Garden Railway Forum

I put my last post on the subject in "Photographs" - here might have been better.

Anyway, today's traffic didn't justify steam and the 'big" hoppers, just a few skips (Binnie with Slater's wheels):





Hopefully, eventually the railway will look a bit more like ./myff/459107/DSC08949.jpg

or http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd21 ... Spring.jpg

for instance, rather than the desolate look it has at the moment! Planting is in progress, and the line got longer today too!

I actually really like the desolate look...

Hmmm, me too! Seems to be working realism wise!"!!

I'd say put some plants in. The desolate look with bare soil might work for a time but once the weather starts on it it can start to look very unrealistic. But a few plants and rocks and that is one thing that marks out the ordinary lines from the extrordinary

How far can one go in terms of miniature landscapeing? What is the best 16mm scale landscape on any railway ever?

Mr. Bond of the DVLR wrote:How far can one go in terms of miniature landscapeing? What is the best 16mm scale landscape on any railway ever?

It's got to be Tarren Hendre, hands down.

Yes that looks rather nice with the large interconected ponds but it all looks a little concreaty...

I strongly agree with Si.

MTA wrote:

Mr. Bond of the DVLR wrote:How far can one go in terms of miniature landscapeing? What is the best 16mm scale landscape on any railway ever?

It's got to be Tarren Hendre, hands down.

Definately, but some of my other favourites are...
cwmcoediog railway
maesffordd and nant gorris
Lower bryandale (because a taliesin looks so good pictured infront of a model of dduallt).
Isle of westland

I would agree it is hugely impressive

but does it have the coutry side- plants element etc?

Mr. Bond of the DVLR wrote:How far can one go in terms of miniature landscapeing? What is the best 16mm scale landscape on any railway ever?

Dunno about best ever, but I love the hillside ledge and retaining walls on the upper loop at Llechfan.

All of those mentioned are brilliant, although I agree with Mr Bond slightly about Tarren Hendre, it would just look that bit better if he'd used slate instead of granite. Of my local lines the Silverdale Light Railway (south) is well landscaped, and unlike the SLR north is well engineered

Must admit I love the Isle of Westland- as much down to the quality of the stock as the railway- both are excellent and work well together.

I suspect the same may be the case here- it's certainly going in the right way.

The ledge at llechfan certainly is a good feature, simply because the hillside does actually dwarf the train running along it.

I agree with all of the above lines (especially the Nant Gorris) but would add the Moreton Pit and Pimlico Tramway

In fact the Pimlico Tramway website has been away far too long and I think we should start a virtual campaign for a virtual re-opening

Seconded! This is an interesting discussion, I like to see reallistic materials and plenty of scale planting in a railway- I really like a railway running through a landscape rather than a landscape beside a railway.

I'm building the railway through a garden which was considerably altered by building work last year. The picture I posted at the head of this thread shows the train running along a ledge on a landscaped bank of spoil excavated during building of a house extension (hence the amount of flint brought to the surface). Consequently I'm building the railway and stocking the garden at the same time, creating a cottage garden with a railway running through it. The idea is that the railway won't be immediately obvious, or even invisible until a train trundles by.

laalratty wrote:All of those mentioned are brilliant, although I agree with Mr Bond slightly about Tarren Hendre, it would just look that bit better if he'd used slate instead of granite. Of my local lines the Silverdale Light Railway (south) is well landscaped, and unlike the SLR north is well engineered

My line might not have been built on a hundred tons of concrete as a foundation but I like to think I've managed to create the 'atmosphere' of a run down narrow gauge line!  

The SLR(N)'s Lister 'Ella' potters up the 1 in 60 with empty skips from Thrang End Gravel Works.....


Look forward to seeing more pics of your line in Summer Ian...

SLRmidge wrote:

laalratty wrote:All of those mentioned are brilliant, although I agree with Mr Bond slightly about Tarren Hendre, it would just look that bit better if he'd used slate instead of granite. Of my local lines the Silverdale Light Railway (south) is well landscaped, and unlike the SLR north is well engineered

My line might not have been built on a hundred tons of concrete as a foundation but I like to think I've managed to create the 'atmosphere' of a run down narrow gauge line!  

The SLR(N)'s Lister 'Ella' potters up the 1 in 60 with empty skips from Thrang End Gravel Works.....


Look forward to seeing more pics of your line in Summer Ian...

I agree with midge. The SLR(S) is a bit like the L&B, a mainline in miniture in terms of construction, whilst the SLR(N) is like one of Colonel Stepen's lines. Both are equally good in their own way,.

Midge, that's the sort of look I'd like to create. Nothing too pristine, and some narrow gauge atmosphere. Any more pictures?