Garden Railway Forum

Firstly, it's not as beautifully intricate as many of your garden layouts but this is my own little line. After three and a half years...

I've even laid out a history of it but first things first.



I've laid the track temporarily upon the foundations along with the platform. So far everything doesn't fall off or hit a tree which is a good sign.

A small line is better than no line at all so at least you have something to run trains on...

I reckon with some well placed plants, buildings etc you can create something interesting.

I'm hoping so, we've made a start with the heathers. Once the track is laid and ballasted I'm going to look at autumn flowers and find some left over stock of garden embellishments. I saw some lovely bird houses which would build up into a village... I'm also hoping the other half can get my a birthday present.

There is also some signals and a level crossing planned but first things first.

Interestingly your line has been massively inspirational for me.

Welcome back Mr T. Small is beautiful as I tell Mrs B, small is beàutiful. Lady Anne behaving?

Long time no see - me and the mrs finally moved in together last year but our house only had a small back yard so the Lady Anne didn't get much attention save one time we went to look after her dad's house whilst he was on holiday so she's not had much action. But now we finally have a nice garden to give her a run.

She's still a darling though - I need to add a few upgrades and reattach some bits that fell off during the two moves.

I'm going to rejoin the 16mm group and see if there's any local people I can contact.

I'm in agreement with Tom_Tom_Go. A small line is 100% better than no line. And the Lady Anne is a great locomotive too so I'm sure both will give you a lot of pleasure.

Ian

An inertia wagon would help you out with a small line:

http://gardenrails.myfreeforum.org/about9667.html

Sylvian Tennant:119947 wrote:        this is my own little line.
I've even laid out a history of it  

That is the best way to look at it, you do what you want in your own space, as you gain confidence and experience it will surely grow, great start!

As someone who is without a line of my own, anything is better than nothing.

Good work so far. The plants look nice and will fill out next spring to give you a very nice landscape to work in. Good progress, it may have taken you three years but you are still working faster than I am!

Enjoy your line, that's what it's all about at the end of the day.

Andrew

Hi Mr T.

"""""She's still a darling though - I need to add a few upgrades and reattach some bits that fell off during the two moves.""""""

Are you refering to Mrs T. or your Lady Ann. ;-)

No but seriously though, as they say, I don't have a line of my own but i am an member of the Northamptonshire 16mm group and love running my Lady Ann 'River Lin' on other members lines. That is she pulling some of my home built WHR stock including the Buffet Car on the cover of May's Bulletin. It is a great way to meet friendly, like minded enthusiasts and chat over a coffee and a slice of cake on a sunny afternoon.

On the subject of photography, that photo was taken not with some semi professional rig, but a Samsung A3 phone. You may take 1000 photos but maybe one, just one, comes out a peach. ( I am not letting you see the other 999 though).

David.

What do the initials stand for?

Big Jim:119973 wrote:As someone who is without a line of my own, anything is better than nothing.

Quite. I had an oval of track about that size set up in the woods on an island in the harbour. It was fun for a while but I got tired of animals pooping on the tracks and having to take my rolling stock on a boat and up a cliff in order to run it. I have the oval of track back at the house now and I set it up on the downstairs lounge floor when my wife isn't home sometimes but it's really a suboptimal arrangement. I will soon be trying to do something with the very small space set aside for a garden behind my house, and I suspect my railway will look almost identical to yours, Mr. Tennant.

I second the recommendation that you build an "inertia" van. They work very well on small layouts to keep the speed down.

I'm actually always very happy to see what people are doing in small spaces, as it helps me to decide what I will eventually do. I wanted a larger garden but this isn't going to happen anytime soon, and meanwhile my railway stuff sits on a shelf collecting dust.

Thanks chaps.

Well I ballasted last night (literally - with only the solar lights and the torch on my phone along with a very annoyed girlfriend) and checked it out this morning.







There have been a couple of running issues with rolling stock and the likes which I've sussed to be two problems.




The first being some of the curved track was bought second hand - it was LGB which I thought would have been okay but the joints weren't flush causing some of the stock to derail. In the end I adjusted the back to backs and filed the offending joints down which seems to have negated the worst of it.

The second was the curves are on slight inclines - this was a problem for one wagon, my IP Engineering brake van, which is lovely model but a bit of prima donna to run. I'm not sure if I've skewed the chassis slightly or if it's a deign issue but it's not a fan of uneven trackwork. I've managed to raise some of the track bed in the worst corners to help prevent it riding up the rails but this could be an ongoing problem (watch this space.

Anyway - hopefully in the next few days/weeks you may see some further progress and maybe even a steam run once I have repaired the engine and refurbished the stock.


Thank you for all you kind comments and messages of encouragement.

The initials  stand for the Greumach & Devlin Light Railway but I'm thinking of dropping the 'light' as I'm partial inspired by the Lynton & Barnstaple and Isle of Man lines which never used it.

A little suggestion: visit your local caravan shop. They sell triangular spirit levels, with two tubes at right angles on a triangular base - designed to be screwed to the towbar of a 'van for adjusting the level on site. They will just sit across 32mm track (you may need to make a "T" frame out of reasonable quality timber for 45mm) and is a quick and easy way to get both side-to-side and along-the-track levels right.

Score, thank you.

First time to make mistakes and all. I'll have a peek in Halfords when I'm next down. I may need to raise the long straight section (though this will more likely occur later rather than sooner.

My IP brake van is also a "Prima Donna". It comes off in places where there is no obvious defect in the track. I think this is because it is very light. I put a detailed interior in it and didn't add anything heavy, so I might glue a metal plate to the underside. They are nice-looking vans though.

This is my main offender



I added weight that the bottom similar to LMS wagons



I might be useful to do as it helps the centre of gravity. I am considering (if the problem persists) to try and compensate one of the wheels though that could be a bit of a fart on. is yours the same type? I'm not too sure of the wooden axel boxes to be truthful. saying that I suspect it could just not like rougher track as it seems to be square.

I'm sure you have identified the cure for this.... make one axle 'float' (compensate) and your problems should go away!
Long wheelbases and tight curves are not good partners.

Aye this is true - I'm a bit worried as I have three brand bright coaches to build which I love the look of. I just hope they don't fall into the same problems.

Out of curiosity can anyone show me how to float' an axel. I've seen kits for 4mm wagons and the likes but doing it in this scale seems to be a from scratch scenario.