How I laid the track and landscaped behind the workshop

In this post I describe in a nutshell how I create my trackbed, lay my track, ballast it and landscape the garden around it. It also demonstrates that the approach I use to creating my trackbed is durable and also readily adaptable, should changes need to be made. I'm not saying my approaches are the best or only way of doing things, but I for one am always interested in seeing how others go about the garden railway modelling process. So, I hope you might find it of interest.

As you can see from the plan of the railway, part of the line passes behind the sheds (top left corner).

 

This section of the railway has become neglected over the past fifteen years since the track was laid. After all, it's out of sight and so out of mind. After dismantling the sheds and replacing them with a brand, spanking new bespoke workshop (see How I constructed the workshop), I turned my attention to the track behind it. Over the years, the trackbed had sunk by a few centimetres in the middle as the blocks settled .......

...... and so I decided it was time this part of the railway received some attention.

The first job was to lift the track. This was easily accomplished as it was held down at intervals by screws screwed into plastic rawlplugs. Some of the screws had corroded and so the holes in the sleepers into which they were inserted were enlarged to allow the heads to pass through.

The blocks were then lifted. As they were not concreted in place, this was a relatively easy process. A shallow trench (approx 8" (20cm) deep, was dug along the line of the edge of the trackbed.......

...... and garden canes tapped into place at around three foot (one metre) intervals to show the height of the new trackbed. A long builders' spirit level was used to ensure each cane was level with its neighbour and with the existing trackbed at either end.

A six inch (15cm) foundation layer of  'crush and run' (aka crusher run, quarry process (QP) or dense grade aggregate (DGA) ie pulverized stone and stone dust) was then put into the trench and pummelled flat (with the heel of my boot).

A layer of concrete (three parts sand to one part cement) was then trowelled on top of the crusher run and a course of bricks laid on top, to within a breeze-block's width (4" or 10cm) of the top of the canes - plus another 10mm for the thickness of a layer of mortar.

At the leftmost end of the section, where the copper mine branch diverges, two course of bricks were laid as the ground sloped away slightly more.

 The concrete was left for around five days to set and then the breeze blocks were laid on top on a 10mm (ish) layer of concrete. Soil was then in-filled behind the blocks to bring the garden back up to its original level (the workshop was slightly lower as the ground slopes away from the rear to the front).

Rather than concreting the blocks together, a dry mix of sand and cement was brushed into the gaps between them to discourage weed growth. The trackbed was left for three days .......

...... and then the track was relaid. Plastic rawlplugs were inserted into holes drilled in the blocks at roughly 3' (1m) intervals and the track fixed down with stainless steel screws (I'm learning from prior experience). Expansion gaps of approx 5mm were left between the lengths of rail as the temperature when the track was laid was only around 5C.

Paving slabs were laid on sand (for ease of levelling) beside the new trackbed as this area can become muddy during wet weather.

As the leftmost section had now become more visible owing to reducing the height of the hedge which formerly hid the ramshackle sheds from view, I decided to landscape it. Chunks of local sandstone were selected and dug in beside the breeze blocks to act as the sides of cuttings.

Soil was then loosely piled up behind them.

The sandstone blocks were then fixed into place with concrete (forced in between the blocks with a trowel and rubber-gloved hands). The track was then ballasted with a 3:1 mix of horticultural potting grit and cement, brushed into place while dry and then watered with the rose of a watering can.

When the concrete had set, more soil was dug in behind the sandstone blocks to bring it up the the height of the surrounding landscape.

Once the soil has settled, it will be planted with shade-loving plants as this area does not see a lot of sunlight. As you can see, moss grows freely on the rocks in my garden and so before long it will be difficult to see where the new joins the old.

Although this is only a small section of the complete layout, I am pleased that I have been able to expose and landscape what was a hidden and somewhat neglected corner of the garden.

In time, I hope I will be able to use this part of the garden for photos and video clips, though I will have to position the camera carefully to avoid the adjacent fence, workshop and from this angle, the house in the distance.

 Other related posts you might find of interest:

• How I cast two overbridges from concrete
• How I ballast my track
• How I created the copper mine branchline