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The Heatherburn Garden RailwayConstruction Details By Dave Bentley |
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One of the biggest
concerns for me when designing the railway was the construction of the
track bases. Due to our garden being on a slope the trackbed at the top
had to be at ground level. Concrete seemed to be the only option, but
how do you fix the track? There was only two options available: the
tried and tested method using wood strips or Trevor Jones rubbercrete
system. I decided to go with the rubbercrete as i didn't want the
hassel of replacing the wood strips. October 06 I layed the concrete
foundations so I could get the rockery finished in time for spring.
It was on one of those trips to B&Q I spotted the rubber tiles.  These were about
the size of a paving slab and are designed as a floor covering for
childrens play areas. One was purchased and then taken home to
experiment with. The tile was cut into small strips, then cemented on
to
the concrete base checking with a spirit level. The shuttering was then
put back on and a mortar mix was added, encasing the tiles. It is important that you cement the tiles down first before adding the mortar as the tiles like to float on wet cement as I found to my cost whilst trying to cut corners. You have been warned! The  track
was then pinned to the tiles using long panel pins. Finally, the track
had a wet mortar mix brushed over to act as ballast holding the track
secure. The trackbed was coloured using car aerosols then sealed with
Thompsons Water Seal. One feature I wanted was a bridge over the pond. A length of square plastic drainpipe was cut to form two U sections and two straights. These were then glued together with pvc pipe-weld to form a H with the two straight sections used on 
the sides for strengthing. This has provided a strong deck for the
bridge. I'm thinking of adding some support towers made from small
plastic water pipe to give the bridge a moden design to it. I intend to
illuminate the structure at night with blue leds being used as mini
spotlights. The bridge leads into a tunnel
made from 6" plastic waste pipe. The pipe was cut in half at each end
to provide a base  to sit the Hornby
portholes on. These were attached to the pipe using waterproof silicone
sealer. The track is carried through the tunnel on a raised platform
made from some broken cable trunking supported on plastic conti blocks.
This hopefully will allow for drainage in the tunnel. The gaps at the
sides will be filled with strips of black sponge. The good thing with
this method of construction is it allowed the tunnel to be built as a
complete unit before being installed on the rockery.Latest devlopment on the railway is grass! I have found that gaugemaster grass matting can be used sucessfully outdoors. First coat the concrete with clear varnish then the back of the matting. Stick the matting down on the concrete then coat the whole of the grass in clear varnish. Leave to dry overnight and there you have it, grass that feels like a brillo pad yet blends in great with the garden. Oh and it's waterproof too! The other new devlopment is the production of the first video of the railway showing woodham station and the first test trains. |
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