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Gauge 1, 2 rail electric garden railway, by Pat Honey.
CHAPTER 7:- BASEBOARDS and TRACK.
For the undercover terminus I am using the conventional heavy duty baseboard of 3/4 inch ply firmly screwed to a 2 inch x 2 inch timber frame, with cross spacers at every 2 ft at a height of 42 inches, supported at the rear by a wall fixed batten from which all levels are taken, then every 6 ft along the front by 3 inch x 2 inch legs, for strength.
For the single line elevated structure around the garden I will be using a system which I have used on other gauge '0' and gauge 1 layouts in the past, some of these have been up for over 15 years without any movement of the track bed being seen.
To assist the reader and to confirm my belief that one picture is worth a thousand words, I have used a sequence of photographs taken in 1986 when Frank Taylor and I assisted Ted Peche to build a reverse loop in his garden at Northwood which was to be used for a single track reversing loop on his '0' gauge line.
As will be evident from the photographs, the system is quite simply a 'box girder' structure using plywood and supported on suitable posts at 4ft intervals, this structure is adaptable to run at ground level and up to a max of 6 ft high and is simple to build using basic tools and is suitable for any Gauge.
Compared with solid timber construction, plywood is cheaper, correctly used will not warp or twist and can be laminated in layers for extra strength and is suitable for forming a nice curved pleasing finish to any garden line.
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CONSTRUCTION.
Second hand 3/4 inch shuttering plywood is often available cheaply from large building sites however if you have to buy new then a builders merchant is often a cheaper source than D.I.Y. outlets.
The posts recommended are 'treated' and pointed 4 inch, rough square sawn for a single line but if a wider baseboard is needed - as it is in my garden section - posts will then be in pairs and 'treated' and pointed 3 inch rough square sawn are adequate, these are best bought direct from a sawmill if possible but failing that a garden or D.I.Y centre will supply - the length is determined by allowing for 2 ft max in the ground plus the expected height of the railway structure.
Tools required:
Crowbar - to make pilot holes in ground.
Sledgehammer, mall or preferably hire a post hole driver.
Large spirit level and if doing a return loop a long true metal 16ft min straight edge if possible, if not then a true long piece of timber will be useful,
4 x "G" clamps of 6 inch min opening.
Electric drill for screw pilot holes and a hand drill with a counter sink bit. Electric jigsaw.
Hand saw, hammers plane and screwdrivers.(preferably powered and cordless).
An old electric iron.
Materials required:
Posts:- type and size as indicated above - to get number required - mark out the intended run of the railway, curving where necessary and start at the end of the structure and allow one for every 4 feet of the proposed route of the railway.
Posts can be bought in varied lengths up to 8 ft but allow for some off cuts for use later as spacers or buy one extra to cut up for this purpose.
Plywood:- calculate on 8 ft x 4 ft standard size sheets.
When length of run known, work out how many 8 ft x 4 inch edging strips will be needed to go along both sides of the structure. i.e.:- 20 yard extension = 60 ft, multiply x 2 = 120 ft of 4 inch strip needed = 15 strips of 8 ft x 4 inches, this amount can be cut out from 1 and a quarter sheets of plywood.
The track bed top of the structure can now be calculated, allowing for either single or double lines, a station or goods loops if desired, and determine how many sheets of ply are needed for this area of top decking - over order rather than skimp. (for simple calculation see top decking item later in this chapter)
Miscellaneous items:- 5 litres of Cuprinal preservative for use on all solid timber, enough cheap roofing felt to cover top deck, lap cement for adhering felt to deck, felt, nails, wood screws:- 2 inch x 8 or 10s, 4 per post plus enough to secure any spacing blocks and to secure the top to the edging.
Assuming that now you have the general idea, we proceed:-
Mark the line of your proposed railway with sticks at precisely 4 ft intervals, following any curves if necessary but sticking to the 4 ft max intervals.
Using the crowbar, make the holes on the centre of the 4 ft post placing. Drive in the posts - do not dig holes for them as they will be much firmer after being driven into a pilot hole the ground.
If on a curve it will be necessary to twist the posts slightly to take account of the curvature.
To avoid splitting posts use a pad or block on the top when driving them. Put them in to a height slightly above that required for the railway and cut off excess later.
Edging strips:- clamp these onto the outside of the posts with the top edge at the required height level - work on both sides evenly as you go - keep checking the levels.
When the edging strips are in the correct position, screw to the posts, ensuring the ends butt together at the centre of each alternate post, or on a spacer (see pic).
Attach all edging strips in parallel and put in spacer blocks at 2 ft intervals on straights or less intervals on curves, flush to the top of the edging strips - this helps to keep the edging strips at same width apart and gives extra attaching points for the top decking.
When the structure complete cut off the tops of the protruding posts, flush to the tops of the edging strips and we are now ready for the decking.
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DECKING.
This will be determined by the requirements of the layout, the solid supporting structure of 4 inch posts and edging will be just under 6 inches wide - it is feasible that this can carry a 10 inch wide top (suitable for double track in gauge 1) - this means an over hang of some 2 inches each side.
Lay ply on top and mark out to suit required decking pieces (straight or curved), and cut to shape with jigsaw and attach to support structure by screwing into the top of the posts and spacers, recessing all screw heads.
Pay particular attention to joins, it is recommended that each join of the decking ply be supported underneath by a spacer block and all corners screwed in to stop any chance of twisting occurring.
The photographs show how easy it is to have junctions taken off the main structure.
Sand down all the ply and shamfer off outside edges of decking and do a final re check of all the levels.
