The Selby Garden Railway Layout

[mick]

After several attempts that never got beyond the planning stage I have finally begun construction of an OO gauge Garden Railway. I was initially tempted by an indoor layout but the additional space available outdoors persuaded me to take up the idea. This website has been constructed to compliment the construction of my garden railway, now named the Selby Garden Railway, and so there has been some progress to date to catch up with.

I have an average sized rear garden available to me which extends along one side of my house giving me sufficient space for an outdoor layout with long sweeping curves. The garden has remained untouched except for the regular routine of mowing the poor quality lawn, since I moved here some years ago, and has been completely devoid of plants other than a few specimens in containers and tubs. The construction of a garden railway serves the purpose of providing somewhere to run my collection of railway models and the opportunity to finally get some plants into the garden.

The photograph below shows how I began construction. The lawn initially extended right up to the fence on the left and so I added some concrete foundations and cemented a single breeze block on end to make a border upon which will be fastened a timber decking board for the track to be affixed. There is a 6ft radius curve at the botom left of the photograph taking the railway onto a viaduct.



This next photograph shows how I have extended the viaduct by adding a second section. The first section comprises 11 arches while the second section adds an additional five arches. Connecting the two sections together will be an iron girder bridge.



The viaduct is inspired by a photograph of the disused 21 arch viaduct at Conisbrough, near Doncaster, Sth Yorkshire, which has 14 arches, then an iron girder bridge spanning the river Don, and finally an additional 7 arch section. To withstand the rigours of the English weather I have compromised on the design and so my model viaduct is only loosely based on the original inspiration.

Finally, the 2 photographs below show the current state of construction. I am in the process of adding foundations for the viaduct which can then be fixed firmly in place. I have also begun coating the walls of the viaduct with exterior Polyfilla which I hope will offer some protection from the weather, although I do intend to keep the viaduct covered when the railway is not in use.



The following photo shows the whole 10ft 6ins of the viaduct. The garden beyond represents about half of the space I have available to me.



More updates and photographs soon.

Mick

[mick]

Today I have been trying to complete the track base ahead of the viaduct.

The image below show a cross section of the track base. Concrete foundations, breeze block, roofing felt to act as a waterproof membrame between the block and the wooden decking board, pressure treated timber fastened along the length of the decking board for extra strength and then the whole top to be covered by more roofing felt. There will eventually be a selection of plants on both sides of the breeze blocks to help blend the railway into the garden.



The next image is a view from the curve looking back in the opposite direction to where the line currently comes to an abrupt halt. I'm looking forward to the time when I can concentrate fully on the planting! You can see here that I have fastened pressure treated battens along the edges of the decking boards which gives some extra width and adds additional strength to the boards. The battens overlap the joins in the decking boards to help keep everything in line.



I have also prepared the plywood that will form the trackbase around the curve just before the viaduct. This comprises a double skin of 12mm exterior (WPBP) plywood using various offcuts of exterior plywood for the bottom layer with the two layers glued and screwed together. Again, a layer of roofing felt sits between the blocks and the timber. The photo below shows the curve in course of construction with the timber left oversize for final trimming once everything is in place. Roofing felt will then be fixed on top.



I've given myself a deadline of the 4th August to have something running end to end along the border and along the top of the viaduct and if the weather holds fine for long enough then that should be possible. Track is on order (just awaiting delivery from Hattons) and I should be about ready to begin laying when it finally arrives.

[mick]

The weather forecast predicted a sunny start to the day with possible showers later in the afternoon so I was up nice and early to begin fastening the wooden track bases to the breeze block base. I've used long rawlplus, the ones you hammer in, and at a spacing of 12 inches apart they have made a good job of securing it. I have also begun covering the straight decking boards with roofing felt using a bitumen adhesive (which according to the tin isn't good for the environment). The plywood curve has not yet been trimmed to size as I want to see how the track positions before making the final cuts. Once that is done the curve will also be covered in roofing felt.

