Simon
Flying Squad
Embryo G1 Garden line
Blimey, how to follow that
I just looked up SBR (because I hadn't read the packet) and it is apparently "Styrene-Butadiene-Rubber". It is a synthetic rubber which in the form I have bought it is really just an expensive version of diluted PVA (unibond) It has better resistance to damp and is more durable and flexible.
Cliff has used it instead of PVA in ballasting his garden line and although Don Froud's line has been ballasted with PVA I thought it sensible to go for the more durable option. I have used it in some of my concrete mixes and thinking about it ought to be using it in my current trackbed casting, but haven't
Anyway, I managed another section yesterday morning, so here for all you fans of dull pictures of piles of stones....
Preparation:
Done:
Cutting the hedge next to this is going to be a right pain, I think I may have to make a portable wooden "bridge" that straddles the whole thing to make this practical
28ten said:
Blimey, how to follow that
I just looked up SBR (because I hadn't read the packet) and it is apparently "Styrene-Butadiene-Rubber". It is a synthetic rubber which in the form I have bought it is really just an expensive version of diluted PVA (unibond) It has better resistance to damp and is more durable and flexible.
Cliff has used it instead of PVA in ballasting his garden line and although Don Froud's line has been ballasted with PVA I thought it sensible to go for the more durable option. I have used it in some of my concrete mixes and thinking about it ought to be using it in my current trackbed casting, but haven't
Anyway, I managed another section yesterday morning, so here for all you fans of dull pictures of piles of stones....
Preparation:
Done:
Cutting the hedge next to this is going to be a right pain, I think I may have to make a portable wooden "bridge" that straddles the whole thing to make this practical
Phill Dyson
Western Thunderer
Embryo G1 Garden line
I just stand on the track to cut my hedges :laugh: . When you get to the planting stage 'Beggars Gold' is great for the raised wooden trackbed areas & 'New Zealand Burr' is equally great for ground cover on the ground level sections 
BTW What are you going to use as ballast ?
Phill :wave:
I just stand on the track to cut my hedges
:laugh: . When you get to the planting stage 'Beggars Gold' is great for the raised wooden trackbed areas & 'New Zealand Burr' is equally great for ground cover on the ground level sections BTW What are you going to use as ballast ?
Phill :wave:
Simon
Flying Squad
Embryo G1 Garden line
Phill that's brilliant, you just pre empted the question I was going to ask you
I cast another section today, hopefully do another first thing tomorrow and then I am pretty much at the end of the stoned up embankment section. Might have to investigate a garden centre or two with the family over the weekend
Phill Dyson said:I just stand on the track to cut my hedges
BTW What are you going to use as ballast ?
Phill :wave:
Phill that's brilliant, you just pre empted the question I was going to ask you
I cast another section today, hopefully do another first thing tomorrow and then I am pretty much at the end of the stoned up embankment section. Might have to investigate a garden centre or two with the family over the weekend
lancer1027
Western Thunderer
Embryo G1 Garden line
Simon, are you going to bank soil/plants etc up to the edge of the concrete ?
Simon, are you going to bank soil/plants etc up to the edge of the concrete ?
Phill Dyson
Western Thunderer
Embryo G1 Garden line
What are you going to use for ballast Simon ?, I do intend to ballast mine at some point, but unfortunately model railway ballast doesn't come in big sacks :laugh:
What are you going to use for ballast Simon ?, I do intend to ballast mine at some point, but unfortunately model railway ballast doesn't come in big sacks :laugh:
Simon
Flying Squad
Embryo G1 Garden line
A good question and one that I need to sort out.
