Back to Work

After an enforced break in all but the lightest of my modelling activities, I now have permission to step up a grade in the constructon work. So for the past two days I have been extending the garden railway trackbed past the pond.

The trackbed under construction. The pond is to the right in the middle distance.

The concrete embankment was laid some months ago, and the plasticine shuttering was in place for the closest metre in the picture. This was repaired where it had been chewed by a fox, and extended past the site of the seat (temporarily removed to improve access), to the furthest point visible in the picture, which is at the edge of the lawn. The rubbercrete trackbed was extended by about 2 metres, as shown in the picture, but then I ran out of materials. Before I can go any further I will need to procure some more cement and SBR for the rubbercrete.

I am particularly pleased with the effect of the reverse curves; it should look superb with the double track in place and a double-headed 12-coach train snaking round the curves. Although the curves appear sharp, in fact the sharpest is a radius of 5ft.

When the track is laid on this section, it will be as far as I intend to go at this end of the line, until the next phase of work. A removeable support will be provided to allow cassettes (strips of board fitted with a length of track) to be physically aligned and electrically connected. These will allow trains to be "loaded" onto and "unloaded" from the railway.

In another month or two, when I am able to lift heavy loads again, work can restart on extending the other end of the line, at the foot of the garden by the railway fence!

A pack of modelling clay, as used for shuttering the rubbercrete.