The DVLR Mark 2

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

As always I am flattered and inspired by all your comments - thank you.

I had a bit of time and started to reshape the pond/river a little. Then kept going and did more and more. The banks are now less canal like and I've introduced a kink into the straight bit. I really wanted to hold down the edges properly so I could plant up and put soil right up to the edge but couldn't think how. Then it struck me. What is used for holding plastic sheet to the ground?
Tent Pegs.
With a handful secured I set to completing the edges again. I've changed Haddon bridge to a more "Snape Branch" style one and have removed the bridge at Aldeburgh, bought a few more trees and plants and done some pruning. As ever, work in progress...


Oh and the Aldeburgh brick kiln will be re-instated.

[jim@NAL]

looking good mr zack you always take very good photos

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

I got a few more plants at the garden center on offer. In total I saved 17 pounds and spent 14!

Sadly I leave for Cambridge tomorrow so these are the last photos for a while. Be prepared for the infamous "I got back from university to find this..." when I get back...

The light was fading but the flash on my camera does awful photos so you will just have to squint at these photos as if you were in the garden in the dark.

The Nobodies business has done very well, in all the work I've been doing I have had to cut some bits back quite a lot but I split up the cuttings and planted them around the garden. Fairly soon the while garden will be full of the stuff!
Haddon Bridge, the river now meanders in a more natural way.

Looking along the line towards Aldeburgh from Woodbridge, the tent pegs are very much evident here but given time and some nobodies buissnes they should disappear...

This beautiful dwarf ornamental cherry was bought for 6 pounds less than the full price at the garden center. I really like the structure and am very excited about how it will look in the summer. I plan to shape it like a bonsai.

The varigated "pompom" tree was moved to the back of the bed where it doesn't block one's views of the trains and provides a little structure.

[TTHLRMatt]

I just hope your plants last until you get back Zach!

[Soar Valley Light]

You've done well with the horticulture Zach. Nice as it's been this weekend it's hardly the weather for gardening, I should know, I've spent most of the weekend on my new allotment trying to get it into shape. The mud on my boots made me 2" taller!

That's a splendid looking pom pom tree. It looks good in its new position. I look forward to seeing some more pictures of traffic on the line when the weather improves. Provided you don't return to devastation again, of course.

The river looks much improved too (and it looked good before!). When the vegetation takes hold it will be superb. Do you do anything to aerate the water? A water feature will be a must for my line, done well they add so much character.

Good luck for the new term.

Andrew

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

Water is areated by pumping it to the other end of the river to where the tidemill stands. There's just enough current to stop stagnation.
I'm back! And have started again. The track layout at Aldeburgh is changing again. I just don't think I can fit in the nice kick back arrangement I had planned so will settle for an inglenook esq arrangement.

The space saved will allow me to put in a narrow shingle beach in this gap here...

I've also been working on quarry wagons which are now all in DVLR goods livery and have received their preliminary weathering stage.
I had one binnie skip missing bits and a GVT quarry wagon missing its axle boxes thanks to one of my family dropping it so I've made a mash up wagon...

An LGB wagon is in the process of being DVLRised

The rest are just photos of the railway of things I like at the moment.
The cherry tree is in full blossom!


Had to climb a tree for this one...

The field corner I find particularly pleasing for some reason.

Starting to get dark - You can see some of the track's lumps and bumps from this one.

[pauly]

I notice your LGB point

careful mate Merlins hate LGB points

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

Ah yes, this is why its in a yard not on the "main line". There will be a serious speed restriction (on my line that may mean going backwards...). I needed the tight curve for the small space, otherwise I would have gone for more of the lovely peco points.

