First Steps Outdoors

[ceejaydee]

Is this for real? with a statement like that I sentence you to posting more pictures and building more railway, there hows that for a harsh penalty.

Guilty M'lud

Bought some more ballast today and pro-rata it is ridiculously better value than the Woodland Scenics that I bought for the last layout!

 

[Scale7JB]

Hi Christopher,

Who makes the diesel (looks similar to Harlech Castle on the Ffestiniog)? I rather like that..

My dad has a sizeable amount of LGB in the loft all bout a looong time ago, unfortunately the boss presented restrictions on a garden railway during the recent landscaping.... so its 'still' in the loft..

JB.

 

[iploffy]

JB who's the boss in your house( shouldn't have asked that)

 

[ceejaydee]

Hi Christopher,

Who makes the diesel (looks similar to Harlech Castle on the Ffestiniog)? I rather like that..

My dad has a sizeable amount of LGB in the loft all bout a looong time ago, unfortunately the boss presented restrictions on a garden railway during the recent landscaping.... so its 'still' in the loft..

JB.

Hello JB,
The loco is a Schoma made by LGB, the red version is quite old but I picked it up in very good condition & boxed for around £60 eighteen months or so ago.
I also have a more modern version in orange which is DCC fitted.

Integrate the railway with the garden and you could be onto a winner

Roundhouse Engineering make a very good model of Criccieth Castle in 16mm scale which is very suitable for G and is gauge adjustable.

 

[ceejaydee]

After just 3 weeks of having a basic railway in the garden it is almost a ritual to run a few trains when time and weather permit
I took the opportunity to run one of my Gauge 1 locos yesterday along with all my RTR stock; I like these 16t minerals despite their inherent inaccuracies and whilst they might not bear close scrutiny on an indoor scenic layout they look fine when trundling around the garden - even more so on my little oval
I have some wagon kits to build and haven't had the enthusiasm to do so but I enjoyed running the std gauge far more than I expected so they may appear over winter.

The close-up really emphasises the overscale nature of the code 332 rail when used with 1/32 scale but I am happy with it in the garden.
This four wagon train was more than enough for the Pug with the R1/R2 curves as they are quite heavy with their die-cast underframes so removal of the R1 curves may be on the cards even so soon after the initial build.

However as I start a new job next Tuesday this weekend is all about enjoying some running and not construction so we finish with a shot of the tanker at the end.
Really need a brake van to complete the train - a short wheelbase would be required to get round my curves which would probably be tight enough to get me kicked out of G1MRA if I were still a member

 

[Steve Cook]

Great to see you up and running in the garden and making the most of the sunshine Christopher
I'm liking the variety of stock and scales you are running too, the G1 pug looks like a cracking little thing.
Keep it up
Steve

 

[ceejaydee]

Great to see you up and running in the garden and making the most of the sunshine Christopher
I'm liking the variety of stock and scales you are running too, the G1 pug looks like a cracking little thing.
Keep it up
Steve

Thanks Steve - The Pug was a result of part-exchanging a load of N & OO stock a couple of years back which also brought me a J94 and a few wagons; it needs detailing, glazing, numbering and a crew but it will all come in time.
The gearbox was hastily made ready for ground-level running with some black insulation tape but I will have to build a more permanent enclosure in the longer term.

Another aspect of garden running that I hadn't expected to enjoy so much is the cleaning and servicing of locos and stock after a run; I thought that it would be a chore but tinkering with the Pug on a set of rollers yesterday evening was quite therapeutic

I certainly enjoy running a variety of scales on the same track giving me better value for money.... perhaps I have inadvertently built a scattergun railway

I'm thinking a 7/8" scale Quarry Hunslet would fit in well

 

[ceejaydee]

Another day, another scale
As today will be the last chance to run anything before the weekend I gave something else its first go on the loop.

Handrails not fitted as it needs go back in the box at the end of a run but what a beast!
It even managed the R1 part of the curves with ease although I was not really intending to run the larger locos and stock until the R3 outer loop is built but I just needed a Dark Side fix

Again both items bought with the proceeds from some ebay sales.
I'd love to get some more wagons and a caboose but it would seem that Dragon G Scale no longer list USA Trains rolling stock on their website

I really like the Alco S4 and whilst it took a while to arrive it was well worth the wait.
Will swap the LGB hook 'n' loop couplers for the Knuckle type as I don't need compatibility with my European outline LGB stock.
I love Western Maryland stock and would really like to add a few more items of stock at some point

 

[Jordan]

Ok, NOW I'm jealous..!!!

I do like the sheer variety of stuff you can run on tbat line, though... ... and anyone who's bothered about the rail height would most likely complain that the scenery is overscale, too..
I think the shots of the Pug & 16t's in particular really have some character and atmosphere.

 

[ceejaydee]

Track cleaning today saw a little running. Very pleased that despite relying on the fishplates on all joints bar two I still have good electrical continuity after nearly six months.
If the weather stays good then I'll be changing the R1 curves for something larger over the next few weeks but today it was pleasant simply to have something running whilst planting a few more alpines around the line and attending to some general tidying, drinking tea, dreaming of a larger garden......

 

[ceejaydee]

Ok following my post(s) elsewhere today and discovering that WT can host my pics making the process easier I thought that I'd have a go.



