Evolution of a (small) Garden Railway - the BCR 2014-2018 

Thank you for your comment. The engines are nice but I could do much better with the planting!

Many thanks.

Many thanks for the compliment - I've enjoyed building the railway and running the trains. Get yourself a live-steamer - I'm sure you won't regret it just as long as you appreciate that they are proper working steam machines and, like all of their ilk, appear sometimes to have minds of their own and decide to have trantrums!!

You are quite correct! I did buy those bits from you. Hopefully, you are reassured that they are in save hands! Steam last went through the portals yesterday (Friday)!

Hi, the line has remained broadly the same; space constraints prevent it from expanding further. However, the link which formed a triangle on the circle at the house end has gone and three sidings are now in place here and going back towards the house instead. This has increased the 'play' value immensely! I also recently eased one of the reverse curves on the common link between the two circles to reduce buffer lock caused by the long overhang on the SAR bogie wagons.

@@gosportgricer8806 Great to see your layout expanding and the planting maturing. Excellent filming as well - good job!

@@gosportgricer8806 Hi Cousin! It would be great to see an updated video if you have the time. Take care and God bless. Prayers from all of us.

Thank you for your kind comment.

Glad you liked the video.

HI. Thank you for your comment and interest. Most of my buildings stay out all year. In my part of Britain, the summers are not really hot nor the winters really cold so it doesn't really affect them. The painted structures have a coating of acrylic varnish to reduce the rate at which the rain will wash the paint away. The track too is very sturdy and is designed to be left outside without coverings. The track is made by the PECO company.

Many thanks for your comment. I believe that 'OO'-gauge track and trains will run in the garden, the maintenance and railhead cleaning can be a chore? However, the benefit is that full length trains can be given a decent run as most gardens are larger than an indoor layout. The attractions of running a mini steam locomotive is what drew me into the garden and ever since then, most of my 'OO' and '00-9' stock is either in boxes (rarely seen let alone run) or sold-off. Good luck with your project.

Thanks for the comments. In terms of Filcris try their website: www.filcris.co.uk/category/garden/garden-railway-products

Many thanks for your comment. I used PECO SM32 trackwork. It has plastic sleepers and nickel-silver rail and is pretty robust. Whilst I avoided walking directly on the track, whenever I had to stand on it it appeared to take my weight. Just be careful to note that SM32 track is NOT the same as 'O'-gauge track used by 7mm-scale finescale modellers on baseboards etc. With SM32 the rail section is much deeper (to allow deeper wheel flanges on SM32 stock) and if you use 'O'-gauge rail, the flanges of your RW Janet are likely to bounce along the sleepers and rail chairs. This is the track you want: peco-uk.com/collections/sm-32-32mm Good luck with your railway!

Hello Rod, many thanks for your kind comments. Is Filcris expensive? As I developed my railway in 3 stages spread out over a few years, that is a difficult question. Yes, it was probably more expensive than timber but, as the railway was low to the ground, I didn't seem to have many problems with expansion / contraction in summer heat as some people have experienced. The Filcris did not rot and, as I was able to dismantle all the structure on moving house, I now have a stock of material stacked up waiting to be reused. I guess you have seen their website - www.filcris.co.uk/category/garden/garden-railway-products. It should be relatively straight-forward to price-up what you need? An alternative thought might be to do what I did - start with a basic circuit and build more over the years which will spread the cost. Good luck!

@@gosportgricer8806 That's very sensible to start small-scale to gradually expand ... Exactly what I thought when watching your great Video. And exactly the way successful prototype companies grew in reality. You're a true Railway MODELler in every aspect. 👍👍👍

Thank you for your comment. The first loco is an Accurcraft 'Edrig', an 0-4-0T live-steam loco, fired by butane gas, via a poker burner. The design is simple but was discontinued several years ago, replaced by a model called 'Ragleth' that has itself now been replaced by the 'Talgarth' and 'Sabrina'.

Thanks for your comment. All the steam engines are real steam engines - ie boil water by burning gas or coal - and so the sound they make is real steam exiting real cylinders and 'chuffing' as it goes through the blast pipe. The 'diesel-outline' models are battery-powered.

@@gosportgricer8806 Wow, that's really cool, I didn't expect it to be possible to have such small steam engines that really work and sound so great!

Thanks for your comment. Good luck with you garden railway - I hope you and your dad get a lot of pleasure from it!

@@gosportgricer8806 we've just got the main base down, next is wood, then roofing felt. aiming to run first train at easter.

Thanks for the comment. The locos are a mixture of steam (fired by butane gas or coal (1 loco)) or battery electric.

Hi Mark, I used their standard posts (20mmX20mm (??)) and cut them to the length I thought I needed. There is probably between 150-200mm underground and cemented in using Postcrete. I've found filcris to be excellent although I would not build an elevated line out of the material without adequate bracing as I'm am sure it will warp quite quickly. However, I found find that the 'rowlands mix' ballast didn't last very long on the rail deck as it failed to bond with the plastic.

Thank you for your comment. Real steam is much better than electric-power; well I think it is!