Introduction

This year marks the nineteenth year of operation on my garden line, the Algonquin Light Railway. This humble little line has two very different modeling themes using two very different scales on two different gauges. It is by no means a complex railway, just a simple loop in very a small space- yet it has provided me countless hours of enjoyment for many years.

Design Philosophy

I live in a suburban row house with a narrow but fairly deep lot. I decided early on that I wanted to retain some lawn for other backyard activities, so that limited the size of the garden railway. The main design requirement for my garden railway was to be able to sit back and watch small, manually controlled live steam powered trains run through the garden unattended. Manually controlled live steamers favor a level railway design, so no grades were planned. As well, all motive power would be live steam, battery or clockwork, so track power was not an issue. I settled on a very simple track plan for two reasons. Firstly, I planned on hand laying my track. The look of hand laid track with wooden ties really appealed to me, albeit quite time consuming to construct. Secondly, I wanted a very reliable railway on which I did not have to spend a lot of time doing track maintenance (I would rather be running trains!). I had visited a number of garden railways over the years and saw huge layouts that had a large amount of track and required a great deal of maintenance-- to the point the owner would give up and the railway deteriorates or it is removed completely. I noticed that many garden railways that I have seen had an overwhelming amount of structures and scenic features crowded into a tight space. They seemed too "busy" to my eye and did not convey the concept of a narrow gauge railway running through the countryside. I wanted to create this atmosphere, even in the small space I had to work with. This would limit the buildings and scenic features I could include to the bare minimum.

The next challenge I had to deal with was the prototypes I was interested in modeling- as mentioned before, two gauges and two very different scales. I was interested in 16 mm scale models of two foot gauge (primarily British) trains, running on O gauge track. As well, I was interested in modeling the 42" gauge Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway in 1/24th scale on gauge 1 track. (The Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway was a tiny 1 and 1/8th mile long railway that ran between two lakes in central Ontario). Visiting garden railways over the years, the really memorable ones (and hence a source of inspiration) were ones in which the builder had tried to make it as individualistic as possible. More often or not, there was a high degree of scratch building or kit bashing of locomotives, rolling stock and structures to give the railway it's own personality. Above all, this is one principle that I wanted to follow- I wanted my railway to be unique and to reflect my particular diverse prototype interests. This pointed me away from using commercial products out of the box as much as possible. Given my interest in 16mm scale (used in the UK and quite rare in North America) combined with my other choice for 1/24th scale gauge 1 of a relatively obscure Canadian gauge prototype, I knew this would be a matter of course.

Road Bed and Track Work

As a result of my design ideas, my layout took the minimalist approach-- a mere loop of track with one passing siding and a steaming bay. The minimum radius is 42 inches and the track is dead-level. The roadbed was designed to keep the track level though the frequent freeze-thaw cycles. Super-spikes, (which are 40 inches long metal posts designed to hold 4 inch by 4 inch wooden fence posts) were driven in to the ground to below the frost line. Short pieces of 4 inch by 4 inch timber were inserted into the top of the Super-spikes and were leveled. Roadbed timbers (2 inch by 6 inch) were screwed to the top of the 4 inch by 4 inch blocks and the track was laid loosely on top. Soil was used to backfill around the support structure and limestone screenings were added as track ballast to hold the track in place laterally (just like the real thing). I ran the limestone screenings through ordinary window screen to remove the fine grain stuff that can reek havoc with wheel bearings. It also improves the drainage characteristics of the ballast as well. Given that the track is often (whether we like it or not) the focal point of the railway, I wanted it to look like the "real thing", only in miniature. Hence, track work is hand-laid code 250 aluminum rail on California redwood ties. The main line is dual gauge (0 and 1). The siding and steaming bay is gauge 0 only. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who teaches computer-aided design. He generated full size templates of the curves and turnouts for me. I assemble the track in sections in front of the TV (pounding in spikes is a mind-numbing chore in my opinion). I was fortunate enough that my basement is large enough that I could assemble the entire layout temporarily on the floor in order to check the track work before it was assembled outside.

