New garden layout

Hi Joe, well, don't know what to say about your sore back and I don't know what its like around where you live for finding appropriate material that won't cost you an arm and a leg. As for ponds and waterfalls ,I can keep you right on that because I've built umpteen ponds for folk and am a dab hand at waterfalls and stuff. Even put in a pond for my sister in law who lives in Ontario ,Canada a few years back and its still there to this day. There is a waterfall and small stream feature in my garden which will be getting attention in the next few days. I've had to stop progress on the paddling pool because the rain of the last few days has raised the local river level a good couple of feet and where I was on dry land collecting those flat stones last week is now underwater !. Oh well,plenty other stuff to be doin till the river water level goes down again. Anyway,heres another couple of pictures of the turntable progress. I have started to fill in around the table and am making a wee channel for the pulley cable that turns it. This will get covered over and the pulley cable will be out of sight when everything is complete.The picture looking along the turntable bridge is actually kinda deceiving. There is plenty room to take  a couple of loco servicing sidings off the "Y" and onto the table.   Cheers  DAVY

Good day to ya Davy,

When I was learning about my Scottish roots... I wondered if the Picts and I were family? I liked reading how those tough little lads fought off being conquered by the Romans.

Being from Currie, which is not all that far from the Scottish/English border, I've wondered if any Pictish blood flows in me? Obviously, you're much more, genetically speaking, than just your fathers name(your surname)... blood-wise. Genes from many different Scottish families contributed to my DNA, plus some French and English.

Re: your layout. I love the part about going to the local Blacksmith...

BTW, check out my thread "lush green grass and sunshine" in the main forum(the 3-rail forum... a few pages back).

There's a unique charm to this thread of yours, Davy.

Take care,

Rick

Davy, For your pond do you use a pvc liner or a plastic tub? I see you have a pond off to the side of the wading pool , the pool looks plastic or fiberglass.

Hi Guys,

          George, the wee paddling or wading pool as you call it is preformed fibre glass. It was actually a water-plant demonstration tray I got second hand and painted up. The big fish pond is lined with top quality butyl-rubber liner. By far the best to work with but more expensive than PVC. PVC is OK but I much prefer butyl-rubber. The paddling pool is meant to look what it is ,a kiddie's paddling pool. But for a natural look the biggest mistake folk make when building "natural" ponds is to have liner showing above the water line. If you want a pond to look "right" NEVER have liner showing because no matter how well landscaped it might be it simply never looks right with liner showing. So the way you egde a pond is all important. Its easy enough to do ,but there are ways of doing it .

  Rick, back in the time of the Romans a "Scot" was a Gaelic Irishman ,indeed the Romans refered to Ireland as Scotia long before what is now Scotland was known as such,later on A Scot could be of Pictish, Briton, ,Saxon,Viking or various other ethnic groups all mixed in. The Gaelic name for Scotland to this day is "Alba" , same root word as "albion" meaning the whole mainland of Britain.However these days the name Alba as used in Gaelic refers only to Scotland. England is refered to as Sassena and the English the "Sassenach",meaning "saxons" The Irish Gaels (Scots) spoke a different strain of Celtic language from the Picts and Caledonians and the other Brythonic celtic tribes like the Welsh. However its a story too long for the telling here. Suffice to say that this island is NOT all "England".England isn't an island its just part of this island as my favourite road signs in the world prove..... see attached  Cheers  DAVY   

Oh well last pic of the day guys. Cement pretty much cured so first loco to sit on the turntable,my weaver  L&N USRA light pacific. Cheers  DAVY

Ya, it's not like you get a nice clean definitive answer... when ya go gene hunting.

One of the reasons I like this thread is... it contains ingenuity. Using words like blacksmith doesn't hurt, either.

Carry on lad, you're doing a fine job.

BTW, the weather here's been great lately... beautiful time to be outdoors.

Rick

Hi Guys,well sun's out and things are moving again. Laying the track bed  for the engine servicing and  turntable area .This time for speed I used concrete blocks laid on sand .I'll fix the track timber usin the usual "nails in cement"method.

Oh well back to the job. Couple of pics attached and the last pic shows  two of my grand-daughters,Caitlin and Rebecca, impatient for grandpa to finish the paddling pool . Oh well better go and get weavin !    Davy

I am amazed by the amount of hardscape! You have put in, your sure not a stone mason as your gifted in that area.  Is that a Koi/Goldfish pond next on the right?

That's Loch Rick, George. Nessie's home.

If ya get a few hot days in a row, Davy, you'll raise the outside temperature of Scotland, with all that stone and cement holding in the heat.

Looks like you've already used a few tons of scenery/building materials. Seems like you've got a good handle on things. It's just a matter of marching on and getting it done.

Have you taken into account how your backyard is going to drain itself, now that you've significantly changed the surface area of your backyard? Ian and Margaret, just might be getting a new waterfall?

BTW, I hope there's no chance of electrical current finding it's way to the paddling pool?

Cheers,

Rick

I wouldn't mind being you neighbor Davy!  That old G scale was superb.  I've always wanted to run outside in the snow.

Your new project is very exciting and I'm looking forward to seeing the progress. 

Thanks for taking the time to post.  It's a great lesson in building a model railroad outside.

