Having lifted the old CVLR (Carron Vale Light Railway) because we had a new 16mm line at York Model Engineers I did not think I would ever again need another garden railway. In April 2022 we moved to a new build house to be near our daughter and granddaughter. I had a bit more space in the garden than at the last house and planned to build a new garden railway at some point.
Having measuring up and drawing some plans I decided that the layout would be done in 2 phases. The first phase would see the part in the back garden finished first; basically the line is approx 61 feet wide with a balloon loop at each end. The old layout was at ground level and in my opinion these do look the most realistic, but getting on in life its more difficult going down on your hand and knees these days! I did not want to use any wood as problems would arise in future years. I decided to use bricks, concrete blocks topped with paving slabs to get a good smooth level surface. I intended the height to be around 14 to 15 inches just a nice height to be able to sit on a chair and put your stock on!
Two years since we moved in I purchased an electric cement mixer and ordered 330 bricks and 60 concrete blocks which were delivered in June 24! I did not really have enough space to get sand and gravel delivered in those big bulk bags so I opted to buy it in manageable plastic bags when I needed it (yes a more expensive way!)
A start was made on 12th June 24 with some soil dug out and pegs knocked in for levels and depths of the footings. I intended the footings to be at least 100mm but in some places I dug too much out so the footings were even thicker!
Through the summer months I started laying the blocks and bricks onto the footings I had laid. When I had done the bit across the patio I cut and cemented contrete slabs on top and experimented with some track to see what it looked like.
The next step was to mark out where the back garden loop was going. The maximum radius I was allowed (without taking the garden over!) was 4 foot (48 inches) I sent for 14 of Wood Valley Works 48 inch gauge radius curve templates which I placed on the lawn and sprayed white marker paint along both edges. Its amazing how much soil one accumulates so many large plastic buckets were bought and filled.
The marked areas were then dug out and pegs knocked in for levels/heights to cement footings in, then bricks/blocks laid and at the beginning of November paving slabs cut to fit and cemented on.
More track laying using the 48 inch templates, then the first loco around the line and no problems. Then on 5/12/24 I laid a short temporay run round loop and tried my long Bowaters coaches around the ballon loop and back, no problems. Phase 1 completed with the cost of building materials £1146. Phase 2 will be put on hold until the winter is over and I’ve got some more pocket money to start it!
Many thanks to Rob & Nicki for giving me some inspiration.
Paul Butler
December 2024
