Garden Railway Forum

I can but echo what the others have said, Andrew. Well done, and looking forward to more.

Soar Valley Light wrote: ↑Sun May 28, 2017 9:14 pm... Now, being a Dublo collector I know all about the risks of wrapping things in kitchen roll and I've seen the damage it can do to paint work.

I've not heard of this before. Could you tell us what happens please? Thanks!

Soar Valley Light wrote: ↑Sun May 28, 2017 9:14 pm he first permanent track on the CFLR was laid this afternoon! .............

Hooray!!! Did you get a local dignitary and a brass band in during the hammering of the first spike?

Soar Valley Light wrote: ↑Sun May 28, 2017 9:14 pm I'm all fired up to go and lay more track tomorrow but looking at the weather I may have to consider the alternative option of working on the new bathroom

As any self respecting permanent way engineer will tell you, track-laying is best done during daylight hours while bathroom work is best done during the hours of darkness (pity that the nights are getting shorter at the moment ...... ). You can always wear your sou' wester......
Rik

Brilliant to see the track going down - you weren't tempted to run a short train were you?

Looking at that clearance you might want to try running a loco under power through the tunnel at various speeds as under its own steam, as you may find it 'pushes the envelope' a little more.

On one of my tunnels, I've been fitting some exterior covering and whilst a loco was passing safely at slower speeds, if it went past a little faster, it did catch - the piece in question is just after a corner and I think the difference in speed was making it take longer in terms of the distance it was taking to get back inside its straight profile and hence the catch with the covering.

You might be alright as the curve looks to run throughout the tunnel so your gauging may already be at the widest it can be but worth checking now whilst you and your 1:1 tool can get in to do any tweaks required

markoteal wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2017 12:41 pm Looking at that clearance you might want to try running a loco under power through the tunnel at various speeds as under its own steam, as you may find it 'pushes the envelope' a little more.

Hi Mark, the temptation to run something was certainly there but being a steam only railway the time wasn't. I shall leave it until there is a little bit more railway to run on. Speaking of which another three lengths went down this evening, only one more to take me up to the next turnout position. Any further track laying after that will have to be on the main circuit until I crack on with turnout construction.

Your advice is duly noted and it's sound engineering sense too. I should have considered this and didn't! It's the very reason that there is a 'swept envelope' in gauge clearance considerations on the 'big job' and why 'physically clear' isn't necessarily 'gauge clear'. Even at the small scale we are working in this can have an effect, especially when clearances are as tight as I've managed to build!

ge_rik wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2017 2:00 pm Hooray!!! Did you get a local dignitary and a brass band in during the hammering of the first spike?


As any self respecting permanent way engineer will tell you, track-laying is best done during daylight hours while bathroom work is best done during the hours of darkness (pity that the nights are getting shorter at the moment ...... ). You can always wear your sou' wester......

Sadly no brass band, but our blackbird was serenading me!

You might like to tell our train operating companies that track laying is best done in daylight, it would improve my working ours no end!

TonyW wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2017 11:19 am Soar Valley Light wrote: ↑Sun May 28, 2017 8:14 pm
... Now, being a Dublo collector I know all about the risks of wrapping things in kitchen roll and I've seen the damage it can do to paint work.
I've not heard of this before. Could you tell us what happens please? Thanks!

Hi Tony,

The acid in the paper attacks the paintwork causing it to bubble up. I've a nasty suspicion that it's bubbled the plastic body slightly too, but I shan't know until I start repair work.

Thanks to all for the encouraging remarks again. I'll keep you updated as and when there is something to tell you. Work looks like it may put a check into progress for a few days now. Hey ho!

All the best,

Andrew

Hi Andrew

Congratulations on your track laying and what an amazing job! It looks fantastic. You must be thrilled to see railway amongst your building work

The tunnel reminds me of one of the Welsh Highland tunnels - the clearance will be fine I would think, those Swift Sixteen coaches are lovely but quite big!

To add to you warning about kitchen roll, Also draft excluder - the foam tape which I used in a wooden box to protect the sides of my L & B coaches became stuck the coaches and ruined the paint! There are many hazards out there just waiting to destroy our paintwork

Keep it up buddy - I can't wait to see more

I'm having some fun and games with the 'wonders of modern technology tonight! I spent an hour putting a post together, only to have it melt away when I pressed submit. That's not happened for ages and never since we moved to this new platform. I started a replacement post and bless my soul if that didn't suddenly 'slip away' into the ether as well. Third time lucky, eh?

