Tour of the Line |
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Drawing not to scale - see whole garden picture for a better idea of the set up

| Picture 1 The station. The double track is made up from the two loops. As the inner loop is folded over on itself it means that if you use the crossover points you actually turn the train around. |
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| Picture 2 The tunnel Originally this was going to be just a retaining wall (left) and a lean to shed structure. The aquisition of a cement mixer opened up all sorts of possibilites including the concrete floor and retaining wall on the right. The other side of the brick wall was tanked before back filling. A drain was also incorporated at the base to stop any chance of water pressure build up. The upper half of the right wall is Durox lightweight blocks. |
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| Picture 3 The shed The two tracks are to be set in to a sand and cement screed to make it easier to walk on. The use of track circuiting means that we cannot weld the rails together. The crack in the wall is due to bad design and the heavy load we put on the shelves above. The lump of steel on the right of the picture is now taking the load.. |
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| Picture 4 The inner loop pulls away to the left just out of the shed. To achieve this it carries on with its 10' radius until it lines up with the crossover line. The steaming bay on the left contains a small ash pit. This is the only siding on the line at the moment but things are a changing - watch this space. Next picture taken of track to the left. One after that is taken looking straight on. |
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| Picture 5 Inner loop This shot is looking back towards the bottom end on the station. Eventually the footbridge path will cross the pond aswell. In trying to keep the footbridge looking right he handrail is a little low for adults. Still a good view point of the garden from the top. |
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| Picture 6 Outer loop While the shed base was being constructed the opportunity was taken to build a new pond. The edge of the pond was cast in concrete to avoid the edging stones dropping in. |
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| Picture 7 Crossover No.1 Although the inner loop starts on the outside it crosses over the outer loop before heading up to the station area. This crossing was constructed by knotching rail and welding the cross rail pieces up against it. The whole crossing was welded on to a steel plate . Although no check rails were included both crossings have performed very well. |
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| Picture 8 Bottom Points Inner and outer loop join up here. |
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| Picture 9 House end curve This is an 11' radius curve. Originally this was 2 " higher than the existing path. In hindsight it should have been another 2" higher as the line drops at both end of the curve. A steep incline on a curve is not ideal. |
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| Picture 10 Lawn The line meanders up the right hand side of the lawn. The curving track lets the line slowly reveal itself. |
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| Picture 11 Upper Points and crossover no.2 Back into the station again. On open days we lock the points so trains on both loops go through the station before entering the tunnel. As clearance is tight trains passing in the opposite direction could be a bit of a liability. |
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Picture 12 Although an old picture this shows the inner loop crossing over the garden, running in the path. |
Any thing I missed - questions? - just ask.