First Run and Details

Testing is important in the construction of a railway.  This tiny loop was going to be the primary railway for my little live steam “Cricket” locomotive and any small battery power that was going to visit.  I steamed up the “Cricket” and relaxed with a smile on my face as once again I had steam running around my garden. It had been a few years in between garden railway number one and this one and I felt twenty years younger as the same feeling of satisfaction from the first railway steamup rushed through my memory.

Satisfied with a smooth running railway, it was time to ballast.  I mixed up a batch of crusher fines with anchor cement and brushed it in place.  A fine spray of water then started the setting action of the cement.  At the approach to the cliff edge where the transition to trestle takes place, the edge of the pvc roadbed was visible.  I disguised the edge with some molded scale cement blocks made from a Jig-Stones mold.  These too came from another project that went on hold when I downsized and moved into this house.  I had previously molded up a large batch of the Jig-Stones and there was a box with plenty of pieces just waiting to be used in a project.  I was able to easily pick and choose from what I had on hand to glue in place with “liquid nails” glue.   The pvc roadbed was now no longer visible and I had a very nice stone block wing walls for the bridge.

I wanted the small railway to be a fun and functional railway that represented what you would see on the real C&O today.  Modelling a theme park lets you get away with a lot of things.  You can mix modern figures, the tourists, with western style figures that represent the costumed staff that work the amusement park to the delight of the tourists.  I even put a Yosemite Sam figure on the back of a small caboose to represent a cartoon costumed figure there to entertain the passengers.

I made some cribbing from left over trestle material not only for looks but for function as well.  The prototype has cribbing holding back the hills in a couple of places so it also adds to the idea of modelling the real thing.  A few Pola buildings that I received as donations from friends help add to the scenery and were perfect for the western theme. Since the theme is also mining, I purchased a 1:20.3 scale ore car to add as a decoration near the station.  You’ll also find that at the real Calico as you approach the station to buy your tickets for a ride.

Total time to build the railway amounted to about three full weekends.  Of course, that didn’t happen in three consecutive weekends.  Because of other projects, steamups to attend, other housework and the east coast summer heat & humidity, I spread those weekends over a time span of about four months working a couple of hours at a time.  This also allowed for minor landscape adjustments as I observed how the weather was affecting the railway as the landscaping settled over those months.  The longest consecutive work day was of course, the day before the grand opening at our Garden Railway Society meeting I was hosting.  Having a goal like hosting a meeting is always a big kick to get the railway ready! 

First Visiting Locomotive at the Open House - Sep 2013