slate needs to be sealed to prevent delamination. Perhaps Gripfill will also serve this purpose?
As for frost conditions.... in Wales?????....well, occasionally. I will give your method a try and we can compare notes as you obviously have much warmer weather than we do, across the water!

User avatar
steamie1
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 685
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2012 11:04 pm

Post by steamie1 » Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:57 pm

Swimming pool tile adhesive by Dunlop (Dust bag not premixed) Lasts years

User avatar
Peter Butler
Driver
Driver
Posts: 5219
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:33 pm
Location: West Wales

Post by Peter Butler » Sun Jul 27, 2014 11:03 pm

steamie1:102971 wrote:Swimming pool tile adhesive by Dunlop (Dust bag not premixed) Lasts years
Good shout!!!!!
I bet that would be good for ballast too. Have you tried it?

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Post by philipy » Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:11 am

bazzer, I really like the cut slate walls, especially the coping stones.

Peter, when I did my tunnel mouths I used waterproof tile cement, that I originally bought for laying slate floor tiles. I guess its probably similar to the swimming pool stuff but possibly available in smaller sized bags?
I used two old roofing slates as backers, cutting the shape of the tunnel mouth with a tile blade in a jigsaw, then used a tile cutter to slice bits of Cotswold stone into blocks and stuck them on to the slates using the tile cement, then grouted using waterproof grey tile grout. They have both been outside for two winters and two summers, with no detrimental effects so far.

Image
Philip

bazzer42
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1215
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:37 pm
Location: Forest of Dean

Post by bazzer42 » Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:32 am

Thanks chaps. I wish I had started this thread a year ago as there are so many good ideas coming forward.
in the next chapter I have some piers that have been slate clad using evostik tile adhesive. To be fair last winter wasn't much of a test other than for waterproofness (is that a word?).
I have to build tunnel mouths and really like the tile blade in a jigsaw method although the speed with which summer is disappearing it could be next spring.
I think we have wifi in France so will try and do an historical evolution. At worst I have won 6 old Garden Rails on ebay so I can get a railway "fix".
Au revoir mes petit couchons.

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:15 am

Looking good! Looks like you've got a similar situation to me in that there's not much space but you've got a lot to squeeze in to maeke it operationally interesting and realistic. Wouldn't a great big garden be nice??? Shouldn't worry too much about the shrub in the way - the fuschia's bright...

Hmm, good tips re swimming pool adhesive etc, thanks. I do have some concerns that all the cladding I've been doing will fall off in the winter, particularly if the decking boards underneath it all begin to bow...

Enjoy France - looking forward to the next installment...

Andrew.

User avatar
Dannypenguin
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 632
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2013 9:57 am
Location: Forest of Dean, UK
Contact:

Post by Dannypenguin » Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:00 pm

Looks good so far, keep it up! And enjoy your holiday! :thumbright:
Dan

Visit the PFLR website - http://poultonfarmlightrailway.webs.com/
Dean Forest Railway Society website - http://dfrsociety.org/

bazzer42
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1215
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:37 pm
Location: Forest of Dean

Post by bazzer42 » Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:07 pm

My railway ancestry dates from when I was 12 and my brother and I spent our teenage years putting together various hornby based layouts. Whilst I dabbled in 4mm when first married the arrival of two sons meant a playmobil set had to be bought. They showed little interest but dad had his first G scale trains. A move of house in 2003 meant a garden layout was a possibility although only after renovation work on the bungalow was completed.  During this time I disovered USA Trains and thought this was the route to go. In 2009 I started laying track having bought job lots of Aristo and tenmille track. It was only then that I realised how awful large bogie vehicles looked on r2 curves. This prompted a sell up and a move to lgb RhB, with large bogie wagons....and expensive £500+ locos.


The cost of locos and no catenary was already causing dissatisfaction but a trip to the Exeter garden rail show in 2012 was an eye opener.  It was possible to buy British outline stock to run in the garden. Most of my scratch built buildings had a British look so maybe this was the way to go. The purchase of a second hand Lady Anne in January 2013 was the best acquisition I have ever made. I am grateful to members of the Gscale central forum for helping me through this metamorphosis,  paricularly Jon (dunnyrail) who gave up his time to give the loco a once over before purchase.  


My sale of lgb stock and collection of Raleigh Choppers should have funded rolling stock but I now have three live steam locos and a Criccieth Castle....  all secondhand but in lovely condition and costing more than the LGB swiss locos!  The lack of stock has given me the breathing space to think about the what and how of the Vale of Fairway (the bungalow is Fairway).  The heavy investment in 45mm track meant I was reluctant to rip up several years work and investment hence the light railway theme using the same track.


 Our garden slopes quite steeply and permission was given to may use of the rear of the patio and onto what was a sloping wasteland. There was some quite heavy building work to create a garden wall that gave a level circuit.  The track forms a dog bone with the appearance of a double track in the narrow strip along the patio. The track has been laid on concrete breeze blocks laid on a sand and cement base so derailments are limited to obstacles on the track or back to backs on certain stock. In the Spring last year I was allowed to extend the railway into the flowerbed beside the bungalow albeit 13 inches below the current track level.  This created a problem that was solved by building a spiral that crosses the path and descends at 1 in 40 to a small terminal harbour station. This has worked well and far better than my initial plan to descend parallel to the path and U turn into the flowerbed.


