Practical Considerations.
Whether one is just commencing a garden railway, or seeking to upgrade an existing one, adherence to the prototype will raise many dilemmas for the modeller. The following list is provided as a check-list of some of the recurrent issues that may require early decisions. (The links in brackets [ ] are to pages that may provide further assistance)
Scale and Gauge [1 ]
Which gauge is to be adopted?
Standard Gauge
Narrow Gauge
Which gauge
What scale will be used? [1 ] [2]
Motive power
What type of motive power is to be used? [1 ]
Live steam
Meths fired [1 ]
Gas fired
Coal fired
Electric
Track power
On board
What type of locomotives will be used?
Scale model
Generic type adapted to suit scale and prototype [1 ]
How are the locomotives to be sourced?
Commercial
Home built
Kit
Scratch
What type of construction will be acceptable?
Using only materials and power source as is prototype for the model
Using non-prototype based power source and materials
What condition will locomotives be presented in?
As new
Slightly
Heavily
Rolling stock
What types of rolling stock will be used?
Models of actual prototypes
Based on actual prototypes
Plausible generic models
How is the rolling stock to be sourced?
Commercial
Home built
Kit
What type of construction will be acceptable?
Using only materials and construction is prototype for the model
Using non-prototype based materials and construction
What condition will stock be presented in?
As new
Slightly
Heavily
Trackwork
How will the trackwork be sourced?
Commercial
Home built
Using entirely bought components
Using partly home-made components
(rail probably needs to be bought)
What type of track work will be used?
Flat bottom rail
Bulhead rail
plastic sleepers with moulded chairs
wooden sleepers
with battens
without battens
spiked track
plastic chairs,
metal chairs
How will the track be ballasted?
Loose
Bonded
Rowlands mix
Other
How will points be operated?
Finger prodded
Electric motors
Point rodding
With point and signal interlocking?
Local levers
Facing point locks?
Railway infrastructure
Scale planting
Undergrowth
Bridges
Railway related [1 ]
Single non-railway buildings
Larger developments/ entire villages
Roads
Signs [1 ]
Signals
Working
Ornamental
How will the infrastructure be modelled?
Models of actual prototypes
Based on actual prototypes
Generic
How will the items be sourced?
Comercial
Home built
Kit
What type of construction will be acceptable?
Using only materials and construction as prototype for the model [1 ]
Using non-prototype based materials and construction [1 ]
What condition will the infrastructure be presented in?
As new
Weathered
Dilapidated
What scale will the structures be?
True scale
Loading gauge authentic to prototype
Adapted to fit the space
Railway environs (immediate neighbourhood)
How will the railway be fitted into the existing environment? [1 ] [2] [3]
Ground level
Bordered from the garden
Blended into the garden
Raised level
On stilts and board
On a wall
On a raised bed
Bordered from the garden
Blended into the garden
Landscape (location)
How will the landscape be portrayed?
absolute scale
representative of the real thing
generic landscape
Railway Operation
How will the railway be operated?
Circuit
One direction only
Both directions
Token,
Staff,
One-engine-in-steam
End to end
Token,
Staff,
One-engine-in-steam
Railway operation (passenger, freight, maintenance)
How will train movements be controlled?
Timetables
Scale time
Traffic movements
Ad hoc
How will staff passengers/loads be handled?
Wagons,empties/loaded
Passengers in coaches
Crew on locos
Staff at stations
Background
Has the railway a history?
Real conception of an actual line [1 ]
Imaginary conception of the line [1 ]
Factual account of the reasons
Story telling
Human aspect of the line
None
Period setting
Is the railway to be set in a particular period? [1 ]
Victorian,
Edwardian
1920's/30's etc.
1950s/60's etc.
Today
Working
Preserved