James from Devon wrote: ↑Mon Jun 05, 2017 9:18 am
The tunnel reminds me of one of the Welsh Highland tunnels - the clearance will be fine I would think, those Swift Sixteen coaches are lovely but quite big!

Thanks for the encouragement James. Do you know, you've hit on something there about the tunnel. I hadn't consciously based it on a WHR tunnel but I remember well being fascinated by the ones in the Aberglaslyn pass during early '70's holidays. I do believe that subconscious memory has translated itself into reality in miniature! (Including the clearances )

I agree about the coaches. I love larger models, 7/8ths is a fantastic size but to model 2' gauge railways in that size would need much more space than I have. Accucraft loco's are big and chunky, I like that. They may be more like 17mm than 16mm to the foot in fact. What's more I like the price and they make the whole business of steam in the garden affordable for me. My interest is in having a railway as opposed to an industrial setting or somewhere to run loco's. As such, getting the balance of size and scale of the models right is important, and their fit into the garden landscape is even more critical for me. It's a complicated mix!

So, back to coaches. Swift Sixteen make the only stock I've seen that is not dwarfed by Accucraft loco's. I know some railways had a disparity between loco and stock size but to me it looks odd and does not suggest a railway built to a well considered and engineered standard design. I love panelled coaches and have a couple that I bought some time ago from Spud UK but these are Brandbright models and nearly 20mm lower than my loco's. Nice as they are they look odd in the railway setting. Swift Sixteen models are a great match for Accucraft engines though, it's a shame they only make match-boarded vehicles but they are growing on me! It's that lovely Obo I bought three years ago at Peterborough that did it. Those who have persevered with me so far will have seen that the clearances between this vehicle and my tunnel walls are less than generous, and this is only a four wheeled item of stock. The back story for my line means it would have been a late build, probably post 1900. There would have been a significant GCR influence about the whole project and as such bogie stock would have been the most likely option for the CFLR. Now, I'm not about to splash out the thick end of £100 on something that might not get through my Welsh Highland hole in the ground!

I spent a good deal of time measuring, researching, calculating and remeasuring. The pinnacle of UK narrow gauge achievement was, in my book, the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway. It's been my inspiration and guidance throughout this project, it's guided my design and construction activities from a very early stage. On comparing L&B stock against Swift Sixteen models I discovered that they weren't that dissimilar. L&B vehicles are slightly wider but 15mm less tall, that explains why my 'obo' is such a close fit in the tunnel. I could increase my stock with four wheeled vehicles but for the reasons mentioned above I really want to have a couple of bogie vehicles. Passenger traffic would never have been a significant income stream for the CFLR. A primary reason for it's construction, yes, but it's unlikely traffic would have been anything more than light, especially beyond Ansty, only a quarter of the way from the Leicester terminus. There wouldn't have been a need for many passenger coaches. Tourist trade could have been a very real boost to local trade but still not vast, worth investing in an observation coach though! I anticipate that a single bogie coach would be more than adequate for the locals, a second would act as a spare to cover repairs and to cover any 'market day' overcrowding. This is particularly so in view of my premise that every train will run with a brake van and that the CFLR brakes will be 'passenger rated', therefore no space in the passenger stock will be taken up with Guards compartments of luggage space.

So, I justified my desire for bogie passenger stock - but can I fit a big old Swift Sixteen unit through the tunnel? After giving it some thought the idea suddenly struck me that a full sized mock up could be used. A quick dash to the recycling bin rescued enough cardboard packaging just before tomorrows collection day! Within an hour I had a Swift Sixteen bogie coach sized box before me. To make sure it located on the track in the right place I cut two 32mm wide strips to represent the bogies and stuck them on in the appropriate place. I was amazed how well they guided the 'coach' as it was pulled along the track. I was very pleased to see that there is clearance for a vehicle this size to pass without damage. Time now to start saving up for the first vehicle. I ought to mention the reason for the CFLR's cash strapped state is down to a delivery I received today from Cliff Barker. This contained the vast majority of the plain line materials I need to complete the track laying on the CFLR as well as sufficient S&C components to construct over half the turnout units for the line, this will allow the completion of the main running lines without the need for a lot of cutting into the completed plain line to add loops and sidings. I'm quite excited about the prospect!

Andrew

PS, This post was the FOURTH attempt - I hate technology

Congratulations on your perseverance Andrew and thank you for the update. It is good to see you have sufficient space for your proposed rolling stock, having got this far nothing should stop you now, finances excepted!

I think this Christmas might be the one to see trains running on the CFLR. Very glad you have proved your tunnel dimensions are adequate.
Grant.

