Building the Glendoric Estate Railway

This is the first of three planned articles about the new 18" gauge Glendoric Estate Railway renamed from the former 24" gauge Glendoric Tramway. After something like three years of rudderless modeling in 7/8” and going off on more tangents than sparks off of a Catherine wheel, I have finally decided what I want the line to be. Let me say right away that I do not believe there is a right or a wrong concept in the world of 7/8” modeling. The following describes what is right for me:

  • Whilst it may be a freelance model, it must have a plausible imaginary purpose with a “local” angle.

  • The track plan must be appropriate to the above purpose, and be capable of being operated rather than just being a backdrop to run models on.

  • The line must have some consistency of character to it. Any buildings directly associated with the line should have a distinct “corporate image”, and most of the stock should be built to a fairly consistent style.

  • The line must be simple in layout, with a minimum of buildings and structures to avoid a crowded feel.

    The width available for my right-of-way is very narrow, often as little as 130mm (6 inches approx), and about 600mm (two feet) at the widest point. This means that gauge 1 does not look as narrow as it should in 7/8” scale. I also began to realize that real 18” gauge lines had much more of the character and feel that I wanted to model; so, the momentous decision was taken to re-gauge the complete line to 32mm, O Gauge.

    The imaginary history and purpose of the line begins in the late 1800s, when the Glendoric Estate near Aberdeen, Scotland built a horse-drawn 24” gauge tramway to take peat cuttings from the moors to the Gendoric Distillery. During the early 1900s the estate diversified into timber, and also began operations with small steam and internal combustion engines; however, by the end of WW2 the tramway had ceased operations and was basically left to rot.

    The 1990s brought a more enlightened owner of the estate, who decided to turn it into a Scottish “Heritage Center” where the visiting public would be both entertained and educated. The two industries featured are naturally enough whisky and timber. The distillery runs conventional tours, whilst the estate has recreated a period timber camp and also a steam-powered sawmill.

    The new owners were aware of the original 24” tramway, but whilst a few items of stock have been restored to static display, nothing remained that could be restored to working order. However, quite by chance an 18” gauge railway at an estate in Devon, England was closing down. The new owners snapped up much of the rail, a Hunslet “Waril” class steam locomotive in full working order and a few items of rolling stock. The intention is to lay track in such a way that visitors can travel between attractions by means of the railway, and also so that demonstration timber and peat trains can run as part of the heritage displays.

    The new owners bought a second-hand Plymouth gas-mechanical loco, which will be shipped in parts from the USA. They also intend to build a new one to their own design, inspired by the tiny Hudswell-Clarke diesel used on the Horwich Works system. New coaches will be built, along with new timber and peat wagons, to the Estate’s own design.

    This is an interim “working” track plan for the Glendoric. It is unlikely that the actual line will follow this plan exactly, but it does give an initial target to get the process going. The total length of the line will be approximately 30 meters (100 feet). The intention is to make it possible to operate the line with one steam loco and one battery-powered i.c. loco, with a simple set of rules and movements appropriate to the purpose of the imaginary line. As I write, about 2/3rds of the line has been converted to 32mm gauge, which scales out at about 250 yards in real-life. Yes, this sounds like a very short line, but I have just obtained a book about the John Knowles 18” gauge line and have discovered that this line was actually only 400 yards or so long. I am convinced that despite it’s short length, it will be possible to run a plausible operation with only one or two persons

    The track uses a mixture of recycled Tenmille G-scale, LGB and PECO G-45 rail, on 12mm x 12mm square softwood sleepers. The key points about my track are as follows: Because the code 332 rails are so thick I do not put battens under my track, except for turnouts. This also true for the code 250, because PECO make theirs from nickel silver which is a particularly stiff metal. I do not have a rail-bender. I should, but would rather spend the money on something else; I bend rail carefully by hand to the right profile before spiking it to the sleepers. Spikes are 13mm (1/2”) Gimp Pins, available off the shelf at B&Q.

    Sleepers are made from 12mm x 12mm softwood strips, again from B&Q. A two-meter strip makes enough sleepers for about 900mm (one yard) of track. Before cutting into individual sleepers, one side of the strip is drawn across a hacksaw blade held in a vice to get a pronounced wood-grain effect. Once a length of track has been made, creosote is slapped on to the sleepers with an old brush and then the section is left overnight up-ended in a drip tray before it is installed.

    The right-of-way starts as a trench about 130mm (6”) wide and 65mm (3”) deep. This trench is either cut into turf, or created by two rows of rocks or garden edging. Into this I pour 6 – 10 mm of granite or limestone chippings, and then tamp it with a few blows from a house-brick. The track is laid on top, and then smaller granite chips are poured over the top. A stiff paintbrush is then used to spread the ballast between the sleepers, until it is up to the desired level. For the first few months the track has to be re-leveled and the ballast topped up every so often, but eventually the ballast and track stabilizes and then only needs attention after the winter.

    Peter Bakke