Hi Guys, well I have finally got round to gettin back into the back garden and railway. I did a load of major reconstruction a couple of years ago but have decided to rip 90% of it out and start again. Some parts of the old track route will remain but not much. The new layout will be bigger though and will pretty much extend to the outer edges of the garden this time. All the perimiter fencing will be replaced, new pond and new patios etc.,. I'm demolishing and reconstructing as I go. The first reconstruction is taking place on the left hand side lookin out from the house. You can see the concrete block wall under the track bed.This was previously faced in timber ,now its gettin faced with stone and adjacent to it is the bed for a new pathway and what will be the side of the new pond. This stone walling will extend all the way towards the house and will carry the double track mainline in a gentle curve bringing the railway to a station area right in front of my kitchen diner window. However loads of work before I'm there. All material ,sand ,cement timber has to be brought from the street at the front of the house and carried thru the house to the back garden as there is no other access.....so, hopefully I'll be a lot slimmer by the end of the job !! ...lol
"HONGZ" stands for HO scale, N scale, G scale, and Z scale.
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On the right hand side of the garden the old fence is demolished and is being replaced, it will be topped off with flowerboxing. The railway on this side of the garden will probably be laid on torched on mineral felted external grade plywood tied to the fence.... however that plan may change yet ???
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Davy,
Amazing amount of work there, but it sure is going to look nice. Thanks for the update.
It's shaping up.
Hi Joe,aye its a big job for sure but I have the bit between my teeth. We've had the summer from hell here in Scotland this year,much of it cold ,windy and rainy, but hey ho ,sun'll shine again. I'll just get done what I can when I can before the winter frosts close things down till spring comes round again. Ye can never tell here with the weather though ,November could be better than July !! . I have two grandsons ,one 4 and one 2,so I want to get the trains up and running ASAP so we can enjoy some shared quality time wi them. I've got three grandaughters too but they're more girly girls than tom-boys so I don't see them gettin all that excited about trains...but ye never know ! stranger things have happened ! thanks for the thumbs up Spence... cheers Davy
Hey Davy,
Great to hear your back at the yard layout! And when you do scenery,it's the real thing no foam board and rock castings.
Hi George,aye the scenery is all too real.... and my back and old bones know it ..
Hi Guys these next 2 pictures show the direction I'm goin in. Some of the old track formation coming off the loco stabling area still bears to the right ,this will be re-hashed as the doubletrack mainline's new route will be tighter to the loco yard and a much longer straight run too.The new pond will extend a good bit more towards the house too.
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That is really looking great......always wanted to create a garden layout like yours......like the idea of train running by the dining room and kitchen. Should look outstanding at night!
-Pete
Hi Pete, am gettin there,but I have a huge job in front of me, still the good weather the last couple of days has let me push on a bit with the wall building. In the next two photos you can see todays progress.Up in the right hand corner where you can see the track pieces is the location of my turntable (still in situ and to be reconnected once the new mainline is laid. The main line will go straight to where the build has extended to date ,next job is to demolish the old formation and swing as gentle a curve as possible into a straight section along the front of the house window. Once I get the walling and track base finished to there I can start to lay track again and re-hash the sidings into the loco stabling area. The former patio in the forefront of the picture will be part of the floor of the new pond. Anyway,won't try to confuse you,I'll just keep posting progress pics as pics speak a thousand words eh ?? I think the forecast is for rain tomorrow ...ah well such is Scottish weather !! Cheers Davy
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Davy
Fantastic work, makes me tired reading about what you're doing. Having to carry everything through the house.
What could you do with one of our US sized gardens?
Hope the weather holds for you to get to the track.
Scotie
Hi Scotie, believe me I;m tired tonight that old trackbed formation is as hard as hell, could be doin with hiring a jack-hammer .however got on not bad with the big hammer and steel pinch. I'm almost thru though ,had to finish at 3pm due to torrential rain ,but got few hours at it while the sun shone. As soon as I get pushed thru I'll get the new wall foundation in and the stonework rattled up. Old bones achin tonight though ... Never mind tomorrow's another day. this attached pic was taken just as the weather started to break this afternoon. Not the greatest photo but you can see what I'm workin towards.... Davy
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One of my daughters took this pic of me today batterin away at the old stonework ,all the old stonework in the foreground has all to be demolished and moved this was the route of the old intended layout .However the priority for now is breaking thru it where I'm working in the picture to get the new formation built.
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Work is coming along nicely. What kind of track is that? How has it held up?
Once again I'm getting inspired and I don't have any rock to smash !
Davy will this new layout be 2 rail O scale or like your old G scale layout?