Retired UK rail engineer turns garden into 50-foot solar-powered railway

A former railway engineer has transformed his garden in East Sussex into an unusual working railway, complete with full-size track, a vintage-style carriage and railway memorabilia. Railway Magazine, which featured Adrian Backshall’s project, describes the 50-foot line as a Wickham lookalike built on an old platelayer’s trolley. The small railway now uses a 12-volt car battery charged by a solar panel to power its winch, allowing the carriage to travel slowly along the garden track. What began as a lockdown project has since grown into a distinctive railway-themed garden attraction for Backshall, his family and guests.From railway career to garden railwayAdrian Backshall retired from Network Rail in 2018 after a career working on Britain's railways. His connection with railway equipment, however, did not end with retirement. During the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, Backshall began developing a railway in the garden of his home in Willingdon, East Sussex.