Garden Railway Forum

I was moving some old railway mags from the back shed this afternoon and found this, my first ever contact with Garden Railways.



I bought it in the lake district in 2001 and have spilt over it many hundreds of times.

Its would be years til I saw another issue of garden rail (at a model show) and the idea of a garden railway was slowly forgotten about, but the seed had been sown.

Marks Founds garden railway show was about to be aired when this mag was bought.

SLR midge has every garden rail or so he told me, I'd like to see that one with the "Garden Railway" feature, that series is what kicked things off for me. Unfortunatly I believe the line is now ripped up, or completely derelict at the very least. And hasn't Garden Rail changed a lot in 9 years, I have 2 from 2004 and it wasn't full colour then, and there was more G scale

laalratty wrote:SLR midge has every garden rail or so he told me, I'd like to see that one with the "Garden Railway" feature, that series is what kicked things off for me. Unfortunatly I believe the line is now ripped up, or completely derelict at the very least. And hasn't Garden Rail changed a lot in 9 years, I have 2 from 2004 and it wasn't full colour then, and there was more G scale

yep Iv seen pics of it in a derelict state, big bushes (and trees) obscure every but the track at the very front.

when I asked Mark why hed let it get that bad he replied that: I know what Im doing its a tecknique! its my garden railway and Ill do whatever I want with it! (or something along those lines)

I also aked about the trestle, apparently it no longer exists but did last quite awhile and even survived a child using it as a walkway
.

My first contact with Garden Railways was one of three things (I can't recall which was first!)

1) Seeing Garden Rail magazine
2) Seeing a portable LGB layout at Tenterden on a few occasions.
3) Second hand Mamod set for sale at Didcot.

Mid 1980's for me when I was a volunteer at the SVR, The little loop of track they had at Hampton Loade at the time (now a much bigger affair) got my attention. That & Railway Modeller august edition's always used to feature garden layouts, sometimes steam (16mm/G/0 or gauge 1) but also 00 & even N gauge layouts in the garden. I built a fairly large 00 layout in the garden first (around 1987-88 ) before getting my first mamod in 89. But the 00 gauge one lasted the longest & infact there are still bits there at my folks house. However 00 took a lot of upkeep to keep going outside Mine was deep concrete foundations with wooden slats laid with Peco 00 gauge flexitrack in a dog bone shape that meant I had double track formation but in the middle had four line running as the double track ran alongside the otherside of the double track loop. Twin Relco HF rail cleaners were wired in & some sections had automatic signalling using reed switches & magnets.
Much happier with 32mm now though.

I'd seen LGB when I was stationed in Germany, but thought it looked a bit "toylike" !!!!

I went into my fave model shop in Toton (Intercity Models - now gone ) for some "bits" for my 00 and 009 layout and bought this....

I started when I knocked off building some 009 open 4-wheel wagons in a FOUL temper and my wife said "Why not build something bigger if building small stuff makes you bad-tempered?" I went and bought a couple of Coopercraft wagons and an underframe kit from my local model shop: the kits fell together out of the bag and I scratch built an open with the underframe kit:



which I've still got. I found the Association and the rest (as they say) is history!

laalratty wrote:SLR midge has every garden rail or so he told me, I'd like to see that one with the "Garden Railway" feature, that series is what kicked things off for me. Unfortunatly I believe the line is now ripped up, or completely derelict at the very least. And hasn't Garden Rail changed a lot in 9 years, I have 2 from 2004 and it wasn't full colour then, and there was more G scale

Yes its true. I've managed to collect every issue from number 1 so you can borrow Sept, 2001 if you wish

pauly wrote:I was moving some old railway mags from the back shed this afternoon and found this, my first ever contact with Garden Railways.

I'm stunned that the mag you should come up with has a loco on the front cover I have been running over the last couple of nights! No8 mamod on the top right was in the Compton collection auction, has sold to friend and have been test firing it here on CDR! would be hugely interested to see article if possible somehow.

