Garden Railways in G Scale

Over many years now we have often been asked the question by newcomers to the hobby, ‘Where do I begin if I want a garden railway?’. Well in our view, this can be very easily answered with two questions, that any budding garden railway enthusiast will need to consider.

Firstly; one must look at the garden in question, and design a plan for the railway. For most people the railway must co-exist with the garden, and should not be allowed to dominate. This particularly applies to those gardens that are well established with ‘Household Authorities’ that do not look kindly on husbands who want a railway outdoors in my garden! In creating a plan of the railway, this will in turn begin to indicate what type of railway is possible. The track can be laid at ground level, on an embankment, on walling of some sort, in a rockery, on timer decking, or a mixture of any of these common systems. Remember however, that the higher you come off the ground, the more difficult it becomes to integrate the railway into the garden. It is fair to say, that in our experience, most G scale railways are laid near to ground level to help integrate them into the garden.

Secondly; one should ask the question, “What type of railway do I want?” Let me explain what we mean when we ask this question. Because G Scale was started by Lehmann and other large multi-national firms are now involved globally, there is a huge range of product available, and when one walks into a store like GRS, the enthusiast is presented with a bewildering array of locos, rolling stock and accessories. It is all too easy to get carried away, even if funds permit, and start selecting items, which at a later date may prove to be inappropriate. Prototype models are now available from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, UK, USA and a few other countries. The question is therefore do you wish to model your railway on one of these or are you merely going to purchase what you like and not bother with a prototype. In other words do you want to go freelance?

It is quite common practice in G Scale garden railways for the freelance route to be taken. Many people feel that ‘they want to do their own thing’ and create their own theme for their railway empire. Whatever is decided, it is important that this question is answered, because in planning any railway, things like the lengths of sidings and passing loops require to be determined and incorporated into the overall plan. Otherwise the situation could arise were train lengths are too long for the available space.

Having answered the first two questions, you should now be equipped to proceed further with your railway. The next stage is to look in detail at the track and how it is going to be laid. There are currently about seven different track systems available in the UK for 45mm gauge G Scale. A certain amount of subjectivity is going to affect one’s choice, but it should be remembered, that not all systems offer a full range of options in what can be achieved.

Some track systems have a very small range of products with the result, that it is all too easy to arrive at a point where one is unable to achieve one’s goal, without mixing track systems. This is generally not to be recommended, although there are valid exceptions. Suffice to say, that for preference the types of track should be examined in detail together with the requirements of the track layout. Only when all the facts are known and considered, should a decision be made on the type of track. GRS keep all track types in stock, so if you are in any doubt about what to choose, do not be afraid to ask us for advice. We will be only too willing to help you.

The track base is the next item on the agenda. Now if a form of ground level type system is to be used, it is our belief that the track bed can be made up of a number of different materials, depending on what is available locally. Timber sections at least two inches thick such as 3x2, 4x2, and 2x2 can be nailed together to form a bed 5.5-6.0inches wide and then creosoted. Aluminium strip, plastic strip or lawn edging can then be fixed to the side to form a trough 1.5inches deep. Fill with ballast and fix the track down with brass screws roughly every two feet, closer on curves. Tamp ballast into place using a limestone or granite chip about 5-6mm in size. On curves, the timber will have to be cut into suitable short lengths to go round the radius in stages. Before laying always put some weed killer down and a polythene liner to stop weed growth. But remember that liners should have some drainage holes punched in them.

Other materials that can be used for a track base, include bricks, concrete blocks, thermalite blocks, old fence posts, and of course concrete. The latter is particularly useful for extra wide track beds in stations, yards etc. As you can see, most of these materials can be sourced from skips, building sites and such like, so that it is not necessary to spend vast sums of money on track bases. G Scale track is normally laid in loose ballast such as a 5-6mm granite or limestone chip, which is what we supply. This allows for tamping from time to time and helps to take care of ground movement. The track is laid on a small layer of ballast and fixed down with a brass screw every two feet or so. On curves the distance between screws may have to be decreased slightly. The track can then be topped up with ballast. It is not a good idea to fix track and ballast solid with cement mixes or similar as the slightest bit of frost heave will cause disaster.

A word about embankments. If you do use them and wish to create an earth type one say twelve to fifteen inches in height, then it is better to plant ground cover plants rather than grass. In the summer the latter can dry out and shrink from the track base edge causing unsightly gaps. Plants such as Saxifrages, Aubretia, Campanula, small herbs, Snow in Summer and certain types of low growing conifers are all suitable.

