Construction

The 16mm railway was lifted and the track/stock/locos sold to raise funds. The existing 7 ¼" track (10mm by 20mm steel flat bar) was re-welded to 5" gauge.

As part of the run was along a re-aligned pathway the track had to be sunk flush with the new concrete path - tramway style.

The remainder of the line rests on softwood wooden sleepers (soaked in creosote) ballasted with slate chippings, which fits in with the theme of the garden.

The chippings were obtained directly from a local quarry and worked out at approximately £16 per trailer load (my trailer capacity is 1/3 ton).

All the rail was bent and shaped using a combination of rollers and by hand which proved to be hard work.

Where acute bends were required (for check rails etc) I used an angle grinder to half cut the rail then shape with a hammer. This was welded to steel ties before screwing to the sleepers.

The first point was bought from Maxitrak and assembled as a kit for a 10' radius curve.

This was not as easy as I thought, mainly due to the curvature of the departing line having to be formed just right. In the end the point took nearly ½ day to complete.

When a second point was required (for the extension of the line) I elected to buy extra aluminium rail from Maxitrak and machine it from scratch as I have access to machine tools.

Both points have proved reliable in use, however the use of check rails to guide the wheels through the frogs are essential.

To store the carriage when out of use a breezeblock shed was built at the top of the garden. This was not a straightforward job since a large bank of soil had to be removed before construction started.

The shed also serves as the head shunt for the new extension to the shady garden. This section has been built with aluminium rail on aluminium sleepers and because of the difference of levels with the raised flower beds actually runs on full size railway sleepers.

As room on this section is tight, the curves are short and sharp; however de-railments are surprisingly very rare.