Garden Railway Forum

After visiting various garden railways to get an idea for my own future railways location, construction and requirements ,work commenced on the Preseli Mountain Railway in May 2022.

I decided that the railway would be at knee height to future proof my aging limbs and back. also construction and maintaining of the line to be kept simple as possible . I started off with laying plastic sheeting along the grass bank where the railway was to run . I pegged it down and all seemed good . My partner and I then went off for a weekend trip, but on our return we noticed that Mr fox had payed a visit and had ripped the sheeting in numerous places looking for prey. So it was back to the drawing board . We then came up with a solution to lay chicken wire on top of the sheeting to protect it and also create a surface for the gravel to adhere to .

Next task was to order a couple of tons of gravel, some postcrete decking board , 2x2 treated timber , fence post spikes, and a couple of 4x4 posts, and of course some track. and to get started .

The next task was to work out the angles for cutting the Decking board to accommodate the curves. This I worked out to be approx 11.25 degrees .

Progress was quite swift once the timber was cut .

I then commenced construction at the other end of the line

The circuit of my Railway is a dog bone shape Which doesn't take up too much of the garden . I used Peco flexi track and formed the curves with my 7mm o gauge Marcway track setters I decided on a minimum radius of 4' 6" for all the curves on the line.

After completing both ends of the track when it came to joining up the decking boards I was pleasantly surprised to find that the alignment was only an inch out when I checked it with a laser level . Next task was the widen the front of the layout with more decking boards, So some cross braces were required.

Although Decking boards are treated and have an average lifespan of 10 or so years, I coated all the timbers in a premium wood preserver as an extra precautionary measure especially with the way timber shot up in price after lockdown .

The line was starting to take shape ,and once I completed laying enough track to make a circuit it was time to reward myself by playing trains .

Next on the agenda was to fit some turnouts /points for a passing loop and start on constructing a station . I decided that only streamline points were to be used in keeping with any future purchases of locos and rolling stock that wouldn't traverse set track points. the platform and station building carcass were made from facia board off cuts .

You've got yourself a nice long run there, nice clean work. Waiting to see what happens with the widened section at the front.
Grant.
PS Ah! didn't see the last pic.

Good progress being made there. Running the first train is always a welcomed milestone.

Will there be video?

Rik

Looks like some lovely level trackwork, I bet that makes for smooth running! Do you have plans for the middle or will it all be gravel?

It was visiting the Preseli Mountain Railway that inspired me to build my own permanent outdoor layout.

Good to see you posting here Chris,

Phil

Grant

Thanks for your positive comment on my bodging . The post and the image you replied to was the state of construction timewise Oct 22 . So there are some more images to add to my thread in order to bring it up to date in its present form.

Rik
Yes the first live steam run on my line was a occasion to celebrate , though I had built a gimp /crash test dummy loco derived from a Big Big Ruston to run before plucking up the courage to run my pride and joy . Re video ,it took me most of yesterday to work out how to post and upload images to the forum . Its been about 9 years since I last posted images and the tech has galloped on leaving me and my old lumex dlr behind . I used to be able to resize images with the software that came with the camera but windows 29 does not support it so , I have been using my Smart phone for the last couple of years . I do have quite a lot of video clips so hopefully I will upload them at a later date once I have learnt how to .

Drewzero1

Thanks for the thumbs up . Yes level trackwork is a must for me I am able to reverse a train of wagons without derailment all around the circuit but only when its not windy ! ( wyntog iawn) the line is about 750 ft above sea level on a flat wind swept plateau .

Phil.

Thankyou for the compliment .We all have something to bring to the table , as you know this was my first attempt at building a garden railway so it was a steep learning curve for me . Like you we both have other indoor empires to keep us going in the winter months . looking forward to seeing your line in July .

I managed to source some brick embossed plasticard sheets which are readily available for making dolls houses in i/12th and 1/24th scale I laminated them to the facia board carcasses to produce a presentable station building .

Preseli Chris wrote: ↑Mon May 27, 2024 12:47 pm I managed to source some brick embossed plasticard sheets which are readily available for making dolls houses in i/12th and 1/24th scale I laminated them to the facia board carcasses to produce a presentable station building .

Very presentable!

Rik

The next step was to add a steam up siding ready for my first running day last year June 23 . I normally am not phased by cutting and altering trackwork on my indoor smaller scale model railways that I have built, very simples in n to o gauge but a set of tin snips wouldn't be accurate enough for this job. Being an outdoor environment I had laid the track with a 1-2mm gap between each length to allow for expansion ,contraction so cutting out a section to fit a turnout had to be bang on . I made a jig to hold the track and cut carefully first with a xacto razor saw ,then a hack saw . I probably checked the measurement about half a dozen times before going for it . All went well .

More sheeting and gravel were laid down and of course permission from my wife to pinch some more of the lawn for the siding .

My first running day with the West Wales Group was upon me .I had been praying to the Great Maker for a calm sunny day , to which i was rewarded

some more images from the day

I made the telegraph poles , using joiners hardwood dowels soaked in wood stain .They have been outside in the elements for over a year now with no ill effect .