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Rail engineer expands lockdown garden train project

George Carden & Stephen Cranford
BBC News, Willingdon
George Carden/BBC Adrian and his wife sat on the footplate and entrance to his train surrounded by plants. Both are smiling at the cameraGeorge Carden/BBC
Retired rail engineer Adrian Backshall has extended his garden railway, which he originally built in lockdown five years ago

Tucked away at the foot of the South Downs behind a row of houses is a rail engineer's lockdown project, a working train carriage on 50ft (15.2m) of track.

Train enthusiast Adrian Backshall retired from Network Rail in 2018 and built the railway in his garden during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

While it is not to the scale of the government's HS2 scheme, Adrian has now expanded his project, cutting through his wife's herbaceous border of flowers in the process.

The carriage is built on a Victorian platelayer's trolley and is used for the couple's tea and drinks parties at their home in Willingdon, East Sussex.

George Carden/BBC Adrian's train carriage which has yellow and black stripes on the front and is sitting on full sized train tracks. It is pulled by a winch system. Around the edge of the garden are original signs from train linesGeorge Carden/BBC
The train can move up and down Adrian and Ruth's garden on 50ft of track, some of which dates back to 1898

"I had enough of the call-outs and paperwork when I retired, but when you've been on the railways, it's in you and you still love it", said Adrian, 64.

"While HS2 has built tunnels and viaducts in all that time, I've extended my railway by 16ft.

"When I retired my wife said I should do something with the trolley, so I cobbled this together. I'm really pleased with it."

Walking into Adrian and Ruth's garden is like entering a railway museum. The garden is adorned with real train memorabilia including signage, signals and a working signal box telephone.

George Carden/BBC Signage on Adrian's garden workshop which says "danger don't touch conductor rails" and "passengers must not cross the line here".George Carden/BBC
Adrian's garden is covered in real signage from railways

Adrian said: "If this stuff is laying around, you need to save it. So much stuff has been lost over the years."

Adrian's train has two stops, the garden shed and patio just beyond the herbaceous border. The train used to be powered by a hand-winched pulley system but Adrian has upgraded to a 12 volt solar-powered winch.

He said the train moves at a third of a mile an hour but allows passengers to take in the views of their garden as the train inches along.

George Carden/BBC Four seats inside Adrian's cabin and a wood burning stove. There is also bunting and more original train memorabilia George Carden/BBC
Inside the cabin, the train has seating for four and a wood burning stove

His wife Ruth said: "It was my idea in the first place, we had an empty garden so why not build a track.

"Adrian said he wasn't going to extend it into my flower beds and twice I've been on holiday and come back to see he's done it."

Adrian and Ruth held an open day in their garden on 21 June to raise money for St Wilfrid's Hospice.

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