Problems on the T.V.B.L.

[bobg]

Problems on the Trent Valley Branch Line.[/size]
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Problem 1.

There was no track![/size]
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Problem 2

The garden isn?t big enough. (Isn?t that everybody?s problem?)

I can?t do anything about that, they?ve stopped making land, especially round here, but the first one, well why not? Just a question of which gauge, 7 ¼? was certainly out of the question.

Problem 3

A large part of the usable garden area is taken up by a RAILWAY EMBANKMENT! Since when was that a problem for a railway? Since it was about 5 feet high!

I like to see proper trains, with plenty of stock behind, so I had to be careful about the ruling gradient on the line and after several abortive attempts had to settle for 1:40 max. Starting at the highest point (and furthest away) and using a string-line, I set that angle. At the nearest point to the house it was still around 3ft off the ground. That rather precludes the idea of a full loop, so new ?drawing board?; that old one doesn?t work! The min. radius was to be a generous 4ft due to the rolling stock.

Construction started. The terminus would not be much use on a 1:40 slope so the house end had to be raised to 4ft to allow for a level 15ft passing loop. Unfortunately this is a trifle high for a ?little person?, but then he?ll grow; in the meantime he?ll use a set of steps.

Sorry! All these inches, foots and yards! For you young uns, it?s an ?old fashioned type of measurement system, in vogue when the Romans was ?ere, and when the size of Standard Gauge was set. (If you don?t know??.ask and I?ll maybe explain later).

The method at this point was to make some sturdy steel brackets (probably too sturdy), screwed to the fence posts and mount 13in wide by 19mm OSB, with roofing-lath under-edges, glued and screwed for stiffness. The topping is ?torch-on? mineral roofing-felt, folded down the sides and trimmed off. The joints are carefully butted, not overlapped. The single line section is reduced to 7ins wide; this is also the point where the 1:40 kicks in.

Everything went swimmingly till I ran out of fence???..!!! Unfortunately this is not just the end of the fence, the boundary also turns to the right, 90deg, for 3ft 7ins and then turns back again to a 9 foot high hedge that?ll still need cuttin?.

Next problem! (No 5 or 6, I?ve lost count)

Solution, reverse curve, minimum radius to keep tight-ish to the boundary. Plotting an ?S? curve on flat ground, no problem. Plotting it on uneven sloping ground; problem. Plotting it three feet up, in mid air, over uneven sloping ground, with a 1:40 grade, huge problem! Being ?metal smart? I decided on a steel ladder system for support, and accurately(?) drew the curves out on some flat concrete.

The resulting ?frame? was then clamped to the end of the ?shelf? and the centres for the poles (scaffold) dropped with a plum-bob (Another Roman tool). The poles are just hammered in; to a depth of about 14ins, deep enough to make them stable once the whole thing is bolted together.

The steel ladder method continued until it met the slope of the old embankment. The grade continues right to the top and round the 6ft radius turn along to the top fence.

 

[bobg]

At this stage I couldn?t resist laying some rail, apart from, a now curious, ?little person? wanting to play trains, of course.
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The next major section is the straight along the embankment (best place for trains) and a change of construction to wooden ?ladder?. More roofing laths, screwed to 2? x 2? creosoted posts. I like this method because after lining it all up you just keep hammering away at the posts, and applying the spirit level to the top, until you reach your level (or grade) and height. Very simple and effective.[/size]

Next problem.

The 6ft radius curve to join the two sections. Roofing laths won?t bend that far and I didn?t want to use steel as it?s difficult to fix rail to with no top board. Problem; how to make ?bent? wood? Solution; plot the curve on some board and fix blocks to it, and laminate[/i][/b]! 6mm ply cut into 30mm strips, glued together and clamped to the blocks to dry and a 7ft (approx) curve was achieved. Adjust the blocks a little and ?Bob?s your uncle? (Not ME!), a 4ft rad. for later should be no problem.

 

[Westcott]

Nice work!
Bet you can't wait to be running.
Is it going to be a circuit the allows continuous running?

 

[trammayo]

Bloomin' clever! Well thought out and quite substantial. Caught a glimpse of G Scale's larger cousin too (intriguing). Can't wait to see more (of your project and the larger loco!).

Mick

 

[bobg]

Ooooh, we is up and a runnin', but only just! More to follow as "testing" time permits.

Cousin Jill on a previous visit to Shropshire.

 

[trammayo]

Very nice she is too - thanks for that!

Mick

 

[stockers]

Didn't realise how big Jill was - big girl isn't she. Very nice.

 

[bobg]

Something to retain the sides was going to be called for and I decided on log-roll as a cheap(ish) and simple method. The next part; back fill the trench with pea shingle, and fix a brick-layer?s DPC (damp proof course) to the top. I left mine for a little while before fixing the DPC to allow for any settlement, topping up as required. I also sprayed liberally with ?Round-up? anything that looked as if it might grow (and probably a few that wouldn?t).

