The Takasaki Light Railway

After a couple of years of having a garden railway at ground level I noticed a number o f drawbacks to this style of railway.  The main negative point had to be all the weeding and trimming that was needed in order for the track to be clear.  The other major reason for raising the railway was so that it would be more visible.  Looking down on the trains takes a lot from the realism, for me.  In Japan, occasionally there are N-gauge (really small scale) railway TV programmes on TV and we always see the presenters sprawled on the floor so as to be at eye-level with the trains.  I wanted to reduce the time I spend on maintaining the plantlife and also make it easier for me to watch the trains go by from the comfort of an easy chair.

It began with a lot of staring out of the living room window and more time standing in the garden looking at the space I had and thinking of the best way to lay out the track.  I wanted the garden to continue to cater for other activities  such as meals, skipping  (my daughter, not me, well, occasionaly) etc...  I plumped for a squishy L-shape, to be raised up about 30cm , surrounded by a retaining wall.

Here we see the outline cut out with a shallow trench in which the wall is being laid.  Cement blocks for the back sections.  Essential toos are a good shovel and a wheelbarrow. 

The frontal section has bricks similar to the house and gatepost/front wall so as to create a continuity.  Lots o f earth to be dumped in the middle.  T wo small truck-loads of earth were barrowed in with th e help of my father-in-law and a couple of nephews (lots of phewing!!!).

Getting the track level was the next step.  Now for the plants which can be seen in the background around the sides of the walls. 

And:

It will take   plenty more trees and groundcover plants before parts of the railway are hidden , all in good time.