The Rhubarb Triangle Line

[All thumbs]

Looking over my shoulder, SWMBO wondered whether your interest was in LT and your intention was to model the Circle Line? Perhaps with some deep tube stuff crossing diagonally?

[Robpulham]

Looking over my shoulder, SWMBO wondered whether your interest was in LT and your intention was to model the Circle Line? Perhaps with some deep tube stuff crossing diagonally?

No - firmly set in Yorkshire. The name stems from a friend and fellow member GDB teasing me about living in the Rhubarb Triangle in Wakefield.

[Robpulham]

Next we are on to day two of the landscapers efforts

[Robpulham]

Then we move onto day three and it starts to come together. It's a bit photo intensive but I was quite please by this point!

[strang steel]

That is pretty good progress for only a few days. I was getting a bit confused about why the 'earthworks' were needed, but it has just become much clearer in my mind now.

It is amazing what a transformation turf can produce. I am looking forward to seeing the foundation for the railway.

Although, I am wondering about that channel behind the garden seat. Have I missed what that is for?

[Robpulham]

Although, I am wondering about that channel behind the garden seat. Have I missed what that is for?

Thanks John.

The channel is a water course which although it isn't running at the moment, ran most of last year so we have to work around it and incorporate it into the garden. The gravel in the bottom is to ensure that it runs but allow us to be able to walk along without being up to our knees in mud.

We had a similar arrangement before we started on the current revamp of the garden and it works quite well. At a couple of points last year the water ran a couple of inches above the gravel bed.

[strang steel]

Thanks Rob,

I did wonder about it being that, as it seems to be continued into next door under the fence. It would be quite nice to have water there and the railway crossing it on an arched viaduct or something similar - although I do tend to let my imagination run away with me.

[Robpulham]

Day four, the last day of work by the landscapers finished of all the outstanding bits and pieces.

























And last but not least the track plan!

[manna]

G'Day Gents

A grand transformation, in only a couple of days, and certainly an easy maintenance back garden, looking forward to seeing the railway being built.

manna

[jwealleans]

Am I right in guessing that trains emerge from somewhere top left, Rob? If so, have you considered how they get back in there? On that plan they'll have to reverse.

[Robpulham]

Am I right in guessing that trains emerge from somewhere top left, Rob? If so, have you considered how they get back in there? On that plan they'll have to reverse.

Hi Jonathan,

What isn't clear from the plan is that it will be a twin track circle/spur - still not perfect in terms of getting on and off the spur but it's the best that we could do within the confines of what we have. It will still be great to sit and watch trains go by in the sunshine. I hope that getting something moving with this will give be the boost needed to get on with my indoor layout. I can do all the shunting that I want on that one.

[Robpulham]

This next posting just about brings us up to date. Fast forward to last Thursday and the board that I am using for the track bed arrived. These are Medite Tricoya MDF which is guaranteed about ground for 50 years - not cheap at £138 for an 8 x 4 sheet (and they are 8 x 4 not the metric equivalent!). Chris worked out that we could get all that we needed from 4 sheets and she was right....

Thursday and Friday evenings were spent cutting out the curves.













Once they were all cut out we put them together to check that they did indeed make a circle.



We then tested the route around the garden.

[Robpulham]

The rest of the timber and metpost spikes were delivered yesterday morning. So following on from the photo's above, I cut out all the straight sections from some of the off cuts and we then arranged the spikes to see where the posts would go.















The plan to day is to start getting the posts and the supports in place while the weather is still kind.

[strang steel]

Crikey, you don't let the grass grow (pun intended).

But I can understand your enthusiasm to get everything installed, and lay some track. This is beginning to look really impressive.

You are going to have a rather severe gradient though, from the lawn to the top of the water course and vice versa.

[Robpulham]

You are going to have a rather severe gradient though, from the lawn to the top of the water course and vice versa.

Thanks John,

The idea is to start at the top right of the garden at the highest point and them level up from there. At the moment the thinking is that at the lowest point the track bed will be 18" to 24" above the lawn - it may even be higher