My thoughts for the hedge were that it would be allowed to grow out to the edge, below the ?top board? to form a sort of ledge for the railway. That inspired me to provide a bridge to form the link between the ?ledge? and the 6 ft curve. After some investigation I settled on 12mm ramin strips and produced a girder truss (perhaps peterbunce will tell us which type). Unfortunately the hedge had suffered a little when I applied the roofing felt to the boards. Never mind, it has since recovered!

The return curve at the other end of the embankment was simple enough but required a modicum of thought to keep it from being too plain, it starts at 6ft radius and finishes at 4ft giving it a slight spiral effect. Construction was the same as before; except that now, due to the level changes, it was rising from the ground while going down-bank, at 1:40. It soon became unnecessary to remove the turf, as the height from the ground was increasing alarmingly, the log-roll got longer and longer, 12in nearly wasn?t enough! Level again, across the top of the patio steps, 45 deg tight turn on the rise again, this time only about 1:50 due to the angle across the slope, to meet the start of the ?balloon? (and answer Westcott?s earlier question).

Better to have the lesser grade here, as it might be required on B-B-Q night, for a train to stop here, and re-start after being relieved of a beverage from the kitchen end!

 

[bobg]

(This photo got missed off the last sequence.)

Now another problem, the next track section needs to be removable so not to interrupt the lawn mower. A viaduct seems to be the answer, lightly ?ladder? constructed with ?faces? with arches cut in.

It was around this time that I discovered another problem. I had only got a set of right-hand points, and needed a left. Various solutions were contemplated but in the end I acquired two more sets, both a left and a right. That of course created another problem, what to do with the two spare rights? How about anther passing loop? The only place there was enough room was along the back fence, which I had already log-rolled. That now had to be ripped out and re-aligned.

That still left a slight difficulty with the second right-hand point but by putting it on the left side of the passing loop point; its turn completed the passing loop, and straight ahead completed the balloon loop.

The intention was to use all points as either trailed, or sprung. The Terminus loop would be all sprung, and originally the balloon loop point was to trail, allowing passage in both directions round the balloon for added interest. The new passing loop caused a new problem as if the entry point was left to trail, one leg of the passing loop would never get used. If ?sprung?, the direction round the balloon would always be the same. Springing the ?exit? point instead didn?t solve the problem, neither did springing both ends of the passing loop.

The solution was to spring both ends of the passing loop (opposites) to use both sides, but make the ?entry? point also operate the balloon point only when it was ?sprung? against. Took a bit of working out but, IT WORKS!!!

There is still loads to do on the track such as ballasting and a little scenery and some planting, but running is commenced, though not for the last week as I've been away, and is good fun, as the heavy grade keeps the driver on the ball. One day I may learn to drive a full train up it without it blowing off all the way.


So you see I like problems, especially on the T.V.B.L., they all have solutions if you look hard enough.

 

[jacobsgrandad]

Now I see where I went wrong, I think!! That is excellent I am overawed my over has never been so awed. Think I'll go out and rebuild mine.

 

[MRail]

Problem 3
the house end had to be raised to 4ft to allow for a level 15ft passing loop.[size=16pt]

[/size]It's a serious garden railfarer who'll raise his house to accommodate his track!
Well done that man

 

[bobg]

Arhhhh! They makes 'em tough round 'ere!

Only trouble is, as I only raised the house end I got a peculiar slope on the floors now.............................

 

[spike]

 

[bobg]

'T is a tad warmer today so I thought I'd try again refilling the under-fill of the track. It wasn't easy so I decided to remove the track and D.P.C. and relevel everything. It was the correct decision, as it made the job quicker and easier in the end.

The fill had subsided nearly 2" (50mm) tapering back to zero. I had suspected this would happen due to the nature of what is underneath the pea-shingle, and the previous section had done the same last winter

Re-filled and leveled with a hoe.

And the track tacked back in place, all it took was about 45mins, No problem!

What do you do when you've done it, test a train or two you'ld think. On trying to fit the removable viaduct I found thet the support posts have swelled somewhat ,with the damp, and my patent joint wont fit. B****r! Seems I may need to re-make the thing in ali or similar. I cant trim it, as it will be too loose when/if the wood dries out. Huh!

 

[New Haven Neil]

For some reason I hadn't previously visited this thread Bob - excellent stuff, very impressive. Things do move around rather though, don't they! Our garden is very wet due to a clay base and not much above sea level, the posts move an incredible amount. Bridge footings in particular seem to have a mind of their own.

Can you manage some overall view sort of shots?

 

[bobg]

Height is the problem Neil. With the major part of it at the top of the embankment even the first pic in post 9 was from the garage roof. It might be possible to get something from the house roof, but I doubt even that would catch it all in one shot, without an extra wide angle. It's basically an "L" shape with the return loop on the foot, and the treminus at the top.

 

[New Haven Neil]

Yes, I gathered it must be difficult! Ah well. And I moan my garden is too flat.......

 

[mbiff]

another thread i missed too excellent work bob - gave me a few solutions of my own for my pernament way gang

 

[bobg]

My wish through life is but to be helpful.

I might have a simple solution to the "viaduct" problem but wont know for sure till I get a grip on it tomorrow (if the weather holds)

 

[mikka]

wowzers. past my final year you give me inspiration to rebuild the garden line thankyou