I received my track order from Hattons today and so tomorrow, weather permitting, I will test the track layout around the curve and mark it out for final trimming. Once that is done then operationally at least, the end of phase 1 is in sight. There's still a lot to be done to fully complete this first stage but at least it serves as some motivation and it will be good to see something actually moving.

[mick]

Progress has been almost impossible for the past 2 days due to the weather, a fact which doesn't bode well for the operational aspect once the layout is eventually completed. Heavy rain and showers means the majority of what I have done to date is under wraps and hopefully safe and dry. It's disappointing because I am close to getting this phase of construction completed but without access to the garden there is very little I can do.

[mick]

At last - a day of decent weather and the chance to make some progress.

What most readers don't see are the many niggling little jobs that require completing before any great advances can be made. Sometimes they can make me feel like I'm getting nowhere but now at last I can sense that the end of phase one is in sight. I have managed to complete a lot of those little jobs today which meant I could then progress with the larger more meaningful ones - the ones that make it look as if you've actually made some headway. Today I was told, "You can tell you've done something today" which gees you up a bit.



The photograph above shows much of what I have completed today. Firstly, the whole of the wooden track base has now been covered with roofing felt. This has been fixed down using a cold cure bitumen adhesive coated on to both the wooden base and the rear of the felt and left to go tacky before both faces were brought together and the edges affixed with an endless number of small clout nails. I had to go out and purchase some more! Where the felt has been joined, bitumen has been applied to the join to seal it and also to the outer faces of all the clout nails to help prevent water penetration. I'm not sure if there is anything else I can do to weatherproof the track base so we'll just have to see how it bears up to the elements in due course.

I have also made a start constructing the retaining wall alongside the curved track section. It is my intention to slope the ground up towards the track base to make it appear that the curve is on an embankment. A retaining wall will also be built on the opposite side of the curve and the embankment finally blended in with the viaduct.



The above photo is from the opposite angle and shows the full length of the viaduct. Shortly after this photo was taken I managed to complete covering half of the viaduct face with exterior Polyfilla as well as all of the internal pillars before it started drizzling with rain and I had to cover the viaduct up.



It won't be long before I can finally begin fixing the track down and get something running end to end at least. This is what it looks like with some track on top!

If the weather stays reasonable I should be able to make further progress over the weekend.

[mick]

Despite spending the whole afternoon out in the garden there isn't a great deal of progress to report today. Instead of forging ahead with track laying as originally planned I have decided that the viaduct needs to be completed and so this has become a priority. It is by far the most time-consuming part of the project and I sense that once the viaduct is finished progress with the rest of the railway will be much more rapid.

Having seen photographs of a cast concrete viaduct in model form, I made the decision to enhance mine with a few details. You can see how the appearance of the viaduct has changed in the photograph below.



The face of the viaduct and the pillars have just been sanded after the first application of exterior Polyfilla. Now that the stripwood has been added a second coat of Polyfilla can be applied as smoothly as possible to reduce the need for further sanding. I'm not looking for a perfectly smooth finish. If you are wondering what the long length of stripwood spanning the first 3 arches is for, that's just my way of ensuring that each section is level with the rest. Once the internal strips are in place the front is cut with a fine saw. The smaller section of viaduct has been treated in the same way.

You can also see that since the last photographs I have added a strip of roofing felt along either edge of the curved section of track base. I had originally folded the roofing felt over the edge and trimmed it level with the bottom of the plywood base but as I was watching the rain falling down yesterday it occurred to me that with a bit of a breeze there was the distinct possibility of water running over the edge and being blown beneath the plywood. It should be safe from harm now and the felt will be hidden once some plants are in place.

[mick]

The above photographs are of WD 2-8-0, number 90630, which today became the first locomotive to officially operate on the Selby Garden Railway. She is captured whilst running end to end and with a near empty smoke generator which is why there is barely a whisper of smoke emitting from her chimney. You may have read that 90630 is also fitted with DCC sound and I was very impressed with the sound quality considering it was operating outdoors amid a lot of background noise. The sound was clearly defined and audible whilst not being overly loud and attracting unwanted attention.