I was going to use the chippings that flat roofers use, as suggested and used by Don Froud. However, being fussy and looking at Don's track again in detail last summer, the stones appear to me to be too "flat". Given that my line is supposedly withered arm ish, I reckon it would have been ballasted with granite and so this is what I am after. I am discounting all "model railway" ballast on the grounds of cost let alone anything else, Paul Abrams has used granite dust bought from a quarry (40 tons of it apparently!) which he sieved to get rid of dust and also stone above 3.5mm, this yielded 40% usable material apparently. You can see pictures of his (very large) line at http://www.pauls-gaugeone.co.uk, I presume he is using various kitchen type sieves.
I am going to investigate "Grano dust" which I suspect is the same thing or very similar to what Paul bought tons of, although it apparently is not always granite. Round here everything tends to be limestone, for example I have "limestone dust" which I could use, but the colour will look wrong I think.
Cliff Barker sells granite ballast at reasonable prices but it is too big (even for G1).
I reckon the answer lies in the building trade, of course the joke is that with careful sieving I could probably use the bits that were too big for O gauge and you lot could probably use the bits that were too small for me :lol:
What we need is a knowledgable quarry type person, but I reckon Grano dust is worth investigating. It is not expensive in the quantities that we would need it. What is immediately available is influenced by local geology I think :shock:
I would be very interested to hear anyone else's thoughts or experiences on this point.
Phill Dyson said:
A good question and one that I need to sort out.
I was going to use the chippings that flat roofers use, as suggested and used by Don Froud. However, being fussy and looking at Don's track again in detail last summer, the stones appear to me to be too "flat". Given that my line is supposedly withered arm ish, I reckon it would have been ballasted with granite and so this is what I am after. I am discounting all "model railway" ballast on the grounds of cost let alone anything else, Paul Abrams has used granite dust bought from a quarry (40 tons of it apparently!) which he sieved to get rid of dust and also stone above 3.5mm, this yielded 40% usable material apparently. You can see pictures of his (very large) line at http://www.pauls-gaugeone.co.uk, I presume he is using various kitchen type sieves.
I am going to investigate "Grano dust" which I suspect is the same thing or very similar to what Paul bought tons of, although it apparently is not always granite. Round here everything tends to be limestone, for example I have "limestone dust" which I could use, but the colour will look wrong I think.
Cliff Barker sells granite ballast at reasonable prices but it is too big (even for G1).
I reckon the answer lies in the building trade, of course the joke is that with careful sieving I could probably use the bits that were too big for O gauge and you lot could probably use the bits that were too small for me :lol:
What we need is a knowledgable quarry type person, but I reckon Grano dust is worth investigating. It is not expensive in the quantities that we would need it. What is immediately available is influenced by local geology I think :shock:
I would be very interested to hear anyone else's thoughts or experiences on this point.
Simon
Flying Squad
Embryo G1 Garden line
Yes, I intend to lay soil over the stone and would ideally like scale grass to grow :laugh:
So far, suggestions have been "mind your own business" (grows like a weed in some parts but not too fiercely round here) and corsican mint. Also camomile. I am experimenting with moss (god knows there's enough of it in our "lawn") and also a couple of small leaved white flowered weeds - so I don't know really, then there are Phill's suggestions. I do like stuff I can find growing outside garden centres
In general I am not going to worry too much about "scale planting" around the railway, but the embankments are an area that will need something. Again, anyone else's experiences and suggestions would be very welcome.
Apologies for turning Western Thunder into "Gardeners Question Time"
lancer1027 said:
Yes, I intend to lay soil over the stone and would ideally like scale grass to grow :laugh:
So far, suggestions have been "mind your own business" (grows like a weed in some parts but not too fiercely round here) and corsican mint. Also camomile. I am experimenting with moss (god knows there's enough of it in our "lawn") and also a couple of small leaved white flowered weeds - so I don't know really, then there are Phill's suggestions. I do like stuff I can find growing outside garden centres
In general I am not going to worry too much about "scale planting" around the railway, but the embankments are an area that will need something. Again, anyone else's experiences and suggestions would be very welcome.
