Garden Railway Forum

Glad ya'll like the siding. I'm fortunate that the soil in the yard is as workable as it is. Two feet below the top 12 inches is the beginning of a dense, red clay that contributes to central Oklahoma's "red dirt" characteristic. My wife, who grew up in northern Ontario had never seen red dirt prior to her moving down here and immediately found it fascinating.


One thing I forgot to do to the tunnel was spray paint the interior with flat black paint. I'll leave the portion that's visible below the timber portals the natural concrete color but further inside it'll get sprayed with paint. Gives the tunnel interior a nice dark aura which I discovered I liked when I did the same on the short tunnel on the previous layout.

Dwayne, have you no shame, posting pictures of your wife paddling in glorious sunshine when we Brits are shivering our nuts off in a wintery climate?

That colour dirt looks like it is from Mars!

Hi Dwayne,

That's a great tip about painting the inside of the tunnel, I'll definitely be giving that one a go!

Thanks,

Andrew

Another warm and pleasant day here in Tornado Alley. I pulled out the ladder and leaned it against my bike shed in order to get an overhead photo of the layout. Adding the photo a bit larger than I normally do for the sake of making out the right of way which is half covered with leaves from the pecan tree on the left side. The recent tunnel addition beneath Hope Hill is located at the upper left side of the photo. Can't really call it a mountain but at four feet tall it's high enough to justify the tunnel.



I then spent a bit of time cobbling a simple, short 12 inch long bridge to span a washout on the main. In reality the washout is nothing more than something I added to justify a bridge.

Hi Dwayne,

The aerial shot is as good as a map of the line - who needs drones!

Love the bridge, it looks well engineered.

Andrew

One of the advantages of the garden railway. A few sticks of timber, a couple of bricks and you have a natural looking bridge, so very typical of what you see along any line. The aerial is great, gives us a better sense of the layout.
Grant.

Thanks guys. Using everyday items and cast offs from normal size projects around the house makes large scale modeling so much easier. Helps that I'm an adherent of the 10 Foot Rule.

It is none too sweaty in Virginia either, and posted to get colder this week.

Love the aerial photography.

cheers,
Peter in Va

Proper bridge, proper job!

Wish I could build bridges from a few bits of timber, a natural fit as well. Love the aerial shot.

Yep, I agree with the others about the aerial shot. It also surprised me how small the layout is, the previous pictures somehow makes it look much larger.

See what Dwayne has been doing with an odd corner of his yard has been the inspiration for me having a go at seeing what I can shove in the unused corner of our yard here in Virginia that contains the failed patio. What I love about what has been done here is that there is quite a lot in a small area, but in no sense does it look of feel like a spaghetti bowl in the photographs.

Cheers,
Peter in Va.

Glad ya'll liked the aerial photo.

The layout isn't large by any means. The mainline length is about 100 feet total. The overall footprint is about 35' x 35' (my property is 1/2 acre in size). I figured 100 foot of well maintained handlaid track was sufficient for my needs. That track will need to be maintained in the years to come as ties rot and spikes corrode.

Keep in mind is that this isn't my primary hobby so I didn't see the need to have a massive, spaghetti bowl of track covering my entire yard. At best I'll play with the trains only a couple of hours per week. No need for many engines, freight cars or structures as a result. K.I.S.S. and the 10 Foot Rule are the order for me.

Dwayne wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2017 2:17 am K.I.S.S. and the 10 Foot Rule are the order for me.

I'll go along with that Dwayne. When you have a busy schedule elsewhere it pays not to get too overburdened with maintenance etc..

Lazy day here in Tornado Alley so I went and changed some of the track in the town of Imagination. Moved the track that was to serve the engine facilities from the back side of area to the front edge for easier access.

Before...

After...


Before...

After...

That looks a more serviceable idea. It's good to be master of all we survey in our miniature worlds.
Grant.

Hi Dwayne,

Very impressive. You make it look so easy! It's an excellent idea and very well implemented. I'd have taken a week just contemplating the idea!

Great work - and great weather!

Andrew

Weather in my neck of the world went south overnight so I decided it was time to square things away in my Man Cave... in particular the dedicated corner of the shed for the railroad workbench. Nothing is more frustrating than having it piled with stuff and no ability to just sit down and leisurely putter on thing (bikes and trains alike).

I like it Dwayne, very impressive cave!

The only trouble I have with tidying up the heap of junk I laughingly call my workbench, is that afterwards I can never find things.