Thinking out loud: Elmdon Heath Light Railway

[hussra]

As you may have seen from my videos, at present I have 10 (count 'em!) yards of track in an oval on the patio. This is fun, but not fun enough. We moved to this house just before Christmas and this year has been a useful exercise in discovering what plants will pop up where. The time is now ripe for some planning.

The main, usable bit of the garden is 75' by 25'. There is a further 12' of length at the bottom of the garden currently occupied by a tatty shed and a rather tattier brick/concrete air raid shelter. (We are very close to the Solihull Land Rover plant, which made something aircraft-related during the war.)

Here are some photos, first from the house end:


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And now looking back the other way (taken from the top of the air raid shelter):


Click to see full size image

Constraints:

• With young but lively children, the grass will need to remain pretty much the present size.
• The ground rises slightly towards the far end of the garden, not by that much but enough.
• One of my locos is a Wrightscale Wren, and I would like to be able to use it. A level-ish line is required.
• A raised line crossing the lawn at the near end is not on.
• Welsh themed, 32mm gauge, line name will require translating

More to follow...

[Sir haydn]

Another thing to consider,

i see you have hedges, our old garden had hedges and our line ran around the perimiter of the garden. railways and hedge clippings dont mix, you will find even if you cover your line with a tarp while you cut your hedge you will forever be clearing twigs and leaves off of it after cutting. i would not got any closer than 3-4 foot to the hedge

[hussra]

So, initial thoughts. It appears that a circuit of the whole garden may not really be feasible, as it would need to be elevated 12-15" at the house end. (But, that sounds like a useful height for a main station/steaming area.) There is also the apple tree to worry about.

One possibility that I have been considering is a rather smaller circuit of the far end of the garden:


Click to see full size image

A triangular junction leads to a branch through the border on the LH side, leading to a raised terminus near the house:


Click to see full size image

Add a couple of passing loops, and sidings to taste. I think the terminus, to fit reasonably in the space available, would require a turntable release at the end of the platform. Any thoughts on that?

[MDLR]

(We are very close to the Solihull Land Rover plant, which made something aircraft-related during the war.)

With a railway name like that, I assume you're close to the airport, too!

[hussra]

Another thing to consider,

i see you have hedges, our old garden had hedges and our line ran around the perimiter of the garden. railways and hedge clippings dont mix, you will find even if you cover your line with a tarp while you cut your hedge you will forever be clearing twigs and leaves off of it after cutting. i would not got any closer than 3-4 foot to the hedge

Yup, you are absolutely right there, we have hedges, hedges and more hedges. (I confess that each got cut only once this summer.) Whether the clearance you suggest can be found is a good question, and I have my doubts especially at the back-left corner.

[hussra]

With a railway name like that, I assume you're close to the airport, too!

About a mile and a half from the old Elmdon terminal, two and a half from the new-fangled Birmingham airport. I did one year walk home from the Warley show, took a little while though.

[Sir haydn]

looks like some good thinking. the best way to figure things out is make a scale plan of the garden, then get some layout paper or tracing paper. lay it over your scale drawing and plan your line. this way you can make several railway plans to lay over your scale garden plan, and you can alter until your pleased with the result

[hussra]

Many thanks for the input so far. A plan is needed, certainly. (Any surveying tips?)

Constraints:

• With young but lively children, the grass will need to remain pretty much the present size.
• The ground rises slightly towards the far end of the garden, not by that much but enough.
• One of my locos is a Wrightscale Wren, and I would like to be able to use it. A level-ish line is required.
• A raised line crossing the lawn at the near end is not on.
• Welsh themed, 32mm gauge, line name will require translating

Further constraints I just remembered:

• Mix of centre and side-buffer stock => minimum curve radius 4' or more
• All locos manual - would like a continuous run (but branches off it would be nice too if there's space)

[Sir haydn]

Minimum radius i have found when running a scale TR train is around 3'9" i would suggest you put some levels in first. find the level at the highest part of the garden where you want you track to sit then hammer some stakes in at set points. this will show you the high you will be working to at certain points. you can then adjust accordingly. i.e if your steam up area isnt high enough.

[mhlr]

(We are very close to the Solihull Land Rover plant...)

I won't comment about that, as Pendo Pilot will complain seeing he's a Jeep man... But your going to need plenty 1/19 scale model Landies lying around the railway!


Plans so far look great, plenty of potential there. How about a dog bone kind of shape where there's a balloon loop at each end of the garden in a corner, where the line runs off the balloon loops, goes round a bend then down the side of the garden towards the other one with various sweeping bends and twists etc to add interest? Raise the railway to the level of the highest part of the garden, so it can be kept as level as possible and provide a servicing area at the lower part...? Ahhh the fun of planning a railway!