At this stage give the whole structure at least 2 good coats of Cuprinol preservative - if desired a coloured one can be used to match fencing etc, I use Forest Green to blend in with the garden etc.
Felting;- this is a messy but very essential job so be advised to wear some old gloves - most rolls of felt are 1 yard wide, so cut into strips across the roll, the width of the strip you cut should be the width of your top decking plus a 2 inch overhang each side - allow more on any curves.
Cover the top decking with Ruberoid lap cement and lay on the felt strip
Iron this on using an old, preferably a steam, electric iron
and squeeze out all the air under the felt, working from centre outwards, until it lies perfectly - joints must be butted up to each other NOT overlapped.
The edge overhangs can now be bent under and secured underneath the decking - modern brass staples are useful for this or strips of lathe screwed on - remember on curves it will be necessary to make vertical cuts in the felt every 2 inches before bending underneath and securing.
The decking is now ready for the track to be laid, remember to pin sleepers down outside the rails - pinning up the centre can lead to eventual problems with the closing of the gauge in places. Any elevation of the track desired can be done at this stage
Pour water onto the decking and see if any puddles lie about - if so make a simple drain from 2 inches of copper pipe, bevel the top, drill a hole in the decking and pop the drain in and with a hot iron blend the bevelled end into the felt.
Before running any trains consider some sort of fencing or wall at the edges. I have successfully used split pins at every 2 inches and nylon fishing line threaded through and tied tight, enough to hold any derailment but other alternatives can be considered, including fences made from many different materials - use your imagination !.
This system is simple to build, at a reasonable price, and adaptable to most designs, is rigid when completed and not unsightly, can later be planted around and in time will blend in with any garden.
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TRACK.
I have decided to use plastic sleeper nickel silver bullhead rail track supplied by Tenmille (available ready made or in kit form) - (NOTE: - from the electrical point of view Nickel Silver rail has a higher resistance level and therefore is less conductive than Brass BUT the overall visual effect of Nickel rail is much better than brass and the resistance problem is overcome by good bonding at each rail join.) in the staion but all other track outside around the garden will be brass rail.
Points: As my requirement was for somewhat complicated arrangements involving the possibility of 2 x 3 way and a single slip I decided to have these built to order from Markway.
As well as these standard off the shelf items I did require two other specific points to be non standard and I sent drawings of these to Markway and the items were supplied exactly to specification.
As with any railway, take your time with track laying and in Gauge 1 leave a gap of 1/16th of an inch between ends of rails to allow for heat expansion in the summer - do not solder fishplates to rail as this will stop the track from expanding when needed. Where isolated joints are needed I use the plastic insulated fishplates supplied by Tenmille.
For electric railways bonding of lengths of track to each other when laying is essential - some of this can be more easily done on the workbench by soldering tin coppered wire tags to the ends of each rail - to make this easier I made up a structure to hold track on edge when soldering etc (see photograph) and then join and solder the tags together underneath the baseboard later - this method only used where working on the top is difficult - i.e. in the tunnel - but where possible I prefer to "tin" the track ends only, then lay the track and then drill holes into the baseboard and feed the correctly coloured jumper cable up through and solder each end to the side of the rails and avoiding a join under the baseboard. (when ballasted the solder joins to rail are invisible). Both methods give a the required good bonding but allows the track to "move" and expand as necessary.
Inside the annexe I laid the track straight on to the bare plywood and to secure used brass track pins on the outer end of every 4th sleeper, on the outdoor sections a layer of felt is stuck to the ply base and the track is laid on top of this, using more nailing points to stop the felt from wanting to creep - as this is not required to be scenic I doubt if any ballast will be used.
After painting both sides of the rails to simulate rust and dirt, the track is very carefully ballasted with fine bird grit for the main lines and this is secured using PVX watered down white adhesive to which is added some squirts of washing up liquid, which helps the glue mixture to spread better through the ballast, when this has set it is rock hard - so get it right first time - especially leaving the point tie bar operation area free from any solid ballast, finish off these areas with loose ballast.
For the yard and siding areas I am using real sieved ash and coal dust for ground cover, again laid on top of a film of PVA glue.
All the points and signals are electrically operated using the old Hammant and Morgan point motors - these are no longer available new but they can be found by advertising and I recommend they be used if possible, however because of the length of throw needed in Gauge 1 to operate the point and to get enough adequate throw from these I still had to solder a brass extension to lengthen the arm.
I had used these H and M on my old G '0' railway for over 20 years, out of doors, in all weathers and if set up correctly they gave excellent service, with very few failures. Even if they do fail they can be very easily dismantled and cannibalised, even rewiring can be done if needed.
I have not tried any of the modern equivalent point motors but am advised they are not so robust as the H and M and are not so adaptable to the requirements of the larger scale.
All point motors are on the top of the baseboard (this is where good planning makes life easy) and are covered with either buildings or scenery - this is made so that it can be removed for access if needed and at my age I want as little work under the base as possible !.
The other thing to note about the points is the use of live frogs and here I have acquired 2 inch lever micro switches from Maplins which when operated by the movement of the tie bar of the point, switches the feed or return as needed.
The main operating electrics of the layout are described in Chapter 9.
Pat Honey.
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Gallery:
These photographs - taken at different times - are to give you some idea of what was involved in building the structures for DENBURY. I can supply many more on disc to any interested party subject to the condition that they are not used for any commercial purpose whatsoever, without my written consent. Most basic information is on each photograph but for any queries or further information then contact me.
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