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History of the Selby Garden Railway |
A fascination for model
railways would ordinarily imply an interest in the full size
railways industry but I have never been a railway enthusiast
despite a railway career spanning more than a quarter of a
century. I was 21 years of age when I began working for British
Railways and discovered that locomotives had numbers on their
sides which were highly prized by 'train spotters'.
I can barely recall the days of steam which makes the fact that
I have such a fondness for steam locomotives all the more
peculiar. I purchased my first model steam locomotive (a
streamlined A4 named 'Seagull' depicted in LNER blue) in about
1982 when my local supermarket was a Hornby stockist. Over the
next 18 years I collected more than 50 model steam locomotives
but at no time did I ever own a model railway layout. My
collection were confined to their boxes, being taken out on rare
occasions for viewing. Sadly, due to the financial implications
of a pending divorce my entire collection had to be sold in 2000
and I was left with only memories of what might have been.
It would be another five years before I regained any sense of
stability in my life and as things finally settled down I was
able to take an interest in model railways once again.
There are very few homes with the necessary space for a
substantial model railway layout and where space is available it
is often in the loft or garage, both of which can be suitable
locations for a layout. However, my loft is totally unsuitable
and doesn't even have the headroom to enable me to stand
upright. My garage is more suitable but is also home to a fridge
freezer, washing machine and tumble drier as well as a whole
host of other items making free access to all corners extremely
difficult. I didn't want to have to compromise on space. I
wanted to be able to depict long rakes of coal wagons being
hauled behind a class 9F 2-10-0 and to be able to watch it
snaking along on its journey. I had read about OO gauge model
railways being constructed in the garden and decided that it
would offer me the space I yearned for as well as the challenge
of regular maintenance that would help to sustain my interest
and enthusiasm. It would also be an opportunity to partly
landscape the garden which has previously been devoid of any
plants.
Whilst an OO gauge model railway in the garden is perfectly
feasible I believe it is best to keep things as simple as
possible to ensure satisfactory operation. I decided from the
outset that points would be used only if absolutely necessary
and hence most of what I have planned is plain track without any
pointwork. I'm not interested in shunting rolling stock so there
really is no need for any points to be located in exposed areas
of the garden. A future planned addition of a garden shed will
mean that points can be included on indoor storage sections.
One architectural feature of the railway landscape which has
always fascinated me are viaducts and from the outset I knew
that I wanted to incorporate a viaduct of some kind into my
model railway. The viaduct will form the focal point of my
railway and hopefully by using plants of a suitable size it can
be made to look as if it is located in a realistic setting.
Again, as with all types of railway modelling outdoors,
especially in the smaller scales, the challenge of construction
and ongoing maintenance is something I look forward to.
I have spent many hours sitting in my back garden trying to
visualise how my model railway would fit into and around my
garden. I am sure it's always advisable to have detailed plans
of what you are trying to accomplish but over the years I have
found that it can be just as successful to make things up as you
go along and even though I have a good idea in my head of what I
am trying to achieve, I am constantly adjusting those ideas. So,
in 2009 with a spell of very warm June weather I visited my
local builders merchant and made a start on the Selby Garden
Railway. You can follow my progress on this website where I will
be publishing regular updates. |
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