Scenery and Plantings

Having designed a simple railway in a very small space did provide challenges for the scenic portion of the garden railway. In fact, for the first year the railway was just track and roadbed, while I decide what approach was best. Essentially, a rather large planter box (9 feet wide band 22 feet long, at an average height of about 8 inches above the lawn) was built around the railway. Having a just a loop of track, I knew that I had to provide some sort of "view breaks" (to make the train disappear for at least few seconds) in order to create interest. Inside each end of the loop, I build a slight rise in height (roughly 8 inches). With plants and shrubs in place, the train would be disappear and reappear from view. I also added a rock cut at one end using large rocks. This would further help with the illusion of a railway running through scenery, not sitting on top of it. Small flat rocks, representing outcroppings were strategically placed around the railway to provide a place to step without damaging the plants when access was needed. When I first built the railway, I intended to put a pond in the centre. As a temporary measure, I installed a frame of garden timbers and added three square patio stones. I never did get around to installing the pond. The centre "pit" has become a popular place for kids and adults to sit (or lie back) and watch the trains travel around them-- very child-like, but altogether enjoyable. As I mentioned before, I wanted to convey the idea of narrow gauge railway travelling lush forest greenery. A key concern was to keep the foliage (especially those near the track and buildings as "scale" as possible. To achieve this, plants were chosen using the highly unscientific "trial and error" method. If it did not die in the first year and looked in scale, I kept it in the garden. A number of miniature evergreens were used, mostly near the centre of the railway to help act as a view-break. I really like the way thyme (miniature and woolly versions, in particular) carpet the ground, so it is used extensively, near the track. Hens and chickens are very useful to retain ballast in place near the edge of the track. There are a number of flowering perennials, chosen for the small size of their flowers. They provide a welcome bit a colour for a few weeks in the spring- usual around the time regular live steam operating sessions start with the local 16mm modelers.

Buildings

On a garden railway of my size, only a few well-chosen structures were possible to convey the railway atmosphere. I was also faced the challenge of having my structures accommodate two different scales. Given the vast difference between 16mm scale and 1/24th, I knew that I would likely have to have two sets of structures that could be brought out and placed on the railway depending on what scale of trains I ran. Two small buildings a commercial shed (for track maintenance crews) and a signal box are used for 16mm operating sessions. The signal box is kit bashed from an Aristocraft elevated watchman's tower. It has a fully detailed interior complete with a scratch built lever frame to control switches and signals. One of the other things that I noticed about a lot of garden railways is that they used the same commercial structures, right out of the box with the same shiny plastic colours. To help hide their commercial ancestry, I painted them both the Algonquin Light Railway's standard building colours- Floquil Depot Buff and Testor's Medium Green. I find that a simple coat of paint on commercial structures and a few extra detail bits goes a long way in making them seem unique. Both these buildings sit on cast concrete bases, with cut stone detail. These were made using Precision Products vacuum-formed plastic sheets of cut stone as a mold for the concrete (a technique I learned from Alan Olsen in Denver many years ago.) For the 1/24th scale Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway structures, I scratch built the railway's tool shed-cum-office in styrene. The water tower was made from wood and brass bits. Inside the wooden tank is a metal tomato sauce can with a brass aquarium air valve to control the water flow. Thus, the tank is fully functional-- filled with distilled water, the water tank can replenish live steamers. Both scales share a common open platform station-- the use of difference detail bits (benches, people, etc) help make it convincing either scale. It is a commercial product, again painted and weathered to given it some individuality.

