The K-Zone: Garden railway mark III: trackwork and bridges
On this railway I am using the same track-laying technique that turned
out to be quite succesful on our previous one. We lay the track loose
and check that trains run OK. Then we pack soil underneath and around
the sleepers to hold everything in position. We mix coarse
grit and cement in about 20:1 proportions, and pack it between
and around the sleepers, then brush it down so that the grit does
not foul the rails. Finally, when we can see that trains run smoothly,
we dampen the cement/grit mixture, which sets the cement. This forms
a rigid, but not completely permanent, trackbed.
Having willing assistants doesn't always make the job easier. However,
even the youngest railway engineers can slap a coat of primer on a metal
girder bridge
Unlike our previous railway, which had `vanity bridges', that is,
bridges placed because they looked nice, this one requires
bridges that work. There are at present spans on the railway, of
between 20 and 36 inches. In due course I hope to construct wooden
truss bridges for each of these locations, but winter is coming and
time isn't on my side. In the meantime, for two of the three bridges
we are using metal girder bridge
sidepieces screwed to chipboard bases. The girder bridge sides are
from Garden Railway Specialists of Princes Risborough. They aren't
cheap, but one pair of girders is long enough to make two small
bridges (with a bit of hacksaw work), so the price doesn't
work out too bad. And they look sufficiently
good that it won't matter if I'm unable to construct the `real'
bridges any time soon. The chipboard is a left-over from flooring
the loft.
A quick-and-dirty wooden bridge -- costs under a tenner and
built in a hour
