6. Gardening Question Time.
Entry posted by Methuselah
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We human apes are odd creatures. One of our less destructive instincts is that Magpie tendency to 'collect' - aptly manifested in the case of model railways. It's a case of Mea Culpa - and I am forced to admit that I do have some difficulty in reining-in my acquisitions.... I have to be in for the delivery man on Monday. Next week is significant in that it should mark the arrival of the last of my outstanding orders for RTR items I had on order long-term - in this case the Rapido LNER Dynamometer Car and a couple of the Rapido Stirling Singles. These are items far removed from my GWR/ GWR - LNWR Joint inside layout - but which I can and will run on my - also yet to be built - garden layout, where no real rules will apply and I can run anything.
Forty or fifty years ago, received wisdom was that 4mm scale was unsuitable for garden railways. When I returned to model railways some year and a half ago - after a break of some forty-five years - I was pleasantly surprised to see that the use of 4mm scale outdoors had become quite commonplace. I'd planned an internal 4mm railway, but building an outside extension opened-up exciting unplanned-for opportunities. For one thing - one can run scale-length trains instead of the usual truncated representations, and, of course, since there is no model scenery - one can run trains of any period or company.
Currently, I'm evaluating the best methods of construction for the garden railway - but it's clear that the biggest issue is not dirt - but expansion and contraction, especially during meteorological conditions like current heatwave - although today has been rain, gales and 13C...!
Far too many of these garden railways seem to have rather poorly-laid track and a rickety base structure. These issues are easier to address, but allowing for the sort of heatwave conditions we have endured the past weeks requires much more thought. My current thinking is to not solder any joints, but to allow a large expansion-gap and free longitudinal movement. Additionally, I will not use the Peco flexitrack (I'm using Peco Code 75 Bullhead internally where it's visible - but the cheaper Code 100 externally, as it's more robust too.) in full lengths, but cut it into much shorter sections, each with a dropper-wire soldered-on to it. The top-deck will be scaffold planks or thick plywood covered with roofing-felt. The verticals will be lengths of scaffold-poles driven directly into the ground with a rammer. Deck joints will be over the supports and will have both vertical and horizontal adjustment. The track itself will only be pinned - I hope this will suffice... All of that should be weatherproof - well - in theory at least...!
When it comes to actually running the trains - they will all be DCC - I haven't the foggiest with regard to current-drops etc. I'm guessing that I'll have to boost the current - at least to the farthest sections of track. Is there a formula for this I wonder, to calculate current-drop with distance...?
In order to achieve decent, smooth curves, I will use a wooden guide for the inner radius. Then - in theory at least, if I use a spacer for the outer tracks, I should end-up with smooth, matching and sweeping curves, rather than threepenny bits.
One of the possibly dafter ideas for the garden railway is to include an incline. It may be that long trains, moisture and dirt produce an unworkable edifice - but I can't resist trying it...! The reasons however are threefold. 1) The garden slopes anyway. 2) I used to watch steam on the Lickey Incline as a kid. 3) Because it's a challenge. I will start-off with the exact gradient of the real Lickey incline. However - the deck-sections will be adjustable, so I will be able to lessen the incline if it proves unworkable. Sadly, I don't have enough space to keep the incline as straight as the real one - so it will be a sort of 'j'-shape to get it to fit into the garden at the correct length.
The whole purpose of the garden extension is gratuitous entertainment. Beyond possibly a few signals, there will be no scenery other than the backdrop of wonderful English countryside. I am setting out to use camber/cant on the inside railway, but it may will be just too much hassle to include this outdoors, unless I can devise a simple and weatherproof solution - which is looking impossible at the moment. It's a pity as it's a prominent and much neglected feature of full-sized railways rarely portrayed in model form. I well remember the excitement of seeing thundering express steam trains leaning-in to the curve at speed when steam was still fully operational. Even better was an S-shaped curve where one could see the train writhe like a snake. Currently my only idea is to make an adjustable jig for my trusty router. Bearing in mind that I'd not be able to then use roofing-felt on the curves and would need to apply some sort of brushed finish - I think that any applied fillets might be an invitation to moisture ingress. Anyhow - I'll probably make the jig anyway and see if it works as designed.
The only other little niggle rattling-around in my mind is getting pins to penetrate hardish material. I may need to resort to something like a nail-gun if they can use something fairly small. More research needed there too.
I'll know it's all been worth it if I can sit-out in the evening sunshine drinking a brandy and watch some of my rather eclectic collection chunter around the garden. Onwards & upwards...!
M.
PS;- Photo added to show the falling terrain. The elevated deck for the railway will run along the hedge-line in the foreground, just below eye height. My hope it that the distance of the scenery will double for a natural reasonably scale-looking backdrop. We shall see...!
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