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

As with most model railways, the locomotives and rolling stock far out number the needs (and I dare say the total length of my track). Live steam locomotives dominate, as this was key factor in the garden railway design. The flagship of the locomotive fleet is a newly-commissioned Shaw Steam Services "Blackadder" coal-fired Fowler 0-6-2 tender locomotive named "SWMBO" (She Who Must Be Obeyed). The roster also includes a Finescale "Dolgoch", an Archangel "Sgt. Murphy", a Roundhouse "Lady Anne", an Accucraft "Superior", an Accucraft "Ruby", a scratchbuilt tram locomotive "Victoria", a Creekside Forge and Foundry Baldwin 0-4-0 and a couple of vintage Mamods, much modified.

I really enjoy scratch building locomotives and rolling stock, some of which are nearly 20 years old, including a "work goose" powered by two of the famous "Stomper" toys. It often provides instant motive power when guests show up and want to see something run. Small two-foot gauge diesels known affectionately as "critters" are a particular weakness of mine (as they seem to take me back to my childhood, when I would watch a tiny 30" gauge diesel locomotive shuttle strings of little wagons at a creosote plant in my hometown). I have amassed an odd assortment of scratch built and kit-bashed critters over the years. I try and keep the length of my trains to under six feet, in order to minimize the "dog chasing it's tail" effect of small loop railways. The Welsh narrow gauge prototype trains are well suited to this requirement. Typical passenger trains run a couple of coaches and perhaps one or two luggage vans, goods (freight) total five or six wagons and guard's van. I have also constructed the necessary 16 mm scale "permanent way" (track maintenance), including a, crane, boom tender, and ballast wagon mostly on surplus metal Mamod wagon chassis. Of course, I really enjoy running trains in the snow so I have a kit bashed snowplow to round out the fleet.

An unusual 16mm scale rolling stock project was the completion of a model of a two foot gauge Canadian prototype train. Although common in the United Kingdom and Maine, two-foot gauge railways were very rare in Canada. Until the late 1980s, a unique little railway operated in the Wainfleet bog near Niagara Falls, hauling peat moss from the bog to a nearby processing plant. My friend Peter Foley has made drawings of the locomotives and rolling stock and I constructed a model of the peat train in 16mm scale. 

For the 1/24th scale 42" gauge, equipment operating on gauge 1, a significant portion of the Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway equipment has been either scratch built or severely kit bashed. More information on my Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway locomotives, rolling stock models can be found here. As garden railways are rarely ever complete, a couple of new rolling stock projects are usually underway on the workbench, as of late, they have been either live steam or clockwork in nature. Also, recently a third scale has appeared on the railway, in the form of vintage British O scale tinplate clockwork from Bassett Lowke and Hornby.

Lessons Learned

One of the critical lessons I learned is that the older you get, the higher you want your garden railway above the ground, particularly if you have to tend to manual control live steamers. If I were to built the railway today, I would have raised it to between 2 and 3 feet off the ground for "operator comfort". One the benefits of a small garden railway is that it takes very little time to maintain (I'd rather be running trains). I usually spent maybe 15 or 20 minutes a week in the summer months maintaining the railway, namely trimming plants and pulling weeds. I am pleasantly surprised how well my hand-laid track has stood up over such a long time. I have had to replace most of the roadbed support timbers (so-called pressure treated lumber seems to rot quite easily and I have replaced them with cedar). I also have to replace a few ties every couple of years. The spikes, aluminum rail and Tenmille switch throws have stood up remarkably well. My ballast seems to disappear regularly each winter and has to be replenished - I suspect that I am unknowingly supplying ballast to a garden railway half way around the world!

Concluding Thoughts

I think one of the reasons I have enjoyed such a simple garden railway for thirteen years is that it has actually given me two garden railways with very different "personalities"-- one in 16mm scale, gauge O and one in 1/24th scale, gauge 1. Can two gauges and two very different scales live happily together on a small garden railway? In my opinion the answer is "yes". I am convinced that a very simple garden railway in a small space can still provide as much enjoyment as a much larger, more complex one for many years. Oh, and the significance of the name "Algonquin Light Railway" you ask? Algonquin Park was one of the first natural parks in Ontario- a vast wilderness area not far from were the real Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway once ran.

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