Hi Guys, well, pics  attached of todays progress around what will be the loco servicing area. Thats one area that will be having no compromise to a garden. It will be ALL  lovely filthy black oil and sooty and grimy around the tracks typical of steam loco servicing areas all over the world.  Not quite there yet though. Well my grandaughters finally got their way today and I filled up the paddling pool for them rubble or no rubble,seeing as the weather was so good,so of course their friends had to get in on the act too. So meet (left to right)Caitlin,Rebecca, and their friends Freya,Brogan,Niamh,and Emily. I also topped up the fish pond today. There are also frogs and Newts in it. Don't know if you get Newts in the states??. (Kinda small lizards,and a protected species in the UK.) Not back in action yet is the waterfall and stream in the far left corner,I'll have it up and running again soon. Anyway guys glad you're enjoying the thread. Cheers  DAVY     

Hi Guys, well Rick,here's a couple of pics for you (and any of you guys who are from South of the Mason Dixon line). Was practising my pipes for a while and got a couple of pics taken for a friend of mine in the states who likes things confederate. Its supposed to be apparently ??  that the confederate flag was based on the St Andrews cross of Scotland (diagonal white cross on blue background )and the St Patricks cross of Ireland (diagonal red cross on white),because its supposed to be that the caucasian population of the Southern states at that time of the American civil war were predominantly of Scots and Irish descent, they took the two old countries flags and reversed the colours and added the stars of the confederate states.Now whether that is fact or fiction I don't know but I've been told that story by various Americans. Anyway,with all due respect to the stars and stripes the old CSA flag is a beauty and is my favourite American flag. (And by the way guys,I am not pro the KKK and am making no political statement,I just like the flag,so no offense to my Yankee or African American friends, I honestly don't care what race creed or religion you all are), The bonnet I'm wearing Rick is called a Balmoral here in Scotland and was also the type worn by many confederate troops of Scots descent. Cheers  DAVY 

 Hey Davy it's really looking great.  Granddaughters have a way of making their Papa's do anything they want them to do.  I have 3 beautiful granddaughters and 5 grandsons and I love being around all of them.  This picture was taken on Mothers Day.  Thats Kalena and Xanden two of my son's 4 kids.  Xanden is Mr. Thomas the Train nut.

BTW I finally located a dealer who can get me the code 143, Peco track flat bottom track.  But of course it won't be in until June 15th.  I think I'll be limiting the amount of switches at $80.00 a piece.  Keep up the great work.

Chuck

Davy... Davy... Davy, what am I going to do with ya, lad? A quick glimpse...  I see the Rebel flag hanging off your bagpipes. Whoa!

I didn't get a chance to read your post, because I had things to do. In the meantime, I'm thinking... this is going to be awkward. Recently, I learned that Scotland had participated in the slave trade, and that didn't sit well with me. Nothing I'd be proud of.

When I finally got a chance to read your post, I was glad to see what you wrote.

You've got the look of mischief meson... in those pictures. A real Jock-the-lad.

BTW, you look like a fairly young grandfather. How old are you?

I'm just about 58.

Take care, lad

Rick

Davy,

Ya sound like a good guy, lad. I'm enjoying getting to know ya.

I hope you're still considering the full rig video, when you've completed your layout?

Looks like we're a couple of sons from the same era.

BTW, what did the kids think of your layout?

see ya,

Rick

Hi Rick, the girls are more interested in the paddling pool !.However as I hadn't run the G scale trains for a long time they don't remember the trains running.So it will be interesting to see their reaction when I get some trains moving again. Also my grandson who is approaching two years old I'm hoping gets into the trains wi his papa,mind you as he is now he'd probably wreck them because he's a baby bull and wrecking machine so you have to watch him like a hawk because he gets up to all sorts.

Chuck, aye like yourself I get a great buzz out of the grandkids or "weans" (pronounced as in John  "Wayne"). Not sure of this Scots word for a child. Might be a combination of wee-yins (little ones) or maybe it comes from the verb to "wean" ,but whatever in Scotland we talk about "the weans".   Cheers and goodnight guys.   DAVY 

Well I guess I've got both you and Rick beat, I'm only 57 and still have two kids that aren't married yet.  So I'm sure there will be more "wee-yins" later down the road.  Actually Davy the young lad in the picture is only 2 years old.  When he came over on Mothers Day all he kept saying was "Trains Papa, Trains".  What do you think was on his mind in this picture?  "I want to touch the caboose".

Chuck,

I'm still wearing number 57. Once half the year has passed, I start using the next number. So I might be the young'un, here... of us three?

I'm still calling Davy lad, though.

Goodnight guys,

Rick

Hi Guys, working tonight so I need to scoot. Got the turntable more or less finished on the groundwork side and mechanically.  mechanism couldn't be simpler but it works beautifully. Also got the waterfall/water feature back in operation today. I'll let the pics do the explaining guys. Need to scoot. Cheers  DAVY     

Nice job on the turntable, Davy. The roadway leading to it... looks good, too.

How many revolutions of the hand crank, produces one complete rotation of the turntable?

I'm surprised by how large Loch Rick actually is. I like the scene with the falls flowing down into the loch.

Are mosquitoes a problem in your area? Is there enough movement of the water, to prevent those critters from setting up camp?

She's looking good... going to be a nice place to spend some time.

Take care,

Rick