The Caercada & Mynydd Light Railway
The Caercada & Mynydd is a 32mm gauge garden railway in North Somerset. Why Caercada & Mynydd if it is in Somerset, I hear you ask? Well, I particularly like Welsh narrow gauge and a lot of my engines and rolling stock are models of Festiniog Railway, Welsh Highland Railway/NWNGR and slate quarry locos and stock. My home is close to Cadbury Hill and the Mendip Hills, and these place names loosely translate to the Welsh Caercada and Mynydd.
The garden railway is situated in our back garden which is approximately 80’ by 30’, which is a generous plot by modern standards. When we moved to our home in 2020, we decided that a garden railway still had to leave room for a lawn, veg beds and traditional shrub and flower borders. With this in mind I planned a dog bone layout down one side of the garden. I wanted to have as generous radius curves as possible and I planned for 6’ radius however some of these have tightened to 5’. The main running circuit is fairly level, so manual and RC locos can be run. The main circuit is in a dog bone shape with two passing loops and sidings all at a level of about 6” to 1’ off the ground. At the back of the layout is a branchline which leads from a steam-up area approx 2’ off the ground. The railway features several bridges, a level crossing on a footpath, a tunnel and a yard area.
I started building the railway in 2021, shortly after we moved into the house. The trackbed is built on a base of concrete blocks on concrete foundations, so I’m hoping any movement of the trackbed over time will be minimal. The steam-up area is due to be constructed in early 2026, with landscaping shortly after. I’m aiming to have a group steam-up in summer 2026, so watch this space.
We include photos of the construction for interest.
A big thank you to Laurence,Tracy and Robbie
