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Background page
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Background
I have been interested in steam railways for as long as I can remember. I started with tin-plate Hornby (wish I had kept them) and progressed to 16mm live steam. After spending a number of years as a volunteer on The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway, I returned to the garden to rebuild my 16mm line however I realised how expensive this scale was becoming, especially if you wanted coal-fired locomotives and so I started looking at other scales.
After some time searching the internet in 2003, I discovered several excellent sites for 5" gauge which encouraged me to consider this gauge. I had thought that it would be a lot more expensive than 16mm, however I was surprised to find that track kits could be purchased for around twice the price of 16mm track (metre for metre). Narrow gauge outline locos in in 5" also seemed comparatively priced especially considering the sheer size of the finished model.
The next big problem was how to fit the railway in our garden. We have a corner plot and unconventionally our garden is "landscape" rather than "portrait" (see schematic). I also had a functioning 16mm railway at one end of the garden and so my initial thoughts were squeeze the 5" at the other end of the garden, however after initial trials I really wanted a continuous circuit so the 16mm railway has to go. Maxitrak suggest an eight foot minimum radius curves for their small locomotives, however I have just enough room for ten foot minimum radius curves. I must stress that this is a compromise and that larger radius curves are strongly recommended.
I took the plunge and ordered a Maxitrak Ruston kit and a couple of track panels to run the finished loco on. You can elect to have the kit delivered complete or in stages, which helps spread the cost and the construction time. The kit went together easily even with my limited engineering and electrical skills. If you wish, you can have the kit pre-painted or you can attempt the paint job yourself. Whilst waiting for the kit to arrive I set to and built a wagon to my own design and a driving truck to a design by Chris Rennie (see Corris Hill Railway and Rolling stock page)
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