What superb trackwork. Is there something about filcris users that produces a great result? I have built some bridges for a Gloucester railway and he also has some really smooth trackwork after some well thought out pre-planning. When you spend time planning your railway you (and we) reap the benefits, it looks so natural. My track design was as I went....and it Shows! Will be following the progress.

Great idea that Andrew - good old cardboard - it has so many uses in 16MM land - whether its mock ups of vehicles or shielding for items when items nearby are being painted, it's a great help.

Yes, I've occasionally fallen foul of losing posts, if I know I'm going to write a long one on here or on other blogs I run, I now 'write' and save it as I go along in Word or similar program and then copy into the post box when I'm ready - of course that only works if you know its a long post - doesn't help for those unplanned long posts!

keep the updates coming - be great to see the rails reach out around the garden

Congratulations on the track! As in the real world, you first have to have track before you can run the trains, so first things first, and that's trackwork..
When I started garden railways my first money also went into tracks. I used a piece of wood made to the profile of the LGB models to check clearances and only when the tracks where done, I bought the first trains..
It will work out fine, don't worry !

Hi all,

I thought I'd update you on progress (or the lack of it!). I'm sure some of you expected me to be running trains by now - so did I! However, work on the CFLR had to be put on hold. The year reached the point where I needed to devote time to planting and maintaining the allotment. Before I knew it I was up to my knees in raspberries, gooseberries and broad beans! The house garden also needed attention but at least I've been able to take advantage of garden centre and ebay offers to crack on with planting up around the railway, about a quarter of it is now establishing quite nicely. Most of it is on sections not yet reached by track laying - it looks more like a disused railway than one under construction!

Progress hasn't stopped altogether though. I have (almost) completed turnout No.2 and managed to timber out for turnout no. 3 today. I learned a lot during the construction of the first turnout, and even more from building the second. Timbering is only a simple job but the lessons learned on no.1 and no.2 have allowed me to make improvements to no.3 already.

Turnout 2, complete apart from the tie bar. Timbering for turnout 3 I'll update you all again as soon as I've managed to move things forward again.

Andrew

Good to hear from you Andrew. Life can get in the way of our garden railways, glad to hear your still moving forward. That's certainly a beautiful long mainline point you've built, great work.
Grant.

Andrew, great looking switch you've built.

The geometry of that point looks spot-on. I'm envious of your patience. I'm a bit 'bull at the gate' with my projects, I'm afraid which is probably why I spend a lot of time remedying faults in my tracklaying.

Rik

That does look good and love the look of home made track. There was a set up in the 16mm guide where the track was handmade and really looked the business. I'm like Rik though, patience isn't one of my virtues.

Very neat and tidy Andrew - very envious - I also fall into the same gang as Rik and Bazzer - i tend to dive in and have to remedy later on!

Very good Andrew.
I'm afraid that I'm with the others when it comes to preparation ( or lack of it) work.

Just a quick update.....

Turnout construction has continued, proving further the construction techniques I'm employing. I will describe these in more detail in the future but I feel I ought to prove the operability of them first - and to do that I need to get some more track down and find time to run some trains!

I've managed to increase the length of track laid by 50% in recent weeks. Sounds impressive doesn't it? But going up from 8 yards to 12 yards is hardly going to take me to the moon and back! However, I have another eight or nine lengths built up ready and the turnout that unlocks the next stage is now complete. This next stage opens up half of the main circuit - about ten lengths of track. One more turnout will unlock the other half back to the second terminus. The headshunt from the runround at this station will continue and connect into the loop of the intermediate station, thus forming a continuous run if required, it will also form part of the sidings at both stations. I intend to operate the railway as an end to end line but it never hurts to have the opportunity to shamelessly tail chase when the mood takes one!

Meanwhile the bathroom rebuilding grinds slowly on and will demand attention from me. I also now have two permanent way designs for heritage railways on the drawing board that I MUST press on with. That requires clearing the dining room table (AKA my switch and crossing assembly yard!). Despite this I'm hoping to get the turnout I completed this evening laid in the next couple of days and then press on with the plain line down one half of the circuit. I have to divert the electric cable to the lamp at the bottom of the garden to do this. I've been meaning to crack on with it all summer - it's a story all of it's own!- I need to do it without any further delay before the nights begin to draw in and the light is required to light the way! Once this next stretch of track is down I will feel justified in pausing permanent way operations whilst some test running is indulged in. THAT is something I'm most definitely looking forward to!

Andrew