An Aspie's garden railway.

[artfull dodger]

Here are some fairly recent pics of my railway. Its not very big and sports LGB R1 curves, but its a joy to watch run and helps keep most of our purchasing in check since we have a curve restriction. Buildings are mostly Pola with a couple by Aristo Craft. Track is 100% LGB, all the buildings, turnout lanterns, end of track bumper are lighted and come on every night along with the low voltage path lights, which are made by Toro. The covered bridge is actualy made from wood and came from a collection that arrived at the local shop a few years ago. This year I have been concentrating on smaller details, people on the platforms, people in the passenger cars, getting lights in the passenger cars ect. Most of the stuff I get thru bartering and swapping at the local shop. The line was track powered for the first year or so, then I went dead rail and converted everything to onboard battery power. NO trailing battery cars allowed. I use RC car batteries with just a simple on/off switch. My Frank S live steamer has RC control to deal with the ups and downs on my line. I will flip/flop between a German theme and USA. Most of my USA prototype trains are from Kalamazoo, but I did add an old LGB C&S mogul to the stable along with one of their 2-4-0 starter set engines I had given to me. Enjoy the pics. Oh yeah, some are going to ask, whats an "Aspie" That is the name those of us with Asperger's Syndrome call ourselves. Mike

[bazzer42]

Lighting always makes a layout. Always found trainspotting as a kid more fun in a dark station.

[artfull dodger]

I enjoy going out trainspotting at night because I am very sensitive to bright lights/sun light. I try to do most of my railway work, shopping ect at night or around dusk. If the lights are bright enough in a store I have to wear my sun glasses. Its actually painful for me without them on. If was starting over, I would go 32mm gauge with Peco track. I am really liking the looks of the Accucraft Lawley. That is the one thing I wish LGB/Aster would have done, made Frank S with adjustable wheel gauge. Mike

[artfull dodger]

After getting my yards trimmed that I do for extra money, it was deemed a live steam day. Fired up Frankie and he kept stalling in the first tunnel(just ahead of the green battery engine in one of the above pics). This is the reverse curve and the highest point of the layout. Got all worked up and overwhelmed so shunted Frankie on the siding and ran my friends Regner Lumberjack. After Frankie cooled down, I found the servo arm ball loose on the servo crank. I tightend that up, and raised steam again. Frankie needs a min of 2 bar on the gauge to make it up the grade, thru the reverse curve. The tender water bath is good for one boiler full, I tried to stretch it as the as wasnt empty yet, but the water bath had gone cold and I was struggling to maintain 2 bar. So I called it break time and put the battery powered 0-6-2t on for awhile. Here is a pic of Frankie raising steam, my new station platforms are now covered with engine dribbles! Now you know the line runs steam!

[ge_rik]

Great shot!!

Rik

[paullad1984]

Anything narrow gauge have a nikki & frank S with modified gas tank for sale £950.

[artfull dodger]

He has several nice pieces I like, wish I had the funds. That Frank S has the Finescale gas tank in it. Looks just like the one I put in my first Frank S many years ago. Wish I could still get that tank! Mike[/i]

[artfull dodger]

With the railway now sleeping under a blanket of snow, its time to start thinking about and planning next springs changes and improvments. Frank S the live steamer has been sold on(didnt like steaming in colder weather) and replaced with a Roundhouse C&M Argyll in all black. I do plan to repaint either into the proper gamboge or GWR green over the winter months along with installing RC control. I swapped one of my Kalamazoo 4-4-0 locomotives for a Bachmann Emily and 2 coaches. I plan to turn Emily into a more proper Sterling Single with parts from the UK and her coaches will also look decent behind Argyll. I also plan get sell off more of my USA prototype stuff and get most of the Thomas range from Bachmann as they are affordable and can be had in the USA for a keen price. Wish I could find a range of buildings in the USA that were more to UK styling. Would really love to see Bachmann do some of the Thomas series buildings in large scale, espicaly the glass canopy station platforms. Mike

[jim@NAL]

that's a great railway lots of good pictures too

[artfull dodger]

The remodel of the railway is underway, well the planning stage as the ground is frozen here for the next couple months.  The railway will stay 45mm gauge for now(ease of finding second hand track localy).  Motive power will be my Merlin Mayflower(have bought new valve chests and pistons for when I wear out the originals) and for now my RH Argyll.  I have him tenativley sold pending evaluation and price of a Merlin Major from a dealer in the UK.  Planning to haul peat in several LGB green side dump wagons.  As I am fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I am considering setting the railway in the Shire where the hobbits lived. (sounds like an area where peat might be harvested).  So I need some help resetting the buildings to better represent that theme.  I want to retain the brewery complex, but the rest can be replaced or just removed.  I do remember seeing some concrete "hobbit houses) from somewhere that would be nice to get a couple of.  The depot is an Aristocraft victorian style(not sure if it should go or stay.  I have the LGB station platform plates as well.  The covered platform next to the station in the last pics, I was planning to remove, replace the curved part of the siding with another turnout to set a single stall engine house on a bluff overlooking the pond.  The beer garden resturant and Austrian looking building near the deck bridge can stay or go.   I also need to lay a siding to set out peat cars for loading someplace on the layout.   One thought for a name is Rushock & Hobbiton light railway. Rushock being a bog to the north and west of the town of Hobbiton.  Need to rewatch the movies to get my mind set into middle earth.    Mike