The height of drop is accentuated in the spiral as the flowerbed is raised. This means in some place the track is over 2ft above ground level. To do this I have used piers made from 3ft kerb edges stood on their ends and clad in slate. Before cladding I slit the tops of the piers with an angle grinder to take aluminium track supports. The photos show this better but I formed an aluminium girder from 2" wide strip and 45mm spacers. This was pure fluke as I had ordered 1 3/4" box but they had to substitute 45mm as it was out of stock, this now meant I could use curve templates from Jims Models to space the aluminium whilst forming curves! The spacers have half inch tube riveted to the top for track supports.  I've still to work out how I am going to add support posts but the straight elements will have truss girder sides like the approach bridges on the long bridge in the photo. I have been selling these truss bridges on ebay (shameless plug!!) for a while now.


The station in the flowerbed is a harbour station with a sea of babies tears/ mind your own business.  At this stage Fairway is an island somewhere in the Bristol channel and could be Welsh or could be English. If Welsh it will probably be Gard Gerrag but we will see. The facilities here are minimal. A small unloading dock (in the process of being built), a small goods shed and a short siding serving a permanent way department i.e. a corrugated shed that has yet to be built and inspired by a drawing in a recent SMT(147). All imports and exports go through the harbour.  The sea is rich in mackerel and these are canned inland before shipping back out. There is an aquarium gravel mine on the mainland and this has rich veins of red, white and blue ore that are exported. Other than a dairy it is general merchandise that is moved by rail.


Having to lift up track to allow the harbour branch gave the opportunity to remodel the station where it branches off. Creating a new loop at 45 degrees to the old station has given me a crossover in the (insulated for playmobil days) loop. This means any train from the harbour can do two circuits before returning to the harbour. Facilities at this yet to be named station (Milbridge Junction?) are a cattle dock and a goods shed. Beyond the station there is a two foot radius curve to the quarry and three sidings for the wagons that serve it. The dairy is situated just as you leave this station. The narrow running lines behind the patio mean that any buildings will be in low relief.


Heading towards the storage shed we pass another siding that will eventually handle breakdown crane.  There is small engine shed as we enter another station requiring a name.  Luckily I have used r3 and r2 curves on the narrow straights meaning I can remodel the engine shed layout without too much trouble. That said, I would like to replace the siding on an angle to a 14" turntable. The station here has two sidings, one to a goods shed and the second to.....not sure yet. It could be a carriage siding or a bay platform. I plan to build a footbridge and have platforms either side although it must be heartbreaking to miss your train and see it reappear on the other side 30 seconds later!

bazzer42
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1215
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:37 pm
Location: Forest of Dean

Post by bazzer42 » Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:09 pm

Sorry about the amount of typing. The internet availability on the patio was sketchy to say the least so I ended up pouring my heart out onto electric paper. I will post a tour of the line as it stands.
Last edited by bazzer42 on Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

bazzer42
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1215
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:37 pm
Location: Forest of Dean

Post by bazzer42 » Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:20 pm

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

These photos show the narrow strip from the shed to where the lines diverge to make a bigger loop at the end of the garden. At this point we are entering Milbridge (?) Station.

bazzer42
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1215
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:37 pm
Location: Forest of Dean

Post by bazzer42 » Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:29 pm

Here is the exit from the shed that I somehow dropped off the last posting.



Image
A few more recent shots of Milbridge.

Image

Image
Image

bazzer42
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1215
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:37 pm
Location: Forest of Dean

Post by bazzer42 » Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:38 pm

The return loop beyond Milbridge.

Image

Image

Image

Image

jim@NAL
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1115
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2012 11:01 am
Location: haverhill suffok

Post by jim@NAL » Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:40 pm

looking fantastic im a carpenter /builder gripfill will work and survive outside iv used it to repair broken slates /tiles on roofs it will last for years

bazzer42
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1215
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:37 pm
Location: Forest of Dean

Post by bazzer42 » Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:44 pm

jim@NAL:103328 wrote:looking fantastic im a carpenter /builder gripfill will work and survive outside iv used it to repair broken slates /tiles on roofs it will last for years
That's a relief Jim as the next set of photos show my piers with their slate clad sides all stuck with the stuff!

bazzer42
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1215
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:37 pm
Location: Forest of Dean

Post by bazzer42 » Sat Aug 16, 2014 11:04 am

A few pictures of path crossing and construction of the spiral descent to the harbour.

Image
Image
Image

I have been pleased with the results as I have worked with a piece of string, a spirit level, large Stanley angle and a tape measure.

bazzer42
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1215
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:37 pm
Location: Forest of Dean

Post by bazzer42 » Sat Aug 16, 2014 11:11 am

Here are the pictures that arrived upside down on the last post :shock:

Image

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests