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Hi,

 

Having started in O gauge during lockdown 2 by building a club layout, I’ve really got the bug for the scale. Once the club rooms reopened the club layout has been moved to its permanent home and I have nowhere to test my stock at home. So I decided to build something in the garden. SWMBO is not keen, so I’ve agreed to make it portable and just set it up for running sessions. The idea will be a triangular layout round two sides of the lawn with a third arm back across the middle.
 

I have chanced upon some planks of softwood which are used for pipe delivery crates and measure 10’6” x 8”x20mm as shown hanging above my MGB.

 

EF795DBA-641B-4970-A5DD-C3F342591CFC.jpeg.dfb36d16f430e18bc13113457c9d1350.jpeg

 

So not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I’ve decided to use them to make sections of baseboard 9’x8” ideal for a double track in O gauge. I also intend to build the curves from the same material by joining together lots of segments. 
 

I applied wood preserver over the weekend and so far I’ve built four 9ft boards as shown in my garage under construction this morning. 

 

A3D4CA14-9056-458D-91BC-85A569B7AA09.jpeg.017dc718c4505b4364004bf98378706f.jpeg

 

I set them out in the lawn this afternoon and loosely laid some track on top to test the concept. It all seems to work OK, although will need a lot more care with levels when I lay the track properly to get a smooth ride.
 

BDA8D981-95AE-4B62-BA7D-C2E508E2425B.jpeg.74ec23992c6e34d963628d561b9473d2.jpeg

 

 

I intend to join the boards using dowels and adjustable sprung toggles from Amazon which I found excellent on our club O gauge. (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07RHD9CMN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). The boards will rest on loose bits of wood arranged to minimise gradients.

 

Does this all sound like a credible plan? Or am I setting myself up for a disaster down the line?

 

Thanks in advance for any feedback from those more experienced.

 

Andy

 

 

 


 

 

 

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12 hours ago, sncf231e said:

Running trains in the garden is fun!

 

I do not know your age; if your not very young I would advice a track higher than ground level.

 

Regards

Fred

Thanks Fred,

 

I’m 57 and relatively agile for my age, so I think I can cope with it being low for the time being. I have to build up slowly while SWBMO gets used to the idea of a garden railway which means it’s going to be fully portable for the time being and stored in the garage. Therefore I don’t really want the hassle of getting legs out each time. 
 

I was also worried about trains falling off the boards from a height. If you have a high level garden railway what do you do about that? (Apart from not having any derailments which would be nice…but in the real world!).

 

Regards

 

Andy

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Hello Andy,

 

Accidents do happen (as can be seen in the video) but generally only with clockwork trains running too fast and being to light. In all cases any damage could be repaired. I have never had an accident with an 0 gauge scale train falling down; in the event of a derailment they just stay on the layout (fingers crossed ;)).

 

 

Regards

Fred

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11 hours ago, sncf231e said:

Hello Andy,

 

Accidents do happen (as can be seen in the video) but generally only with clockwork trains running too fast and being to light. In all cases any damage could be repaired. I have never had an accident with an 0 gauge scale train falling down; in the event of a derailment they just stay on the layout (fingers crossed ;)).

Regards

Fred

Thanks for that video. That’s exactly why I want mine low…at least while I’m learning!

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A bit of progress over the last few days. I have created some curves by making trapeziums out of the planks of 8” spruce like this.

 

A4763B64-6BED-4E2A-8ADA-6C07E4E24ED4.jpeg.a36c1e82b879bd0605ad05f6a938be89.jpeg

 

They are then glued together into a curved section.

 

9DBE7976-B198-4F39-96C6-4E823ED7F1AA.jpeg.aa9532802cf33e3344b3d81fad3690dd.jpeg

…and braced underneath.

 

3EF62A53-5CCB-4036-BFA1-93EEA236BF98.jpeg.897360a0fe7190abc6b9989b5cad1992.jpeg

 

The angle at each end is 5.625 degrees meaning the joints are twice that (11.25) such that four make 45 degrees. The two I have done so far are joined in fives making a curve of just over 100 degrees, so I now have two sides of the garden covered (not quite a right angle corner). The radius depends on the length of the trapezium boards. These are 38cm on the longer side meaning a radius of c.6 ft. The other curves will be gentler. I have done some at 48 cm which will work out at 8 ft radius. I borrowed a chop saw from a friend to do the cutting. They are amazing bits of kit and make this job so much easier!

