Track Bed Construction on the Barna Railway

"Track bed construction"

Before I began building my G scale garden railway I did a lot of planning and measuring to ensure the railway would fit neatly into the 30ft. x 30ft. garden. When building a garden railway always try to use the largest radius curve that you can and for me this was 4ft. so I bought four LGB R3 curved sections and two straight sections to help with the planning stage. When I was happy with the design on paper, it was time to start building the track bed around the garden. There are many methods of track bed construction, from laying the track directly onto ballast at ground level or a raised track bed supported by posts.

My own method of construction was determined by the natural gradients of the garden and the features within the garden. The track bed varies in height from 5 to 3 inches off the ground, this allowed the railway to run along the front of the decking and enter the flowerbeds at ground level.

The track bed is constructed using tanalised decking planks, supported on timber blocks. Two planks were laid side by side one for each track and a gap was left to allow for drainage and cables. The tracks in the picture are the four LGB R3 curved sections that were used for setting out the curves.

With the decking planks in position they were covered with a light grade mineral felt to provide a good surface for the track to sit on and to protect the decking planks from the weather.

The mineral felt will hold rain water on its surface, so a slight tilt across the track bed will allow the water to drain away. I was able to cut drainage holes in the middle of the felt and cover them with a plastic mesh to stop the ballast from falling through.

This method of track bed construction was used right around the garden.

This picture shows the track bed curving around the shed, the decking planks were cut into wedge shapes and placed together to make the curves. Its a bit harder to do but it turned out well.

The track goes into the shed at the top of the picture to allow trains to be stored and serviced when not in use.

Finally, a before and after shot showing the flower bed, or what's left of it, cleared of plants to allow the track bed to make its way around behind the large conifer. The track along the fence is a single line section.

That's the track bed completed, the next stage of construction was building the two tunnels. This was done before the I laid the track to prevent any damage from falling rocks...! click the tunnel construction link at the bottom of this page.

Click on the contact me link if you have any questions or comments.

Tunnel Construction >>

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