Apologies for turning Western Thunder into "Gardeners Question Time"
Simon
Flying Squad
Embryo G1 Garden line
In recompense for all my daft gardening questions and pictures of gravel, here are a couple of gratuitous shots of Don Froud's Gauge One garden line which I had the great pleasure to visit and photograph "up close" last September.
It is very nice, and very Great Western, both locos pictured are live steam Aster models.
Actually, maybe his roofing grit is just the thing....
In recompense for all my daft gardening questions and pictures of gravel, here are a couple of gratuitous shots of Don Froud's Gauge One garden line which I had the great pleasure to visit and photograph "up close" last September.
It is very nice, and very Great Western, both locos pictured are live steam Aster models.
Actually, maybe his roofing grit is just the thing....
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
Embryo G1 Garden line
) I'd say 1) Don't be so fussy, and 2) don't look so closely; as the ballast looks fine to me in those pics, and at that sort of viewing distance, the overall impression is the main thing... after all, Phill "Titchmarch"'s line looks fabulous even with the track the way it is... well it does to me... 
After looking at the pics of his layout you've posted (he wouldn't care to join the Forum himself, would he??Simon said:
) I'd say 1) Don't be so fussy, and 2) don't look so closely; as the ballast looks fine to me in those pics, and at that sort of viewing distance, the overall impression is the main thing... after all, Phill "Titchmarch"'s line looks fabulous even with the track the way it is... well it does to me... 
28ten
Guv'nor
Embryo G1 Garden line
I totally agree with Jordan, a garden layout is about impression, its natural colour,vegetation and light that make the difference.
BTW im enjoying these garden layout threads, its something different from the norm
That last shot is a stunner - the lampost is leaning, but who cares? I'm there on the platform waiting for the trainJordan said:After looking at the pics of his layout you've posted (he wouldn't care to join the Forum himself, would he??
I totally agree with Jordan, a garden layout is about impression, its natural colour,vegetation and light that make the difference.
BTW im enjoying these garden layout threads, its something different from the norm
Phill Dyson
Western Thunderer
Embryo G1 Garden line
The plant either side of the track on the Castle pic is 'Beggars Gold', it's dead easy to get cuttings off too (so not many plants to buy ) . I tried 'Mind Your Own Business' without success (too slow growing), same goes for 'Box Hedging'(takes forever to get to baseboard height)
I'm not particularly into gardening myself, but I do like a garden railway to run through a reasonably scale landscape
.
Phill :wave:
The plant either side of the track on the Castle pic is 'Beggars Gold', it's dead easy to get cuttings off too (so not many plants to buy
) . I tried 'Mind Your Own Business' without success (too slow growing), same goes for 'Box Hedging'(takes forever to get to baseboard height) I'm not particularly into gardening myself, but I do like a garden railway to run through a reasonably scale landscape
.Phill :wave:
Simon
Flying Squad
Embryo G1 Garden line
Just to bring this thread back down to earth, today I cast what is be the last section on this part of the railway, bar some sort of abutment to finish off this stone embankmet with a bit of trackbed behind it, the protruding netspike will help tie this last piece in to the main base.
I intend to tidy up the line of some of the edges of the base with my angle grinder.
From here on, the trackbed splits into two and I am going to adopt a different and less heavy method of trackbed construction. This will be a raised base which will depend upon the cooperation of a friend who is a very good welder.
The area to the left in this view is where I would like to excavate a pathway continuing at the level of the chequer blocks in the background, this will require quite a length of walling to contain the earth/base as in the background, although left of this base is also where I would like to lay out the yard.
Thoughts of drastic pruning of ambitions are currently being evaluated.....
Just to bring this thread back down to earth, today I cast what is be the last section on this part of the railway, bar some sort of abutment to finish off this stone embankmet with a bit of trackbed behind it, the protruding netspike will help tie this last piece in to the main base.
I intend to tidy up the line of some of the edges of the base with my angle grinder.