 

F46AD877-792F-42F3-BBD9-73B63FE27A74.jpeg.09abfcb060dd3c769865924f766394fc.jpeg

 

I have loosely pinned down some track and run a test train as shown in this video.

 

 

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Thanks Chris,

 

You and I know that but try persuading my wife! I intend to get something up and running and later try to incorporate some if it permanently into the garden. The boards will all be covered with roofing felt soon as a precaution towards being left out.

 

Regards

 

Andy

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On 13/07/2021 at 23:15, thegreenhowards said:

I was also worried about trains falling off the boards from a height. If you have a high level garden railway what do you do about that? (Apart from not having any derailments which would be nice…but in the real world!).

 We are having the same discussion at our club where we are building a table height out door O gauge railway. Looking through videos and photos on line - very few seem to have to have been built with edges. So perhaps its a question of having confidence in well laid track and maintained stock.

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On 21/07/2021 at 06:49, Chris Turnbull said:

A garden railway does not have to be intrusive; properly designed it can be an asset to the garden.  This is just such an example from the layout of a friend of mine, albeit in Gauge One, which complements the garden nicely.

 

P6160340.JPG.23aac7ea1726e0ce7adada7e7d2b98ea.JPG

 

 

Chris Turnbull

 And I think the gardener has complemented the railway rather well in addition!

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1 hour ago, stephennicholson said:

 We are having the same discussion at our club where we are building a table height out door O gauge railway. Looking through videos and photos on line - very few seem to have to have been built with edges. So perhaps its a question of having confidence in well laid track and maintained stock.

I think you’re right. But I also like the idea of the trains being in amongst the plants for a (rather overscale) backscene. I will build mine at low level and may raise it later when I get confidence in the running abilities. 

 

I am making slow progress. All the woodwork is completed and I’m laying track on the first board today. More photos soon.

 

Andy

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I actually got two boards worth of track laid on Monday as shown here.

 

82628726-CD26-4649-80B0-A02F0DA81190.jpeg.71c1c57da7979ccbe2d4e736d91cfce2.jpeg

 

The straight board is wired as well. The boards are connected with dowels and sprung clips.

 

154CB9FD-7665-44D4-8204-3064C6C69EB7.jpeg.55f360a4b2a8eac909df1af5287b7fba.jpeg

 

031BDC81-99B8-4D29-8F98-F5EDA808B5DA.jpeg.be896e2594e30882b49c5cb5cd39d2c7.jpeg

 

I’m working on a buzz wire connected between the boards using the sprung clips with the wire tucked in under the clips. I’m not sure whether this will work over 13 baseboards but it will make life simpler so fingers crossed. Each piece of track is connected to the buzz. Any thoughts welcome.

 

finally I’ve sorted the baseboard storage with thanks to fellow club member Peter who helped me rig up the fixing brackets. They all fit neatly on the garage wall.

 

FF54964A-C3D3-4657-909E-205ECB8F471B.jpeg.19d8ec4718940af19616c84e9a7242d3.jpeg

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I’ve now completed the circuit …just in time for winter!

 

I’m pleased to report that the board clips (as in my 1st Sep post) conduct electricity very well. The voltage drop off from one side of the circuit to the other was from 12.04V to 12.01V which over c.20yards of track is pretty good. That was without doing up the rail joiners between boards but I will use them to improve running.

 

Here is a video of my latest ‘toy’, a Heljan class 37 doing the complete circuit. The loco will be painted blue to match the coaches in due course - I could only find a green one left to buy!

 

 

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The combination of RMWeb being Down and the nice weather last week encouraged me to get the garden railway out for the first time this season. I managed to wire in point motors (Cobalt digital IP) which all work nicely and fettle the track to eliminate some annoying derailments. This mainly consisted of putting extra pieces of roofing felt under the track in certain positions to eliminate undulations. I also found that some banking on the curbed sections helped. This was again achieved with strips of roofing felt laid underneath outside edge of the sleepers. I did a lot of test running, most noticeably for my 37 and 20 which I sound fitted over the winter. I found the volume needed turning up outside!

 

Here are some videos of them both working.

 

 


 

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