First ever garden railway project
- Thread starter Monk_1987
- Start date
The next problem I faced was trying to cover the face of concrete facing the house as it looked pretty ugly. So I thought I would have a go at making a fence and fixing it to the concrete. It was very easy and very cheap to do (just make sure you have enough clamps). This whole length cost me under £12 (minus the stain). Here are the results.
Hi All. It's been just under a year since I last posted in this thread. I have been very busy with having my first child. So I have been kept occupied with that, so have not had any time on my railway. With that said, the last few months have eased up, so I have cracked on with my first railway. Have a look at the photos below to see the updates. I will upload more once I take some tomorrow as I have laid the track now and put my buildings out.
Laying out the track to get correct shape
The rest of the mold
Concrete poured and molds removed
My first bridge over a small part of the pond, connecting both routes to create a loop.
The next job is was to connect the track up to the shed.
Laying out the track to get correct shape
The rest of the mold
Concrete poured and molds removed
My first bridge over a small part of the pond, connecting both routes to create a loop.
The next job is was to connect the track up to the shed.
Frank Gallagher
Well matured physically if not mentally
Looking forward to more
Great story BTW
Great story BTW
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Very nice neat Shed Entrance, are you thinking about a Door to keep unwanted small intruders out?
Re ypur large drop at the Back of the Garden. Have you thought about a Land Grab here with a High Level Line in the Air on Bridges or Viaducts? Or possibly some kind of lower levell access via steps from the top so that you could have a Station with decent height access?
JonD
Re ypur large drop at the Back of the Garden. Have you thought about a Land Grab here with a High Level Line in the Air on Bridges or Viaducts? Or possibly some kind of lower levell access via steps from the top so that you could have a Station with decent height access?
JonD
Yes I have put a door thing on which slides up and down - I'll upload a picture in a minute.
In terms of the back I like your suggestions, but not sure I could get away with it with the wife.... We are planning on putting some decking to extend the garden (as that is where the sun is).
Another update again.....
Shed with a door to stop the local wildlife. This door is on a pull system too, so it's very easy to pull up and down.
Just checking if the trains would be able to fit through (which they couldn't), so needed to take some stuff away from the white wall.
Once I'd taken a chunk out of the wall (I still need to tidy it up - but desperate to get some trains running). Then I laid the concrete to support the track. The door has had a its first coat of paint too.
Running past the wall, which I need to scrape the concrete off the sleepers to tidy them up too.
Running behind the BBQ which is what my neighbour can see (they are as good as gold and love the railway). I needed to lay the 2 levels of bricks too, to get it to the right height.
How it connects up to the track.
The door with a couple of coats of paint. The track is now linked and the train has somewhere to sleep at night.
The next step was for me to come up with some lights for the main station. I thought I would do this using copper plumbing piping. This is simply a 10mm T joint with 2 10mm end joints.
This is a 15mm to 10mm conversion joint which gives it more visual interest. I have since added a second 15mm joint to make it a bit taller.
One of the finished poles in the mold I inserted in the concrete.
After tidying the excess led, I painted them and this is the finished product. Far cheaper that the LGB ones, just need to run the cables now.
Shed with a door to stop the local wildlife. This door is on a pull system too, so it's very easy to pull up and down.
Just checking if the trains would be able to fit through (which they couldn't), so needed to take some stuff away from the white wall.
Once I'd taken a chunk out of the wall (I still need to tidy it up - but desperate to get some trains running). Then I laid the concrete to support the track. The door has had a its first coat of paint too.
Running past the wall, which I need to scrape the concrete off the sleepers to tidy them up too.
Running behind the BBQ which is what my neighbour can see (they are as good as gold and love the railway). I needed to lay the 2 levels of bricks too, to get it to the right height.
How it connects up to the track.
The door with a couple of coats of paint. The track is now linked and the train has somewhere to sleep at night.
The next step was for me to come up with some lights for the main station. I thought I would do this using copper plumbing piping. This is simply a 10mm T joint with 2 10mm end joints.
This is a 15mm to 10mm conversion joint which gives it more visual interest. I have since added a second 15mm joint to make it a bit taller.
One of the finished poles in the mold I inserted in the concrete.
After tidying the excess led, I painted them and this is the finished product. Far cheaper that the LGB ones, just need to run the cables now.
Frank Gallagher
Well matured physically if not mentally
Inspirational are you fitting bulbs to the lamps?
David1226
Registered
Haha, maybe it should be!
Love the sliding door. Might be worth a small roof to keep the Damp off it, dont ask why I suggest this! But Damp Sliding Doors tend to gum up when wet!
In my Past DIY Handyman mide I built such a deck over a height difference of some 4ft. Yours looks like it will be somewhat more at the furthest extent. Great idea, but do not underestimate the strenghtening required to support such a deck. In particular tying to the existing height to stop forces pulling the deck away from the highest part of your plot. You also need to consider how many people might be standing on said deck at say a BBQ, quite considerable Supports and Foundations will be required to make it all safe and secure. If you hire someone to do the job just be certain that they understand this. Most (not all) decks tend to be on a fairly flat and low plot so experience of building such a deck may be low. Of course if a neighbour has had a similar deck for a good long time, might be worth trying to get their contractor or asking how they managed if it was a diy project. Do not be frightened by this, just worth while to get it right first time.
As a final thought you could always raise the Deck by say a foot and run the Trains beneath it! Get SWMBO a bit closer to the Sun.
JonD
Another update for you again. Finally got the rest of the track down to create my first loop, with ballast too. Also installed some of the buildings too - electric is also being run to one of them. I do have some more work to do on the station including putting the station names up and I want to build a bridge from one platform to the other.
The building on the left is fixed in place with electric running to it. The building on the right doesn't work as I built it out of leftovers from the other building, so I will build a new one come the winter when I can't do too much outside.
Same station but from the other side.
This is where the loop returns over a small bridge across part of my pond. Again, this is not finished, but thought I'd get something up. Once I get more done, I will take some more photos.
The building on the left is fixed in place with electric running to it. The building on the right doesn't work as I built it out of leftovers from the other building, so I will build a new one come the winter when I can't do too much outside.
Same station but from the other side.
This is where the loop returns over a small bridge across part of my pond. Again, this is not finished, but thought I'd get something up. Once I get more done, I will take some more photos.
Thank you very much, Yes, I will be putting bulbs in them. I have run all the cables, I just need to put bulbs in them next.
Frank Gallagher
Well matured physically if not mentally
Excellent love that little bridge
Northsider
Modelling the Northern half of the Isle of Man
I've been watching your progress with interest -it's really looking like a railway now!
