Andy's Garden Railway Guide

About my railway

Narrow Gauge Loco Andy Watkins, Microferroequinologist (mikro-ferro-ekwin-olodjist) and Software Engineer

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I'm building a railway in my garden. It's a narrow gauge railway, in 16mm/ft scale. In this scale, a model person would be about as tall as your middle finger.

The Stud
The first loco I bought was a Lehmann Magic Train. I've modified it to run on batteries rather than having to wire up a controller to an outside track. I built a tender to house the batteries.

My 0-4-0 steam loco.
Photo from Roundhouse Catalogue.

I own a couple of Steam locomotive from Roundhouse These are butane-fired, radio controlld model live steam locomotives. That's right! They get hot when they're running. Billy is pictured left, and there's a photo of Ivy here on Iain Maclain's Railway in Hertfordshire. Ivy is named after my Late Grandmother

I also inherited a Mamod 0-4-0 and converted it to Meths power. It's been banned from other club gardens, because it goes too fast, and it's a serious fire hazard. (I think this means I'll have to obtain a better regulator for it, and get a butane burner instead). The lovely light blue paintwork has been ruined by a Meths cab-fire. One of these days, I might get around to cleaning it up and getting it running again.

The Lego Loco in Harwich

My fourth loco is made of Lego^TM ^[1]. The chassis is an off-the-shelf electric one from Brandbright^[2], and I built a prototype bodywork out of Lego. Other members of my local club thought it was rather good, so the bodywork has stayed. The Loco is now in Mark IV: I've added Lead weights inside the bonnet to improve traction.

I wrote an article for AWNUTS magazine describing the locomotive. You will find more picture here.

Update! (2006) After several years of faithful service, Lego Loco is now in the workshops with drivetrain problems. There are higher priorities, so it may be a while before she's back in service.

Rolling Stock

Rolling stock is a bit thin on the ground at the moment. I've got a few kits under construction, and a few scratch-build projects.

I have six flat wagons for the lego loco, based on the ABS chassis from Binnie Engineering^[3]. I glued a small Lego board to each one and used lego magnetic couplings. These work great as the Contractor's train, transporting screws and wallplugs.

The Railway

I've now destroyed three garden railways as a result of moving house several times.

1 The first railway was an oval of track, screwed to creosoted scrap timber, and laid onto the ground in a rockery. This was fine in the short term, but it wasn't a particularly large oval. Additionally, it was 45mm Gauge, and I'd decided to switch to 32mm gauge

2 The second railway was going to run around the garden at ground level. A complete circuit was about 1/4 complete. However, owing to a job move (March 2000), I had to play Dr. Beeching, and lifted my entire railway. The Fat Controller decided to dig the first turf on the new Railway as soon as the dust and paperwork settled.

The directors and major shareholders of the railway insisted on "some wiggles", and a "nice bridge" on the new railway, and the Engineering department considered a number of interesting features to add to the railway, such as a "Gauntlet Bridge" ^[4]. Various local people expressed a desire to see a "round-the-pond" service, for which a pond would be necessary, and a tunnel, for which the Directors sought expert advice on moving mountains, as the new terrain was not particularly hilly.

Lessons learned from the first two lines:

Untreated timber on soil is fine for a temporary line, but doesn't last a season.
A line at ground level is hard on the back, even for the young.
A ground-level line near a lawn means difficult edges to keep trimmed.
Securing track to housebricks using wallplugs works well. Use brass screws.
A concrete edge to the lawn is great for weeding up to, but not good for drilling into.

3. By May 2001 The new line had been designed and the groundworks were started. The intention was a complete circuit as per the diagram.
[Image]

The black line is the trackplan. The green lines mark the raised borders (made of railway sleepers). Between the two raised borders was a tree, and the line was to cross on a large bridge here.
Because of the lie of the garden, a rising loop was required. which would also add operational interest.

The balloon loop on the left of the diagram was constructed, as a circle of track. (see construction photos here and here) This would provide an initial running track, whilst the remainder of the line was developed. The line was tentatively called the Maple Leaf Light Railway, because of a large Maple tree elsewhere in the garden.

However, the remainder of the line did not get developed. Another job move (summer 2002) meant ripping up the circle of track, boxing everything up and preparing to build again, from scratch.

Lessons learned from the Maple Leaf Railway:

Don't build a raised border from real railway sleepers - they ooze tar in the summer.
Bricks make a good track base. Do allow 20-30mm for mortar under the brick.
1:50 on a 7ft Dia curve was probably not going to work anyway!
Clearance under a bridge should be more than 9in if possible.
Starting with a manageable section of railway allows you to play trains sooner.

4a Before moving, I made a portable railway using second hand shuttering ply. It comprises 8 sections which make an octagon, with a circle of track screwed on. The aim was to be able to set it up quickly to be able to play trains, even before my new garden railway was ready.

4 Work was expected to start on the fourth railway sometime in 2003, once the house was in order. However, things didn't go according to plan, and a major house renovation project put railway construction on a back-burner.

The delays have been a blessing in disguise, because they've given us more opportunity to design the railway. On paper, the railway has moved about the garden quite a bit, and has changed design considerably. The portable track has been used on a number of occasions, but forgetting to weatherproof it with creosote substitute has not helped its longevity! Bits of the portable track may also get another outing whilst the new railway is being built, to provide a continuous run.

Update: By Spring 2007, the garden railway had finally been started. Concrete foundations have been cast, and bricklaying has begun.

More information

You may find useful information in my 16mm e-Handbook or on the 16mm Association website.

There's a discussion group on Yahoo Groups, called 16mmngm, which is a great place to ask questions about garden railways.

Footnotes:

Lego^TM This site is not affiliated to, nor sponsored by Lego. I just happen to like their product.
Brandbright. Great mail order supplier of all things for the Garden Railway.
Binnie Engineering. You'll probably find an advert in the Garden Railway press.
A Gauntlet Bridge is a bridge where two rival railway companies clubbed together to buy the one bridge. The bridge is only one lane wide, but the track layout is such that it is impossible to get onto the other company's rails. (An example of gauntlet track can be found here: the tracks interleave, but don't join or cross. In the case of this photo, it gets double track through a narrow cutting.)