However, if you choose to raise your track bed over eighteen inches, timber decking will be required and this will considerably increase your track bed expenditure. Furthermore, it becomes very much harder to landscape your railway into the garden, when the track is raised up. Obviously, some people find it essential to have their railways on bench work, because of their inability to get down to ground level and a choice has then got to be made.

When planning your track circuit and track base it is essential that you know your minimum radius. This is a fact that is going to crop up time and again in your garden railway development. The golden rule when dealing with it is always to use the maximum possible. In this way you will achieve a railway that looks right and less of a toy design. We say this as many people will often use small radius points just because they are cheap and thereby limit themselves to tight radii, which they might otherwise be able to avoid. It is perfectly acceptable for a garden railway to be limited to a small radius by design because of certain space limitations; it is something else if the radii is limited by pointwork, which could otherwise be avoided.

A common question often asked by beginners is what sort of gradient can I have? This is a tricky question as there are some half dozen variables involved in any gradient consideration. Is the gradient on straight or curved track, if curved what is the minimum radius; compensation (does the line undulate); weight and haulage capacity of the loco, weight and rolling resistance of the train? From these questions you will begin to understand the complexity of the original question. However, as a very rough ‘rule of thumb’ for electric traction, one is probably fairly safe with a gradient of 1:25 provided the radius is not below 4.0ft. For live steam that figure would probably have to be about 1:40. The figures are only a very rough estimate, a practical test is to be recommended in every case.

If the garden railway is to be run with track current, it will be necessary to bond the track. We know this is a chore, but you only do it once and it will completely overcome the problem of track current flow and voltage drop outdoors. To do this job, a heavy duty soldering iron 150watt preferably gas fired, will be required, not a blow torch. An electric cable equivalent to a 5amp mains cable, can be used as a source of wire. Chop the wire into short suitable lengths, tin and apply extra flux to the clean rail end before soldering the wire to the rail. Apply two flying leads to one end only of each track panel. The flying leads can then be soldered to the next panel in due course. If you are unsure of this process GRS will be happy to advise and supply the right equipment. There are other methods of over coming the voltage drop problem, but they are second best. Electrolytic paste has a limited life and causes a lot work at renewal time because of all the cleaning to rail ends. Rail clamps and are expensive and are still subject to dirt and corrosion and often have the problem of dissimilar materials leading to further problems.

Some enthusiasts consider that the complete answer to track current problems, is to go down the battery route. Unfortunately this idea is an over simplification to a very old problem. Two big drawbacks to this method are the inability to get all ‘the gubbins’ into small locos and the add-on cost for each loco, particularly if R/C is required. It is our considered opinion, that it is no answer to use a trailing van behind the loco to hold your R/C equipment, because of the limitations, that this imposes on loco movements.

Another false premise put forward in favour of battery traction, is the ability to not have to clean one’s track. This is very dangerous for the following reasons. If you choose to have a garden railway, you are going to have to maintain the permanent way. This includes at the very least for a battery traction user, inspecting your track and brushing off detritus. Furthermore, if you never clean your rails, the build up of ’crud’ on your wheels, will eventually mean a wheel cleaning session, which is many times worse than cleaning the track. Far better to run a track cleaner over the track before you start, which will also remove the detritus and detect any track fixings that may have moved. The latter can and do cause some very expensive derailments.

Whilst on the subject of bad advice, in the track current camp, it is often suggested, that multiple feeds are a good idea, based on advice promulgated for the smaller scales. This is simply not true for garden railways. The voltage drop down any wire used is far greater than the rail. Just consider the cross section area of the rail versus any cable used. It therefore becomes obvious, that it is far better to use the rail as the current supply feed. It is not essential to have isolated sections, as most G Scale locos have on-board switches. If you have a loco without a switch, it is very simple to fit one. Also with the advent of control systems such as ‘Train Engineer’ or ‘MTS’, isolation can be achieved remotely. Thus most wiring becomes obsolete and a big chore in garden railways removed. When one considers all these factors, the so called differences between track current and battery are minimal. In fact it is now possible to have locos fitted with double pole switches to give the best of both worlds quite easily.

Some enthusiasts may decide that they want live steam, either at the start of the proceedings, or at a later stage, when they are more used to working on their railway. Either way is perfectly acceptable and electric locos can be run as well quite happily, but is prudent to see that the steam locos all have insulated wheels, otherwise expensive accidents can ensue. Most people nowadays, require their steam locos to be gas fired and R/C for ease of use and complete control. In fact there is no reason why there should be any difference between slow running of steam or electric models.