The Ultimate garden railway?

laalratty · Post by **laalratty** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:54 pm

Comming back from Wales, me and dad called in at the garden of one of the richest people in the country to help run his 15 inch gauge railway.

The garden is the large estate round Eaton hall and the event was the annual steaming in the park, and me and dad were support crew for Synolda, visiting from Ravenglass. Here are some pics (I only realised I had only taken video of Synolda when I got home

)

Visiting from the Windmill Farm railway Red Dragon

The lines resident engine, a replica of Heywood's Katie, as ran on the original Eaton Hall railway.

Unfortunatly Red Dragon failed after 4 laps of the track, here it is at the shed.
There will be another running day for the Garden open day at the hall on 24th August. Synolda and Katie will be running again, i'd recomend visiting if anyone can make it.

ACLR · Post by **ACLR** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:01 pm

hmmm nice garden railway

wounder if we could build one like that on Jills mum and dads 100 acres

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:18 pm

Don't think those will run on my mamod track, else I would buy one for my garden.

alan2525 · Post by **alan2525** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:25 pm

Nope, you'd deff have problems getting around the 2ft radius corners!

made-in-england · Post by **made-in-england** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:33 pm

That guards van in the second pic looks familar SB

mhlr · Post by **mhlr** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:19 pm

made-in-england wrote:That guards van in the second pic looks familar SB

OMG, yeah, has SB got a enlargement device?(!) He's made it bigger for 15inch gauge!!!

LMFAO!!!

I need to make a start on my 7 1/4 diesel, those pics make me hungry for sit on trains!

andysleigh · Post by **andysleigh** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:28 pm

i dont think this is the ultimate garden railway.

there some guy who has a darj loco and coaches and railway in his garden.

laalratty · Post by **laalratty** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:32 pm

andysleigh wrote:i dont think this is the ultimate garden railway.

there some guy who has a darj loco and coaches and railway in his garden.

Yeah but this is a bigger garden, by some way, it depends whether you would rather have a Darj and 2 foot line or a Heywood estate line with a route dating back for parts to the 1890's

SillyBilly · Post by **SillyBilly** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:57 pm

I think the word ultimate was just a bit of fun Andy, afterall, imagine what it was like when it was origonally opened!

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:42 am

andysleigh wrote:i dont think this is the ultimate garden railway.

there some guy who has a darj loco and coaches and railway in his garden.

Even that guy hasn't got the ultimate garden railway! Sir William Mcalpine, a former owner of Flying Scotsman, has a standard gauge railway in his garden, complete with a station, tunnle, and a very, very steep gradient!

I don't know where the railway is, or when it operates. There was an article about i in Garden Rail about 4 years ago, but mine got lost when I leant it to a friend.

penrose · Post by **penrose** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 2:14 pm

Adrian Shooter (boss of Chiltern Railways) is the chap who has a figure-of-8 2ft gauge line in his garden, complete with Darjeeling B class, replica Darj carriages, Sandy River parlour car, a rather nice Model T Ford Railcar and various simplexes and the like. The Darj B class has already visited the Ffestiniog, Leighton Buzzard and Statfold Barn, and (one for the Cornish posse on the forum) is pencilled in for a trip to Launceston in the future.

Bill McAlpine's railway is the "Fawley Hill Railway", tap it into google and you'll find out more.

Perhaps one of the "ultimate" garden railways is Leo de Rothschild's Exbury Gardens Railway. I'd certainly like a railway like that...

steamyjim · Post by **steamyjim** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 6:47 pm

penrose wrote:Adrian Shooter (boss of Chiltern Railways) is the chap who has a figure-of-8 2ft gauge line in his garden, complete with Darjeeling B class, replica Darj carriages, Sandy River parlour car, a rather nice Model T Ford Railcar and various simplexes and the like. The Darj B class has already visited the Ffestiniog, Leighton Buzzard and Statfold Barn, and (one for the Cornish posse on the forum) is pencilled in for a trip to Launceston in the future.

Bill McAlpine's railway is the "Fawley Hill Railway", tap it into google and you'll find out more.

Perhaps one of the "ultimate" garden railways is Leo de Rothschild's Exbury Gardens Railway. I'd certainly like a railway like that...

What about Bressingham steam museums railways? That used to be a private garden

mhlr · Post by **mhlr** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 8:18 pm

penrose wrote:Adrian Shooter (boss of Chiltern Railways) is the chap who has a figure-of-8 2ft gauge line in his garden, complete with Darjeeling B class, replica Darj carriages, Sandy River parlour car, a rather nice Model T Ford Railcar and various simplexes and the like. The Darj B class has already visited the Ffestiniog, Leighton Buzzard and Statfold Barn, and (one for the Cornish posse on the forum) is pencilled in for a trip to Launceston in the future.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh I will be going to see that!!!!

penrose · Post by **penrose** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:27 pm

mhlr wrote:
penrose wrote: and (one for the Cornish posse on the forum) is pencilled in for a trip to Launceston in the future.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh I will be going to see that!!!!

veering completely off topic here...

I wouldn't get too excited; it won't happen before 2010. The Darj visiting has been on the cards for the past 4 years or so, but there's a few bits of track that the railway owners want to relay before they are happy to have the Darj down (it is much bigger and heavier than the quarry hunslets!). Lyd will also be visiting when she is complete.

mhlr · Post by **mhlr** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:17 pm

penrose wrote:
mhlr wrote:
penrose wrote: and (one for the Cornish posse on the forum) is pencilled in for a trip to Launceston in the future.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh I will be going to see that!!!!
veering completely off topic here...

I wouldn't get too excited; it won't happen before 2010. The Darj visiting has been on the cards for the past 4 years or so, but there's a few bits of track that the railway owners want to relay before they are happy to have the Darj down (it is much bigger and heavier than the quarry hunslets!). Lyd will also be visiting when she is complete.

Well I certainly will look forward to it, if it happens! I know a few friends too who will love to see it.

MuzTrem · Post by **MuzTrem** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 5:15 pm

Nice pictures laalratty - hopefully I will upload my own ones soon

Incidentally, as well as Eaton I have also been to both the Beeches Light Railway (Adrian Shooter's line) and Fawley - pictures at http://steamandheritagerailways.fotopic ... 57139.html and http://steamandheritagerailways.fotopic ... 57139.html respectively.

And I'm going to Statfold in September!

SillyBilly · Post by **SillyBilly** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:44 pm

penrose wrote:Lyd will also be visiting when she is complete.

Just aswell James adapted the pony trucks, that'll munch up all of their pointwork (if it ever gets finished that is!).

penrose · Post by **penrose** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 12:11 pm

Just aswell James adapted the pony trucks, that'll munch up all of their pointwork (if it ever gets finished that is!).

Lyd will get finished as and when the money is in place; as a Ffestiniog regular I'm sure you are aware of this! James assured me last year that Lyd will be fine for the pointwork and even going round the (rather tight) loops at Launceston, and as he's based a puffer or two there for well over 20 years he does know what he's talking about.

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