3 days ago
Retired rail engineer, 64, builds a £2,000 50ft-long functioning railway in his back garden
A retired rail engineer spent £2,000 building a 50ft-long functioning railway in his back garden.
Adrian Backshall, 64, first started the project during the pandemic in 2020, shortly after he and his wife Ruth, 58, moved into their new home in Willington, East Sussex.
Mr Backshall used scraps and found objects to create his impressive miniature railway including an old rail trolley which dates back to the Victorian era.
The trolley car was rescued from an old siding and kept in his garden initially as an ornament, while the scrap track and sleepers were bought from a heritage railway in Sussex.
He then built a frame and roof and mounted it on the old tracks, creating a carriage that seats between four and five people - making a fully-functioning rail line.
Initially, the track was around 30ft-long, but this March, Mr Backshall extended it by a further 20ft.
It now runs down nearly the entire length of the garden and has two stops: the patio and the shed.
Overall, Mr Backshall, who spent 40 years working as a cable jointer for British Rail and Network Rail, estimates he has spent around £2,000 on the rail line.
Mr Backshall said: 'We had this old rail trolley because it had been dumped in our previous garden - and my former railway boss Bob said we had to save it.
'So then when we moved here and had more outdoor space Ruth suggested I build a track for it.
'I did that using some scrap tracks and it meant I could just push it up and down the garden.
'But when Covid hit, and nobody could do anything, Ruth and I decided I should jazz it up.'
During the pandemic, Mr Backshall built the train carriage - which is fitted with seats, glass windows, and a wood burner for winter.
In his first designs, the former engineer had to stand outside his train to get it to run - by winding a wheel that pulled a cable attached to the carriage.
But he soon fitted it with a 12 volt solar-powered winch which he can operate from inside the carriage - meaning the train moves by itself.
He said: 'That was really quite exciting when we first trialled it. We have neighbours and friends over and I can tell them to just flip a switch, and suddenly they go, 'Oh God, it's moving!'.
The couple, along with dogs Mabel and Gladys, moved into their property three years ago and, remarkably, it was Ruth's idea to make use of the garden space.
Mr Backshall's most recent development was to extend the length of the rail track - meaning it now reaches the patio at the bottom of his garden.
He said: 'It's fun because it's like a proper railway now. You can get on at the top of the garden and get off at the patio.'
The couple's two dogs, Sybil and Gladys, are also fans of the creation.
'The dogs absolutely love it,' Mr Backshall said. 'They're in there, our friends are in there. Sometimes people call me and say their grandchildren live near and would love to try.
'It's just fun to do something quirky.'
And Mr Backshall's wife couldn't agree more and revealed it was her idea originally.
She previously told MailOnline: 'It was my idea in the first place, I like it, it's different and it keeps him occupied'.
