clive_t's Garden Line - The Fall and Rise of the Scampington Chipside Garden Railway

Discussion in 'Members Personal Layouts' started by clive_t, Oct 12, 2016.

  1. Ron

    Ron Full Member

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    Why the gaps between the 'blue' bricks Clive?
     
  2. clive_t

    clive_t Full Member

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    Ron, the gaps will hopefully get filled with mortar when I get round to mixing some up :)
     
  3. SMR CHRIS

    SMR CHRIS Staff Member Moderator

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    Thanks Clive for the photos,
    It really did look good with the trains runing through the small bushes :scratchchin:
    Some nice rolling stock too
    We won't hold the multiple railcars against you some of us have the same disease don't we Paul,Toto, Me :facepalm::avatar:

    Clive how has the rail faired re corrosion etc?? do you use track power or on board battery??
    I'm guessing the rail is all brass so the discolouration is tarnishing?? How hard is it to clean up??
    Lots of questions as I would really like a garden railway and I'm very tempted by one of these at the moment to kick it off
    NSWGR C38 class in 1/32 scale on 45mm track.:hammer:
    [​IMG]Liverpool 2016 Exhibition by CHRIS, on Flickr

    Re the trees,
    It's a good lessen to all starters into the garden railway scene choose your plants carefully as Clive's situation seems not to be uncommon the person at the Garden center sells you it as A Dwarf species only for you to discover that it is a dwarf at 10ft compared to the 20ft if could gave grownup to:facepalm:
     
  4. clive_t

    clive_t Full Member

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    The rails, being brass are largely unaffected by being outside, although oxidation of the surface has presented challenges with electrical pickup. A lack of forethought on my part means that power is fed to the tracks from a single location. This of course has given rise to connectivity issues between track sections. Over time the difficulty in getting a train to complete a circuit unaided has gotten worse due to dirt penetrating the rail joints, something that was a major contributing factor in my abandonment of operations some 6 years ago. I have a possible solution to that, but I need to experiment first before rolling it out over the entire circuit.
     
  5. clive_t

    clive_t Full Member

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    A short video clip from my first running session in 6 years, courtesy of my Vimeo account:

    https://vimeo.com/186099480
     
  6. jakesdad13

    jakesdad13 Staff Member Moderator

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    Thanks for the video Clive, that little loco is like a rocket :giggle:, and the last bit on the "bridge" looked a little precarious :avatar:.

    Cheers, Pete.
     
  7. clive_t

    clive_t Full Member

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    Lol yes, a bit 'nippy', certainly quicker than I would normally want it to run. Unfortunately that length of track had some issues with electrical connectivity, so keeping the speed up was the only way I could get it to ride over the dead spots. Most of my track power locos are fitted with DCC but I need to get all my DCC control stuff set up.
    As you saw at the end of the clip, there are moves afoot to replace the old wooden bridge with something more durable:cool:
    Cheers,
    Clive
     
  8. clive_t

    clive_t Full Member

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    A bit more progress today: replacing one of the dilapidated old wooden bridges with a more modern, hopefully more weatherproof design. Firstly, though, another short trip down 'Memory Lane' - this is how the bridge looked when brand new, back in 2003:

    [​IMG]

    I recall being really proud of this as it was made quite cheaply and easily (from 3 pieces of garden trellis), and it really blended in with the garden. Of course, the problem was always going to be what would happen when the weather took its toll. I guess in a way I should be grateful that it lasted as long as it did.

    As part of the overall task of rebuilding the line, I came up with an idea for replacing it. Some weeks ago I obtained some plastic piping, which seems to be used in preference to copper piping these days, and came up with a basic design:

    [​IMG]

    Then finally today I had some time to make a start on construction:

    [​IMG]

    I decided to make the cross beams wide enough to incorporate a walk-way to the side of the bridge, to add a little visual interest and give some of my figures a place from which to watch the trains!

