Garden Railway

[emm]

Thanks for the comments and ideas. A few more points to think about.

I have been working on the signal box with the point switch motor inside. I am going to combine a switch idea and a signal box i like the look of. Will hopefully finish the design tomorrow and will post a picture.

Sioka: I saw your lego train that you have just finished building, it looks amazing. When I finish my Garden Railway (Aiming for March next year) your more than welcome to come over and run some trains on the line. It's nice to know i'm not the only lego railfan in cheltenham.

[gifinim]

I haven't got a garden at the moment but I've thought about a Lego garden railway for some time. My plans would be to lay a flat p-way bed and leave it empty. I would only lay the tracks when I wanted to run trains (isn't part of the fun of Lego actually building?). I'd take the tracks indoors when trains weren't running therefore minimising wear & tear from the elements. I'd also leave spaces for modular buildings here & there and they could be brought out as & when needed. Power functions on the trains would get rid of the problem of electricity supply outdoors and also metal corrosion on the track if it rained.

Nice idea for setting the bed and only bringing out the track when you want it. I'm going to have to have another look at the garden tomorrow!

[rebelego]

Why not go up in scale and use LGB track or other track made for garden railways? I have done that, but I have to admit that the main reason was that I wanted a live steam engine. The rolling stock is scratch built using LEGO and wheels from BBB. If you have to move the track in and out, you will end up not using your railway much.

[emm]

Back again,

In reference to the transmitter i stumbled upon this bluetooth solution from an old post.

http://coredevelopersteam.com/

I have e-mailed them to see if you could four of these together. As providing the signals is strong enough it should be ok.

On the track front i have been really thinking about what to use instead of Lego. I really liked the idea of wooden track, then thought about metal.But i have decided i am going to give the lego track ago at least for a year and see what happens. It might be famous last words and this time next year be looking for another solution.

However i will still keep looking at other solutions.

In reference to the points what i have done is combine two ideas that i really liked

Motor Switch - http://www.freelug.o....php?article755

Signal Box - http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=82583

to create what i have below. I had to alter the base to hide the componets. The total cost is £80 excluding the motor.

Next is to order it up and then to design the train station. I am aiming on a modular system to make it easier to pull apart.

Edited October 19, 2019 by emm
Free up space

[JopieK]

@emm, very nice looking, but expensive solution. I use a very cheap servo 2.50€ with a Arduino of about 20 bucks.

[gifinim]

Emm - Glad to hear you've decided to give it a go. Make sure you take lots of pictures to record your progress, and so you can report on any discolouration or other problems with the track. Good luck!

[emm]

So decided to order from Blok brick their GWR Steamer and a few trucks. They arrived today and i only had time to take a small rubbish picture. I am going to build it tonight and will take a better picture and put it up online.

On the control side the bluetooth option http://coredevelopersteam.com/ appears to be a very viable solution. However you can only control one unit from one device. The issue is that as i plan to control two trains i would have to have two seperate devices. However as i plan to control the points by only one system this becomes more of a viable option for that. It uses bluetooth 4.0 and has a 10 meter range. It would have provided a brilliant solution if you could operate more than one from one device.

My question would be has anyone ever used this system? or know of anyone that has had a go at using it?

My thought is that i am trying to do everything with a lego solution or go for a plug and play option. I might come a cropper and have to look for non lego solutions.

I am still hopeful that i can get this all sorted and up and running by March Next Year.

any ideas of thoughts are always welcomed.

Andy

Edited September 2, 2013 by emm

[edsmith0075]

just so you know, i have to use about 3 motors for my horizon. Two work but it does stress a little on the bends. I will be bumping upto 4 motors soon just so i can run 8cars.

I am currently running 2 pf motors with no problems, if anything at full power it derails on turns. If you do decide to use 4 motors let us know how you wire that up as I have only been able to wire a max of 2 pf motors per ir receiver.

[Innion]

Interested to see how it works out! Also, double Horizons mmm nice!

[Brickstarrunner]

If your backyard is small enough, I would suggest laying a tarp over the entire railway. Like sort of tie the tarp's sides along the fence border of your backyard. Think of it as taking four pencils and a handkerchief and making a sort of 'roof' over the layout, except on a much bigger scale. That way the plastic would be protected from harmful elements like sun and rain.

Something like this but making sure there are no gaps between the tarps.

Also, while highly unlikely for many people, I always recommend if they want a garden railway, try doing it in a greenhouse or something. It's got the right environment to raise a large variety of plants as well as sheltering both the plastic and plants from harmful elements, And if the plastic/glass surrounding the structure of the greenhouse is tinted, it would also help reduce the fading of colors on the bricks.

I would also suggest leaving room for expansion. You never know when you would want to add an extra siding, possible branch line, or all around new water feature.

Speaking of which, I would also recommend if you are going to add a pond or any other water feature, take inspiration from G Scale Garden Railways.Depending on how big the pond is and if the funds permit, add in a running water feature, like a small waterfall or something. I know Home Depot sells fountains that look a lot like rock work, which would fit in nicely on a lot of layouts, regardless if they're LEGO or not. If you want the pond to be still, you could try adding some features to it to liven it up. Add in a rowing boat, people fishing, a dock to the side, whatever you can think of. I know I've been inspired by them in one way or another.

Don't be afraid to get creative! Experiment with some things to see if it works or not! I really do hope this project falls through perfectly for you!

[emm]

Hello all, this project is still a go and with NOvember the 1st looming fast all my lego has been packed away ready for the move.

So just a mini update really. The track has been outside now for a bit and i can report no issues to date. The test track will stay outside now until March when i build the track bed.

Station is currently being planned which should hopefully be completed soon.

In terms of the points and motors etc i have decided to look into a quick release system with pins that is used to release body shells from my old 1/10th rc days.

Hopefully more updates soon.