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Wye Valley Dismantling a Railway mid 1960s


Welsh Signaller
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1Morning all, after more years than I can remember a house move has allowed permission to be granted for a garden / garage railway !

 

Initially the plan is to build a “simple” out and back return loop around the upper end of the garden, then once the garage has been converted to warm, temperature controlled storage space I’ll be extending one end of the loop in.

 

Im not appreciating the garage being down until next year, so effort is being concentrated on getting the single line with loops out and back built.

 

My plan is to use 12mm ply painted in waterproof paint, faced with stripe wood also painted to protect the gain, then seal the edges against the strap and base to prevent water egress. The boards will be sorted on stainless steel or aluminium tube cemented into the ground, hopefully this approach will provide a level and secure foundation for decades to come.

 

So here we go....

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The house is only three years old so happily benefits from a level’ish, large garden to play with - I’ve been allowed to build the loop from right to back to left and back.

 

As I’ve three kids, one of who is football mad there’s a requirement to keep as much green space as possible for his football playing.

 

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This is the out and back return loop which will sit behind the small wall to the top of the picture.

 

Im using peco set track o gauge sections for the return loops, with flexi track for the long straight run across the back of the garden where each single line will have a loop either side.

 

 

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With two 8ft x 4ft 12mm ply sheets delivered from the local handyman shop, it was time to mark out the tricky curves with have a S bend on the return.

 

I even managed to obtain the assistance of my wife, bonus !

 

Shes even said the golden words of, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well !

 

Hence the rather expensive 12mm ply and no expensive spared method of construction.

 

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Beware ye!

 

Plywood is surprisingly difficult to weatherproof to an acceptable degree for this application, and if you want it to really last, you might be better using recycled plastic boarding from a firm called Filcris.

 

If you are sold on plywood, the best weatherproofing i’ve found is two good coats of Ronseal exterior primer/undercoat, followed by two top coats of their exterior gloss. By the time you’ve done that, the plastic board might work out cheaper.

 

When I had exactly your situation and spec to meet (the footballs only get heavier and faster, by the way!), I created a low 9” brick wall as a trackbed - a bit OTT, but i’d Tried all sorts of other methods on previous railways, and wanted this one to last, which it has seven years so far, despite constant bombardment.

2C0D2E30-8D9F-4ABC-B0E4-20449A8E2827.jpeg

Edited by Nearholmer
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With two 8ft x 4ft 12mm ply sheets delivered from the local handyman shop, it was time to mark out the tricky curves with have a S bend on the return.

 

I even managed to obtain the assistance of my wife, bonus !

 

Shes even said the golden words of, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well !

 

Hence the rather expensive 12mm ply and no expensive spared method of construction.

 

With both sheets marked out it was time to cut the wood, it’s tough stuff to run a jig sea through !

 

There is a significant amount of waste wood, however I’ve tried to cut it as efficiently as possible so it’ll all be used elsewhere.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Beware ye!

 

Plywood is surprisingly difficult to weatherproof to an acceptable degree for this application, and if you want it to really last, you might be better using recycled plastic boarding from a firm called Filcris.

 

If you are sold on plywood, the best weatherproofing i’ve found is two good coats of Ronseal exterior primer/undercoat, followed by two top coats of their exterior gloss. By the time you’ve done that, the plastic board might work out cheaper.

 

When I had exactly your situation and spec to meet (the footballs only get heavier and faster, by the way!), I created a low 9” brick wall as a trackbed - a bit OTT, but i’d Tried all sorts of other methods on previous railways, and wanted this one to last, which it has seven years so far, despite constant bombardment.

 

Good morning! 

 

Its excellent to hear from someone who’s been here, and weathered the process it sounds. I’ve committed to the 12mm ply now, so I think i might well have to go down the road you have with multiple coats of paints.

 

The plan is for the boards to be approx 4ft off the ground, were bordered in three sides so the boy is under strict instructions not to kick his ball off the ground...hmmm...

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The return loop is in end area of 8ft square, but with a huge hole in the middle so I’ve had to use two 8ft x 4ft sheets of ply, I’ll need to join them once I'm ready erect the boards with legs.

 

With board one of two cut, work commenced on the tricky S bend cut...

I’m rather pleased how it’s turned out once it’s been sanded.

 

 

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Hmmm indeed!

 

Another thing to consider is what posts to use. After digging out and replacing many rotten fence posts in many gardens, I will now only use either concrete posts, or concrete spur-posts for fences, and for a raised railway I would use either the same, or recycled plastic posts.

 

 

Edited by Nearholmer
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The return loop is in end area of 8ft square, but with a huge hole in the middle so I’ve had to use two 8ft x 4ft sheets of ply, I’ll need to join them once I'm ready erect the boards with legs.

 

With board one of two cut, work commenced on the tricky S bend cut...

I’m rather pleased how it’s turned out once it’s been sanded.

 

Edited by Welsh Signaller
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Just now, Nearholmer said:

Hmmm indeed!

 

Another thing to consider is what posts to use. After digging out and replacing many rotten fence posts in many gardens, I will now only use either concrete posts, or changes concrete spur-posts for fences, and for a raised railway I would use either the same, or recycled plastic posts.

 

I was looking at aluminium posts of a nice thick diameter, I’ve been some online which are part of a range that include fixing to attach to the underside of the boards.