From here on, the trackbed splits into two and I am going to adopt a different and less heavy method of trackbed construction. This will be a raised base which will depend upon the cooperation of a friend who is a very good welder.
The area to the left in this view is where I would like to excavate a pathway continuing at the level of the chequer blocks in the background, this will require quite a length of walling to contain the earth/base as in the background, although left of this base is also where I would like to lay out the yard.
Thoughts of drastic pruning of ambitions are currently being evaluated.....
lancer1027
Western Thunderer
Embryo G1 Garden line
Hi Simon, It looks great. I really love to see pics of people's garden railways in various states of build I find it not only interesting to see how different people use different methods/ideas but also insperational and motivational in my own garden railway ( which however has'nt really started appart from a few wooden posts in the ground :cry: ). Please keep the pics coming. PS i love the track plan, mmmm a junction station :scratch: 
Rob :wave:
Hi Simon, It looks great. I really love to see pics of people's garden railways in various states of build
I find it not only interesting to see how different people use different methods/ideas but also insperational and motivational in my own garden railway ( which however has'nt really started appart from a few wooden posts in the ground :cry: ). Please keep the pics coming. PS i love the track plan, mmmm a junction station :scratch: Rob :wave:
Phill Dyson
Western Thunderer
Embryo G1 Garden line
Hi Simon :wave:
I quite like the look of roofing grit for outdoor ballast, but where do you buy it from ?, I have also had tennis court gravel recommended but I have drawn a blanc on the supply of that one too :?
Cheers Phill :scratch:
Hi Simon :wave:
I quite like the look of roofing grit for outdoor ballast, but where do you buy it from ?, I have also had tennis court gravel recommended but I have drawn a blanc on the supply of that one too :?
Cheers Phill :scratch:
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
Embryo G1 Garden line
lots of potential, I vote for sticking with the original plan you will only build it once.[/quote:1tl8i6pa]
It looks almost deceptively simple... but there's plenty of operating potential there, I reckon!!
Thats a great little plan28ten said:[quote=""lancer1027"":1tl8i6pa] PS i love the track plan, mmmm a junction station :scratch:
Rob :wave:
lots of potential, I vote for sticking with the original plan you will only build it once.[/quote:1tl8i6pa]It looks almost deceptively simple... but there's plenty of operating potential there, I reckon!!
Simon
Flying Squad
Embryo G1 Garden line
Thanks very much for the encouragement That wasn't quite what was going on when Mrs Simon "reviewed progress" yesterday... 
I am now into some serious gardening, having found a pond to buy yesterday. It is being delivered next week (its not that big but being rigid wouldn't fit in the vehicle) so today's job is to move some shrubs and start digging a large hole. The boys are reading about fish and water plants and I am working out how to lay the additional wiring required for the pond pump
Railwaywise I am sticking with the plan, except that I am going to move the lead into the yard to the "left" which will allow direct running in and out of all the sidings. The reason for doing this is to do with the shape of the track base in relation to the garden at this point. I also intend to add a point and spur at the "right hand" end of the loop on the continuous run as it is a goods/shunting loop and would have had some sort of trap at this point.
Off to get my shovel......
Thanks very much for the encouragement
That wasn't quite what was going on when Mrs Simon "reviewed progress" yesterday... I am now into some serious gardening, having found a pond to buy yesterday. It is being delivered next week (its not that big but being rigid wouldn't fit in the vehicle) so today's job is to move some shrubs and start digging a large hole. The boys are reading about fish and water plants and I am working out how to lay the additional wiring required for the pond pump
Railwaywise I am sticking with the plan, except that I am going to move the lead into the yard to the "left" which will allow direct running in and out of all the sidings. The reason for doing this is to do with the shape of the track base in relation to the garden at this point. I also intend to add a point and spur at the "right hand" end of the loop on the continuous run as it is a goods/shunting loop and would have had some sort of trap at this point.
Off to get my shovel......