[pauly]

Ah yes, this is why its in a yard not on the "main line". There will be a serious speed restriction (on my line that may mean going backwards...). I needed the tight curve for the small space, otherwise I would have gone for more of the lovely peco points.

wish I had lovely peco points
but my R1 LGBs do the job for me and I can get them relativly cheapy

...
just dont try taking a Merlin through them
...
or bogie coaches
...
or anything fast

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

Exciting news! I've finally got round to doing work on a loco which has been sat at the back of a shed for years
The newest (well, I suspect oldest) member of the DVLR loco fleet. Meet River Cleddau, ex-Compton Down, battery powered Aveling and Porter style tramway locomotive. I've re-gauged it to 45mm and sorted out an electrical fault and added the skirts. She's now ready to haul coprolite wagons along the quarry branch.

[pauly]

Wow mate that looks the business!

You must visit next year when Iv got my tramway finished, she would do well here  ;)

Could I get a cheeky gander under her skirt?

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

Your wish...

Its a plastic car chassis with two worm drives for the 4wd.
Went to the garden center and bought this lot with the money the builders have given me to compensate for the damage they did to my plants.

Took River Cleddau along the line to position some of the new plants


I also managed to remove some sharp bits of the curves and some sharp gradients. As a result there is now one long gradient all the way from the tree stump to the gate, the locos should be able to cope with is better now. Sadly for the drivers Aldeburgh station is on the gradient! Its now ballasted again as well!

[pauly]

mate she looks even better out on the line
really suits your railway

[Soar Valley Light]

I do love to see garden railways doing real work.

The line is looking really good Mr Bond. Dare I say the best it ever has based upon the photographic evidence.

What you have fitted into the space available in such a natural looking way continues to be a true inspiration.

[kandnwlr]

Blimey. Spring is here/there, apparently. Wish I could say the same for this weekend in Alsace Nice to see some outside photos. I was wondering how steep the gradient is and trying to measure it against the bricks in the wall ....

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

Thank you for the comments! I'd like to think the railway is looking better than ever - and will look even better when the green gets going!
As to measuring the gradient - the railway is at the same height as the bricks all the way along (or should be), I think its the bricks which have a gradient (or as we say in Suffolk - "Sloightly arn the Huh")

[Big Jim]

Nice selection of plants there.
The ivy and the thyme should give you a fair bit of ground cover.
Good luck with the acers, all I do is kill them.

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

The acer is an experiment - I hope it survives!
Started today off with a 4 hour practice exam paper, then straight out into the sunshine to enjoy some more gardening.
First of all I started by arranging this little scene. A smallholding cottage, the hard standing will be for farm equipment but actually its somewhere I can step to reach the back of the railway! The little hut and the wall need work


Next up I mocked up Aldeburgh station and street with bits of wood. I've decided to move the crossing to the edge of the station so the station staff can operate it. A Sea wall has been constructed from concrete free form with a pointing trowel. This will separate the railway from the beech.

A taste of things to come...

The beech will be a strip of shingle (all beeches round here are shingle beeches), I've stopped it going one way with the wall but how do I stop it from plunging off the edge of the raised bed - any ideas?

Next up is my idea of hiding the hose which pumps the water out of this little lake bit to the other end. A Jetty! (WIP)

I've always had a problem with soil everywhere and one cause is this raised up bit which was one of the first features of the line I built. It just bits of pot randomly stuck into the ground and it leaks soil!

So a proper wall had to be built

I then got stuck into some planting and thinking about how different areas will look and a general clean up
Small pockets of alpines

The quarry branch going off to Bawdsey

The cherry tree in full bloom (I really like this little tree!)

Now with all these thin plastic plant pots kicking around I had an idea. 30 mins with a pair of scissors and a tube of UHU and I had a good looking roof! Here's the sweet shop/tunnel showing off its new tiles.

Busy day really...

[Peter Butler]

You certainly have had a busy day!
Little of that would have been possible here as we experienced heavy rain....again! So, well done on adding to your railway.

[pippindoo]

You could set the loose shingle edge with yacht varnish. It will flow into the shingle (just use something to temporarily form an edge) then will set hard, locking any loose shingle. Any that shows through will give the impression on the tide coming in!