The brown area(s) are not dead plant but rather a miniature fern the name of which I can't seem to find at the moment. It is gradually spreading and when very wet changes from brown to vibrant green yet it remains soft to touch regardless of colour or weather conditions.



So just a couple of quick views to show how the plants have matured and 'filled' out over the past few months.
No trains tonight but when I get a chance to give the lawn a cut and tidy up (just come back from a week holiday earlier today) I'll get some stock out there and take afew more shots.

Thanks to Mickoo for the prompt in regard to photo hosting

 

[ceejaydee]

Ok two more

The plant in the foreground has gone mad; it is a Pratia Pendunculata and grows to around 2" high and can spread out to 18" and is gradually getting there.

 

[mickoo]

Coming along nicely, I have to ask, how do you keep your gravel weed free I seem to be plagued by something that looks like water cress on my gravel at the front of the house, it's a little more coarse than yours but none the less it's a tenacious little weed

I must confess I am seriously tempted by something like this monster ...in true WT scattergun

 

[Dog Star]

... it is a Pratia Pendunculata and grows to around 2" high...

So to the attributes of WT posts, inspiration and entertainment, we can add education (with reference to a recent topic of discussion).

 

[ceejaydee]

Coming along nicely...

Thank you kind Sir

I have to ask, how do you keep your gravel weed free I seem to be plagued by something that looks like water cress on my gravel at the front of the house, it's a little more coarse than yours but none the less it's a tenacious little weed

Like a type of mini shamrock? We do have it in the garden but as the line is laid onto a weedproof membrane and I regularly pull out any weeds from the gravel as they appear.
On such a small line I can weed and clean the track in a very short space of time and often find myself spending a few minutes here and there tinkering around the track and surprisingly I find that every as enjoyable as actually running trains.

I must confess I am seriously tempted by something like this monster ...in true WT scattergun

Oh yes... my curves are too tight for that beastie but I do have a Bachmann Davenport Gas Mechanical and plan to have some suitable stock for it someday

 

[ceejaydee]

So to the attributes of WT posts, inspiration and entertainment, we can add education (with reference to a recent topic of discussion).

Luckily the tag/label hasn't disintegrated on that one yet so I could nip outside and read it

 

[mickoo]

Chris, really, your curves too tight?, I thought these models went round curves as tight as dustbin bottoms

I'm fairly sure the Shay and the recent Baldwin Mallet I was looking at would go round your curves, both are designed in the real world for stupid tight corners and even more so in model form, but as I don't have either or your track I'll bow to your expertise LOL.

I've got two membranes under my gravel, a weed proof one....allegedly! and a thick plastic sheet, but this weed seems to grow within the gravel, probably in the dirt between to be honest, being coarse pitch I suspect there's quite a lot of nooks and crannies it can live and breed in, yours being a finer pitch will not probably trap as much dirt. I'm going to guess yours is 10mm drain shingle, looks just like the 100 Kg I just tipped down around my restored drainage under a collapsed drive yesterday LOL I don't know what the weed is I'll grab a photo of it tomorrow, on second thoughts I wont as it now has a ton of soil on it from above drain works LOL but I expect one of the little critters will be poking out somewhere.

 

[Jordan]

So to the attributes of WT posts, inspiration and entertainment, we can add education (with reference to a recent topic of discussion).

Don't forget the SBB... "Pratia Pendunculata" sounds like something Colonel Iploffy might suffer from...

Great to see this thread updated, Chris!! I'm jealous of that Alco again...!!

 

[ceejaydee]

Chris, really, your curves too tight?, I thought these models went round curves as tight as dustbin bottoms

I'm fairly sure the Shay and the recent Baldwin Mallet I was looking at would go round your curves, both are designed in the real world for stupid tight corners and even more so in model form, but as I don't have either or your track I'll bow to your expertise LOL.

I may be wrong but I think the newer Spectrum 1:20.3 models need larger curves than the standard G or earlier Big Hauler models.

I've got two membranes under my gravel, a weed proof one....allegedly! and a thick plastic sheet, but this weed seems to grow within the gravel, probably in the dirt between to be honest, being coarse pitch I suspect there's quite a lot of nooks and crannies it can live and breed in, yours being a finer pitch will not probably trap as much dirt. I'm going to guess yours is 10mm drain shingle, looks just like the 100 Kg I just tipped down around my restored drainage under a collapsed drive yesterday LOL I don't know what the weed is I'll grab a photo of it tomorrow, on second thoughts I wont as it now has a ton of soil on it from above drain works LOL but I expect one of the little critters will be poking out somewhere.

My 'ballast' is Horticultural coarse grit from a local garden centre but is likely smaller than the 10mm you are using.. probaby 6mm?
I have some of the offending plant growing freely by our fence.... I'll grab a quick shot tomorrow (if we don't have the predicted rain) now I know how easy it is to post piccies

 

[ceejaydee]

Don't forget the SBB... "Pratia Pendunculata" sounds like something Colonel Iploffy might suffer from...

Great to see this thread updated, Chris!! I'm jealous of that Alco again...!!

I have another 40' boxcar and a WM caboose now too
And an F3 hiding out of the way