Today was also my first encounter with laying flexible track. I decided to use Peco code 100 nickel silver rails and wooden sleepers but not having a proper tool to trim the rails to length I really didn't enjoy the task at all. A junior hacksaw is all but useless on the nickel silver rails so perhaps with a proper cutter my next encounter will be more pleasureable.

The viaduct is nearing completion although there are no new photographs of that today. It has been placed in its final location and partly secured. The main task is now to finish the track base on top of the viaduct and protect it from the rain should it ever get left exposed to the elements.

[mick]

After a wet start to the day, as soon as conditions allowed I was out in the garden to complete track laying.

Prior to that, and whilst it was still raining, I decided to spend my time constructing a wooden tray in which I can keep a rake of 16t mineral wagons. I didn't fancy the idea of taking 30+ wagons out of their boxes only to have to replace them all again at the end of the session so having a few spare pieces of timber and plywood to hand I built a square frame and used the plywood to make a base. I can now keep almost 40 wagons in the one tray without having to worry about wagon boxes anymore so they can go up in the attic out of the way.

First job of the day was to complete the track laying. During my last session I was attempting to cut lengths of flexible track with a junior hacksaw which proved a hopeless task. On the recommendations of a couple of forum members I purchased a 'Dremel' mini drill and using a cutting disc attachment, track cutting is now a breeze and with no more sore finger tips! In no time at all both lines on the curve were completed, as was the whole of the viaduct. All the track bases built in this phase of the construction have now been laid with track.



The image above shows WD 2-8-0 90630 operating on the Selby Garden Railway having just passed the prototype Deltic working on clearance testing with 3 x Mk1 coaches. The WD is hauling a rake of 34 x 16t mineral wagons and 2 x brake vans which posed absolutely no traction problems at all, even on my slightly undulating 'level' track base

As good as a decent spirit level is a long rake of wagons. As soon as the rake of mineral wagons was on track it was clear that my handiwork had not been entirely faultless and a degree of packing had to be carried out to enable a smooth transition from the curved track section onto the viaduct. However, I used this as an excuse to slightly super-elevate the curve which adds to the realism somewhat. 90630 is seen just running onto that 'lifted' section now which does appear more severe in the photograph than it actually is.

For the above photograph, the WD was topped up with smoke oil and with the added bonus of DCC sound this is one truly superb loco which I cannot resist giving a run at every opportunity. I had it running alongside the Hornby sound-fitted 'Duchess' and there really is no comparison. I hope that Hornby get it right for the forthcoming sound-fitted A4 and Black 5!

The Bachmann 'Deltic', obtained through the National Railway Museum, is another excellent loco in all respects. It too spent a great deal of time on track today. It is seen below 'hard at work' with 3 Mk1 coaches in tow being used to gauge clearances around the curve.



I used to have a great passion for photography but just lately I have had very little enthusiasm for getting into the correct positions to capture more exciting images. As time allows I will dust off my tripod and see what sort of images I am able to get of trains working on the Selby Garden Railway.



This one's more promising. I could get back into this.......

[hobby boy]

hi, i'm the second member!

Does that locomotive have a steam generator, or is it overheating?
Nice layout! I wish that i had the space in the garden

Andrew

[mick]

Does that locomotive have a steam generator, or is it overheating?
Nice layout! I wish that i had the space in the garden
Andrew

Hi Andrew and welcome to Selby Garden Railway

Yes, the WD locomotive is fitted with a Seuthe smoke generator (and also a sound chip) and is one of my favourite loco's. I was lucky to find it on ebay at a very reasonable price.

I don't consider my garden to be all that large and I would imagine that most gardens could accommodate a garden railway of some sort. The problem I have found with a layout in the garden is that construction is much slower than with an indoor layout. You can't just nail a few pieces of 2x1 together with a plywood top and start laying track. It's taken me a few weeks so far just to get an 'L' shaped section completed with two running lines totalling just under 30 feet in length. I would add however, that when you see a loco pulling a rake of 30+ wagons round the garden, it is worth all the time and effort involved.