 

i really should of listened in science as I don’t recall if aluminium rusts ?

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I marked with the assistance of my wife the centre line of the track before cutting which ensured a steady 7cm gap either side of the sleeper ends. A look I’m quite pleased with now the track has been laid (temporarily) on the boards

 

 

 

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  • RMweb Gold

Damp and water ingress is your enemy with timber in the garden.

 

Make sure you seal the end grain of the ply otherwise it will delaminate over time. (Boat builders use fibreglass tape)

 

My last set of outdoor boards were ply which had the top and sides covered in roofing felt which was glued down with bitumastic paint.  I took the time to use two layers of felt and then made sure the joints were staggered.

 

Everything got stuck down on top, and I made sure that there were no nails or screws penetrating the roofing felt. (One of the advantages of using battery electrics and live steam is no wiring to worry about.

 

Although the undersides were proofed with shed/fence 'paint' they were well clear of the ground and this allowed the breeze to get underneath the boards and keep everything aired.

 

Having been down at ground level for a few years,  age has caught up with me so the railway is about to be elevated once more, using the same techniques outlined above.

 

(I see Kevin has also replied as I was writing this.)

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  • RMweb Gold

The answer to your support post query is to use plastic drain pipes set into the ground as you would a fence post and you have a rot free support.

 

Just remember to put a tile or similar at the bottom of the hole to give the post a 'foot' to stop it subsiding.

 

 

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1 minute ago, Happy Hippo said:

Damp and water ingress is your enemy with timber in the garden.

 

Make sure you seal the end grain of the ply otherwise it will delaminate over time. (Boat builders use fibreglass tape)

 

My last set of outdoor boards were ply which had the top and sides covered in roofing felt which was glued down with bitumastic paint.  I took the time to use two layers of felt and then made sure the joints were staggered.

 

Everything got stuck down on top, and I made sure that there were no nails or screws penetrating the roofing felt. (One of the advantages of using battery electrics and live steam is no wiring to worry about.

 

Although the undersides were proofed with shed/fence 'paint' they were well clear of the ground and this allowed the breeze to get underneath the boards and keep everything aired.

 

Having been down at ground level for a few years,  age has caught up with me so the railway is about to be elevated once more, using the same techniques outlined above.

 

(I see Kevin has also replied as I was writing this.)

 

Thanks HH for offering your advice, it’s really appreciated!

 

ive an eye on the future as well regards working height, after service with the police my back is knackered already hence the minimum height of 4ft off the ground. If needs be I can sit on a chair to work as the years push on.

 

I plan on DCC operation, with an eye on battery in the future - I didn’t actually think about dropper wires going through the boards and the issues that’ll cause - so thank you for flagging that up.

 

Potentially a solution would be to seal the wires into the hole to form a water tight bond, or have the bus and droppers neatly on top of the board to the back perhaps save any holes, my points will be hand operated (initially anyway) so maybe if I juice them up later on top mounted and wired might be the way to go as well.

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Just now, Happy Hippo said:

The answer to your support post query is to use plastic drain pipes set into the ground as you would a fence post and you have a rot free support.

 

Just remember to put a tile or similar at the bottom of the hole to give the post a 'foot' to stop it subsiding.

 

 

 

Another thing I wasn’t sure about, I was looking a gravel, but a patio slab makes much more sense - I could even secure the leg onto the slab to make absolutely sure it didn’t move.

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28 minutes ago, Welsh Signaller said:

 

Another thing I wasn’t sure about, I was looking a gravel, but a patio slab makes much more sense - I could even secure the leg onto the slab to make absolutely sure it didn’t move.

Once you have put the post into the hole and surrounded it with the concrete, a suitable amount of concrete dropped down into the pipe and lightly compacted will secure the pipe in place without any need for brackets or screws!

Edited by Happy Hippo
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12 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Once you have put the post into the hole and surrounded it with the concrete, a suitable amount of concrete dropped down into the pipe and lightly compacted will secure the pipe in place without any need for brackets or screws!

 

A bit of experimentation is required I reckon....

 

How do you secure a plastic drain pipe to the underside of your baseboard, whether it be wood or plastic ? 

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I’ve taken advantage of the wife going out for coffee with her colleagues, and the kids being in school to lay out roughly the next instalment.

 

Ive used the waste wood from stage one to allow me to measure out with track the required widths and lengths.

 

I’m going to need two more 8ft x 4ft 12mm sheets, one as a whole for the second curve, and the second sheet cut in half to allow two 8ft x 2ft lengths that will run across the back fence, which section will have loops either side of the single lines.

 

I’m not happy with the set track curves for both lines round the corner, so I’m going to use them for the inner only to get the required radius then flexi for the other line so I can have a nice even gap around the curve.

 

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  • RMweb Gold
50 minutes ago, Welsh Signaller said:

 

 

A bit of experimentation is required I reckon....

 

How do you secure a plastic drain pipe to the underside of your baseboard, whether it be wood or plastic ? 

I used square pipe.

 

Made a wooden plug to fit the top of the pipe, and then screwed through into the baseboard support beams under the baseboard.

 

You could drill fully  through the post and use M6 studding and wing nuts rather than wood screws.

 

If you put your posts in and do a quick levelling with a spirit level, you can select the lowest post and use that as the datum.

 

Then put the beams in between the posts, and then put your baseboards tops onto the beams.

 

 

 

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