[artfull dodger]

Still in the harsh looking days of late winter/early spring here, but with some very warm days lately, I got the new shunt laid into the new engine house. Also a better pic of, what in the USA we call a "house" track at the depot. Not sure what its called in UK railway terms. I can park an engine there whilst steam is raised or the engine is cooling down after a run, or wagons with local goods to be unloaded can be set out here. Still need to stop at the local home center for some more "ballest" stone. Planing to do the cement/peat mix into the ballest this year to encourage moss and to help slow subsidement of the ballest Mike the Aspie.

[jim@NAL]

you have certainly got a lot of stuff and lots to see in a small space and I like the fact it all lights up

[artfull dodger]

Thanks Jim, yes, every building it lighted. The new loco shed has 3 overhead lamps and 2 on the side of the building facing the curved track. All tied into my 12vt path lights that come on at dusk and off at dawn. Hope to get some pics with my Merlin Major named Hendey running on the line soon. Mike

[artfull dodger]

Motive power and coaches arrived in todays post. They made the trip fairy well, only a couple of minor detail parts need to be reglued on the coaches. I got all of these from the estate of deceased modeler and friend. Countess is in pieces as she was in desperate need of a degreasing and general cleaningup. Also both cab roof hinges got broken in shipping, so some soldering will happen after dinner. The price was a steal for the engine alone, but the package deal included these two coaches. Couldn't tell much about the cars in the pictures. But they are the really nice ones from GRS in the UK, both being W&L Pickering cars. Both are full of people and have battery powered lights. One set of end steps and some railings on the composite brake coach need reattached with JB weld. Need to find decals to finish them out, anybody know who has them? Hope everybody has fun at Peterborough tomorrow!! Mike

[artfull dodger]

The backyard line above nolonger exhists, I lifted the track on Saturday. Every day, more damage was being done by the dog from digging up track to finding my telephone poles in the yard all chewed up. I am looking at 2 options, one is to copy Daan's small elevated line, which would sit directly above the old railway site, just 36" above ground level were no dogs can mess up stuff. Option 2, is to relay the ground level line that used to exhist in my front garden. The up side is no major wood building projects and the whole are is shady all day long. Down side is that its still ground level and getting the line completely level will be difficult. The line was L shaped, R1 curves and one end was much lower than the other end. So some embankment would be needed to try to ease some of those. The old front yard line was the realm of a Regner Willi(sadly nolonger available). He handled the grades ok. I am posting some pics of the old railway below for opinions. The one end of the line was expandable further along the side of the front yard once I had more track. The white stone is gone now, but that end of the railway was much lower, dropping off fast after crossing the bridge at the front, and after the curve at the rear. The ground cover has completely filled in the front area and would need lots of thinning to reveal the old right of way. I do have a supply of common red bricks to build up and enbankment. The split rail fence is gone, neighbor put up a 4 foot tall wood privacy fence. We do live at the end of a very quiet Cul De Sac, so little foot traffic or danger of vandlism. Not sure which way to go. Either way really isnt suitable to Countess and her long coaches, The Merlin would be ok, but a 4 coupled engine would be the best. Looking for others thoughts. I will say the front yard is more conductive to a UK style railway with moss and such due to the all day shade from my big trees. Mike

[artfull dodger]

The rebirth has begun, raised bench work is well under way today. Hope to get the rest of the planking done in the next couple hours. My friend ran back to the home store for 8 more deck planks to finish the inner surface, then it will be time for the plastic inner part and then its time to lay in the track and start setting bricks under it to raise it up above the lower table space to allow for dirt and plants, along with the creek and pond area. Mike

[artfull dodger]

Another progress picture, I am going to go one more coarse higher with the bricks(if I have enough). I do not have enough track to finish the inside track plan just yet, not till next week when I have to take my wife back to Indianapolis for another checkup. I can stop at the G scale shop on my way home. Mike

[LNR]

Gee Mike I hope this is taken as constructive criticism, but it appears that the legs of your structure are not load bearing. If I'm seeing it correctly the legs don't appear to be notched out, and under the structure they are attached to, so relying on fastenings only, and in single shear. With all those bricks in there I would think there is some weight involved and more to come. I would hate to see you put a lot of work in and then have problems. Once again, trying to help, not criticize.
Grant.

[artfull dodger]

They are reinforced undernieth, quite sturdy. I am replacing the bricks with a raised wood road bed on blocks of treated wood. Much lighter as even with the legs reinforced, I do not like the amount of weight that will be up there once other things are installed and dirt added for live plants. Stay tuned! Mike

[daan]

Hi Mike, It's indeed similar.. It is like looking at my own layout construction a few years ago. I also have a hint to think about. in my layout I made a drain in the middle to allow water to get out when the dirt has no capicity anymore to take up water. In your layout I can't spot any drain..
When it rains, this could get a swimming pool. May be it is still possible to add one? I'm curious what you'll make of it later on..