There are lots of mags here dating waaayyyy back but Dad didn't keep many of the Garden Rails he wrote for.

As to first experiences...I was kinda born into it....  As a little girl I had a 3 1/2 gauge coach to play in - 16mm track was run up the centre of the line and I can proudly say I have been Brick hauled, Archangel certainly built a powerful loco.....  I was pretty doomed from the start really...

for me it would me my marklin gauge 1 set which I received as a Christmas present. There was a little leaflet with the kit showing some children setting up a railway on the lawn. I was hooked.... and the ZMGR was born (Zach's Miniature Garden Railway) That was the predecessor to the DVLR!

kes wrote:I'm stunned that the mag you should come up with has a loco on the front cover I have been running over the last couple of nights! No8 mamod on the top right was in the Compton collection auction, has sold to friend and have been test firing it here on CDR! would be hugely interested to see article if possible somehow.

There are lots of mags here dating waaayyyy back but Dad didn't keep many of the Garden Rails he wrote for.

As to first experiences...I was kinda born into it....  As a little girl I had a 3 1/2 gauge coach to play in - 16mm track was run up the centre of the line and I can proudly say I have been Brick hauled, Archangel certainly built a powerful loco.....  I was pretty doomed from the start really...

I will scan the article and PM it to you if you wish.

The first time I saw a garden railway was at Hampton Loade, since I used to live in Telford we visited quite alot when I was younger. I would watch for ages! After that my Grandad bought a Ruby from America and I watched him test it on a small length of track outside. As I grew up I have always been interested in it and the loco fleet has grown and grown, and still is.

pauly wrote:

I will scan the article and PM it to you if you wish.

My first steps into modelling was on my OO gauge layout (which i still have! but in peices to be ressureced in the loft!) then moved to N gauge and found that too fiddly, then finally SM32! Which i absolutly love

One for Pauly....as run this evening - look forward to article, any by Peter Jones in the mag?

Enjoying tales of your downfalls so far keep 'em coming..

SLRmidge wrote:

laalratty wrote:SLR midge has every garden rail or so he told me, I'd like to see that one with the "Garden Railway" feature, that series is what kicked things off for me. Unfortunatly I believe the line is now ripped up, or completely derelict at the very least. And hasn't Garden Rail changed a lot in 9 years, I have 2 from 2004 and it wasn't full colour then, and there was more G scale

Yes its true. I've managed to collect every issue from number 1 so you can borrow Sept, 2001 if you wish  :D

Guess what was waiting for me when I got home from university today?

My first contact was in a magazine and depicted LGB running around a pond. The picture was a drawing not a photograph... Then through the mamod magazine and raiwlay auctions until I got my first engine from a friend who went to America and bought it because it was named after my Grandma

Since then... LGB and Mamod inspired me unitl I got given loads ( and i mean loads) of Garden Rail magazines through the 10 1/4 Royal Victoria Railway where I have been volenteering beside my mum since I was 5!

Just remembered, the VERY first contact was an article in Railway Modeller. It was a railway which went around a pond ,16mm scale, and had live steam locos and ipengineering carriages. I'll try and see if I can dig the article out - I read it soo many times I am sure some of the pages are missing!

My first contact was when dad brought home a Roundhouse VHS video home after visiting Doncaster when he was planning to build a railway (went 00 in the end). That year, I wanted the Sandy River (yeah as if!), so I got a Mamod Railway set instead. Obviously being rubbish, I lost interest after a while, and got put away for years. When we moved to Cornwall, I uncovered this set, and got it out to have a play with on the garage floor. That was it, the seed was sown for the MHLR!!

my first contact would be the original Railway Modeller articles in the early seventies about the Border Counties Railway, but back then the cost seemed astronomical so I stuck to 009 with Eggerbahn etc bought cheaply from Hattons mailorder The first real 16mm I saw would be at the Joys of Life in the early nineties and the 5" railway too, all when Terry & Val Robinson owned it, I've never got round to revisiting it yet!