I have made a big decision to combine my Model Making blog with this one.
From today regular readers here will also see my model making exploits. I came to the conclusion that this blog is about me and my life, modelling is just one part of that so fits with the scheme. You may notice the heading picture above has changed to reflect this. The normal stuff will continue to get posted, so you get two for one on the blogs..
After ignoring the garden railway for far too long it was time to make a decision, either refurbish the track or take it up. Boats have taken over the modelling time I have, but the onset of warmer weather means garden tidying time. To be fair the track laid in the garden has survived a couple of winters well with little or no maintenance, but the lack of care has taken its toll.
From today regular readers here will also see my model making exploits. I came to the conclusion that this blog is about me and my life, modelling is just one part of that so fits with the scheme. You may notice the heading picture above has changed to reflect this. The normal stuff will continue to get posted, so you get two for one on the blogs..
After ignoring the garden railway for far too long it was time to make a decision, either refurbish the track or take it up. Boats have taken over the modelling time I have, but the onset of warmer weather means garden tidying time. To be fair the track laid in the garden has survived a couple of winters well with little or no maintenance, but the lack of care has taken its toll.
The sections of track that are fixed on thicker depths of concrete have faired the best. The extra support underneath has protected it, in particular in areas where people walk, under the washing line, near the trampoline etc.
Also I had always had problems along the long straight where the track was laid onto flags as it was never really level enough which caused unexpected uncoupling.
These next three pictures are of the loop outside the shed, they show the poor condition of the thin concrete used as ballast. They also show how the track has lifted in some sections as its not held down.
After a lot of thought, I decided the track will stay and this week I have embarked on a Network Rail scale refurbishment program, that will see all the track lifted and relaid.
The first step was to screw 26' of timber onto the flagstones to level out the bumps, this also creates the new higher track level. The curved section were then laid on fine concrete "postfix" designed for fence posts.
After three 2 hour sessions it was all re-laid and trains have run for the first time in months
Finally, I have also added two new pages on the tabs above..Favourite Model Pictures and About Me
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