[Pendo Pilot]

....and a rather tattier brick/concrete air raid shelter. (We are very close to the Solihull Land Rover plant, which made something aircraft-related during the war.)

Thats not an air raid shelter, it was built to protect people from exploding Land Rover engines & gearboxes...etc etc (There ya go Pete )

Looks like plenty of scope for a good line in that lot. Personally I find plotting the curves to be the hardest part. What looks like plenty of room soon gets eaten up by a good radius curve. Plan well but if it's anything like mine the plan will change after the first bit is down anyway! Good luck!

[hussra]

Plans so far look great, plenty of potential there. How about a dog bone kind of shape where there's a balloon loop at each end of the garden in a corner, where the line runs off the balloon loops, goes round a bend then down the side of the garden towards the other one with various sweeping bends and twists etc to add interest?

Interesting thoughts. My own wild flight of fancy for some point in the dim and distant future had been to demolish the air raid shelter (or whatever we choose to call it) to make room for an upper terminus. A lengthy branch would then lead there via the front right of the garden. Something vaguely like this:


Click to see full size image


Click to see full size image

But would it fit? Dunno. Next step, a more detailed survey.

Raise the railway to the level of the highest part of the garden, so it can be kept as level as possible

Do as I say, not as I do, then?

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

Hahha! Yes Pete, practice what you preach....
Looks like a plan. The possibility of end to end running makes the railway (to me anyway) a whole lot more interesting and "real". Curves I do find tricky although I was pleasantly surprised that I could fit in a 2ft 8 inch radious return loop in a rather tight space behind the shed. It is surprising what you can fit in to a tiny garden if you plan carefully and think in operational terms how everything is going to work. Of course you have the luxury of a decent sized garden - enjoy it!!

[Narrow Minded]

practice what you preach....

Ah, but hindsight is a wonderful asset! - especially when you're prepared to allow others to "learn from your mistakes"

Despite all of the best advice on offer, most of us tend to think that we know better
I reckon that the best advice would be to take the best advice

[Pendo Pilot]

I reckon that the best advice would be to take the best advice

Have you thought about a career in politics Greg??

[Narrow Minded]

Have you thought about a career in politics Greg??

At the risk of going "Off Topic" - if there's one thing I can't stand, it's politicians - I'd be in bad company there

Back on track, if I were to be faced with a "blank canvas" crying out for a new garden railway, I know exactly what I'd do this time round - and it's all been done (succesfully) and documented before
I certainly wouldn't repeat my "mistakes".

Remember, opinions are like a£$#0!@$ - everybody's got one, it's just that some are cuter than others

[hussra]

Ventured out into garden today with long tape measure followed by some time drawing up the results. Useful learning experience. I now have a rather better idea of what I am doing and will start over at some point next week. A short hiatus will now follow while we head up to Scotland for a family funeral on Monday.

[Sir Clothem Cap]

a small suggestion if you make a cutting at the high end of the line you won't have to raise the house end too much.

How about a large oval going closer to the hedges.You may find a snowplough would clear debris before you run. Don't go too near fence posts as they have to be dug out and replaced occaisionlly I run mamods on my line so understand the need for level.

There are ways of protecting the rails at the house end. like encasing the rails as in a level crossing for the footfall areas or slightly lowering the rails below ground level so feet are less lightly to catch. the marshalling yard where you have drawn it is ideal and future expansion with passing loops and double track areas is always possible. Make the rails very obvious and they get stepped over anyway.

[hussra]

a small suggestion if you make a cutting at the high end of the line you won't have to raise the house end too much.

     How about a large oval going closer to the hedges.You may find a snowplough would clear debris before you run. Don't go too near fence posts as they have to be dug out and replaced occaisionlly I run mamods on my line so understand the need for level.

Interesting thoughts, thank you. I'm generally inclined to avoid serious cuttings if I can manage it (leaves etc. - the cuttings could easily end up 12-15" deep if we went for that) but it's good to have some more things to consider. There's only one fence post anywhere near where the line might be likely to go.

There are ways of protecting the rails at the house end. like encasing the rails as in a level crossing for the footfall areas or slightly lowering the rails below ground level so feet are less lightly to catch. the marshalling yard where you have drawn it is ideal and future expansion with passing loops and double track areas is always possible. Make the rails very obvious and they get stepped over anyway.

Mmmm yes, Dave Watkins has his line running along the edge of the patio tramway-style, which works nicely.

I have finally (last week) completed the main survey of the garden, which has been drawn up at 1:50. Must see if I can get a usable scan or photo of the garden plan to post on here. Still need to do some work on levels.

[Sir Clothem Cap]

Your far end cuttings could be tunnels where paths go over the top.