    There is still a fair amount of work still to be done, but I am quite pleased with how it's worked out so far.
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2018
  9. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    The new bridge is looking good. Great use of tape to mark out the centres and keep them parallel. :thumbs: Looking forward to the finished product.

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  10. clive_t

    clive_t Full Member

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    Thanks Gary. It's very light, much lighter than the old wooden bridge it replaced, and still surprisingly strong. It will need to be if it is to bear the weight of a live-steamer :)

    Cheers,

    Clive
     
  11. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Have you screwed or glued (PVC Solvent Cement) the individual parts together ??

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  12. clive_t

    clive_t Full Member

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    It's all deliberately 'glue free' as I want to be able to take it apart should I ever need to. Having said that, everything is a 'push fit' so it's fairly rigid.
     
  13. SMR CHRIS

    SMR CHRIS Staff Member Moderator

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    The Bridge is looking great Clive looks similar to our Sydney Harbour Bridge on a smaller scale :thumbs:

    Here's a suggestion for lighting the bridge for night running:avatar:

    Attached files [​IMG]
     
  14. clive_t

    clive_t Full Member

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    Uncanny how the copied my design ;)

    A rare opportunity arose today, while wifey took herself and her mother off to London for the day, I took the day off work and set to making some more progress on 'Bridge No 1'. Firstly, some bracing pieces for the top:

    [​IMG]

    Then, some supporting chains:

    [​IMG]

    Finally, for now at least, some 'fence posts' for what will be the walkway:

    [​IMG]
    I have some aluminium mesh for the walkway surface, and some picture-hanging wire for the fencing. Hopefully I will get that added next.
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2018
  15. Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    Excellent. Looks the bees knees. Looking forward to the next instalment.

    :thumbs:
     
  16. paul_l

    paul_l Staff Member Administrator

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    Very effective, as Tom says looking forward to the next bit.

    Paul
     
  17. clive_t

    clive_t Full Member

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    Thanks, both. Still a bit to do on this, not the least of which is painting and weathering.

    The good news is, over the weekend I was able to prove that even before adding the support chains, the bridge is strong enough to take the weight of my heaviest loco - a live-steam Roundhouse 'Lady Anne' 0-6-0:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2018
  18. ianvolvo46

    ianvolvo46 Staff Member Moderator

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    Miniature engineering at its best Clive its and weatherproof ... :tophat::tophat:

    Ian
     
  19. clive_t

    clive_t Full Member

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    Thanks Ian :)

    A modest bit of progress this morning, I wanted to see whether or not my idea would work before committing to doing the whole walkway, so I did just a couple of sections. The walkways are cut from a roll of aluminium mesh, glued on with CA glue.

    [​IMG]

    I'll leave it overnight and have a look tomorrow to see how the glue has fared.
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2018
  20. clive_t

    clive_t Full Member

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    Some more progress today. I had 5 Celcons left unused, so rather than do the Chipside goods area I turned my attention to 'Deweys End' section (see map at the top of the thread).

    This section was initially completed in 2004:

    [​IMG]

    Over time, it evolved slightly, including the addition of a 'private siding' for a pipe manufacturer. This was taken in 2010:

    [​IMG]

    Of course, as with the rest of the line, 6 years of neglect allowed nature to take over, and even the attempt to clear it back in 2015 made little discernible difference. This is how the eastern side looked today, prior to work starting:

    [​IMG]

    Then, for the first time in 12 years, the track was lifted, and the 'weed-proof' covering removed:

    [​IMG]

    Then the last of the blocks were laid:

    [​IMG]

    In doing so, it showed that the blocks that form the station platform were too low, so these needed to be dug up and relaid to maintain the height relative to the track bed.

    With the remaining blocks all bedded in, the track was repositioned. Of course, the opportunity was taken to perform a quick 'system test':

    [​IMG]

    Still a fair way to go, but it's a start!
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2018

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