Nolwyn Valley Tramway

[FWLR]

Nice that Drew, like it a lot.

[drewzero1]

I've finally done it... uploaded a test video to YouTube!


To do: learn to edit and make a longer fancier video. (Rik, Nigel, et al make it look so easy!) At this point the entire completed section can be covered in less than ten seconds anyway, so this is about it. I did get a chance to pick up enough stones to complete the wall, now I just need to get them placed and leveled and structurally secure before I fill in the rest of the raised bed.

[ge_rik]

Not tried them myself (yet) but you could use the editing tools built into YouTube



Rik

[FWLR]

Well done Drew. My little help thread has succeeded in doing what I wanted it to, to get more members to make videos and show off their lines. Yours is a little bit short your right


But hey, who cares, you have done it and I like the speed of the loco. Nice clear shot.

[drewzero1]

Not tried them myself (yet) but you could use the editing tools built into YouTube

Rik

Thanks Rik, I'll take a look. My first problem I'm noticing as I look back through my recent recordings, is that I tend to start the recording too late and end it too soon, so it turns out pretty abrupt in a video. I may have to rewatch some of the Peckforton video library, for, uh, videography research purposes.

[FWLR]

Practice, practice and more practice Drew, like anything else the more one does something the better and easier it gets, or should be. I fail miserably most of the time with somethings I do

[drewzero1]

Well done Drew. My little help thread has succeeded in doing what I wanted it to, to get more members to make videos and show off their lines. Yours is a little bit short your right


But hey, who cares, you have done it and I like the speed of the loco. Nice clear shot.

Thanks Rod, I had Dudeface egging me on as well in my GIF thread I only have six feet of line in place, but you can bet I'll be showing off the progress as I get more in place! The speed was a stroke of luck as that's how fast the toy car motor happens to run on two 1.2V NiMH AA batteries.

[drewzero1]

Rod, I was looking back at old threads and I see you have a similar little diesel "Logan". My "Moke" uses the same Jenbach JW15 body shell but sits on a skip frame, with some customizations to fit a scavenged toy motor and 2xAA battery box. It was my first 3D printed loco and is still my most reliable one.

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(In-progress photo from January 2023)

[Andrew]

Nice loco! Love the belt drive (is that what you'd call it?), beautifully quirky. And that corner's looking just right...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[drewzero1]

Nice loco! Love the belt drive (is that what you'd call it?), beautifully quirky. And that corner's looking just right...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Thanks! I was trying to make it look like it was built from scraps in the quarry's workshop, which it kind of was; the skip frame it's built on had lost two axle boxes while printing and the motor/gearbox unit came from a thrift store toy car. It's a belt drive using O-rings meant for plumbing but I had intended it to represent a chain. If I built another one along the same idea I'd probably use the Delrin chain, now that I know it exists, and try to make the upper body resemble a Fordson rail tractor.

I was playing around with YouTube and found it's surprisingly easy to add sound to a short:


I might just have to pick up a greeting card module for this one...

[LNR]

An "ear" raising ride for Gromit!
Grant.

[FWLR]

Brilliant that Drew. More please...

[philipy]

That sound clip certainly fits the loco.

[drewzero1]

A downy woodpecker visited the line the other day. It made for a decent bird's-eye view of the line as well.

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The wall has met with spousal approval but I keep fiddling with it. I suppose it's better to get the placement perfect now rather than notice things after it's filled and there's no easy way to fix it... I've just been itching to get it done so I can complete the loop and start planting. The Irish moss between the patio stones is spreading nicely and has been blooming with pretty little 15mm scale flowers; I'll definitely be snitching some to plant along the tracks once the line is complete.

(The cedar branch trees were the Small Controller's contribution. He says we need some trees and flowers around the station!)

[FWLR]

Coming on Drew...



The Small Controller is right...
There should be trees and flowers around the station...

[drewzero1]

Saturday it dried out enough between storms that I was able to get the wall to a state I might call finished, and could start adding fill behind it...

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Today it stormed on and off and there was no hope of leveling the trackbed or completing the fill. I think we're supposed to catch a break around Wednesday or so.

I've reworked the spillway for the waterfall and I think I've stopped the leak, but it's impossible to properly test it as the rain is keeping the water full whether there's a leak or not. We planted some water lily bulbs in a pot in the lower pond and an iris in the top pond and planning a few more emergent and floating plants to give the fish some cover and cut down on algae growth. I also replaced the juniper shrub in the middle with one I haven't killed yet. Lesson learned: they don't like being brought in for the winter!

[FWLR]

I can really see how you have been able to make your line to be incorporated with the pond Drew. It’s going to be a great little line and I can see your better half letting you extend your line and create another masterpiece.

[drewzero1]

I've got the front mostly filled in, just need a bit more dirt and some leveling and it'll be ready for track and plants!

Screenshot_20240527-154454.jpg (486.31 KiB) Viewed 290 times

We're supposed to have storms again this evening into tomorrow. Hopefully that'll help the dirt and fill settle in and give a good base for leveling the track bed once it finally dries out again.

Rod, I think a phase 2 is highly likely, as long as I don't hyperfocus on the trains and neglect my other duties.

[Preseli Chris]

I like your water feature .A pond is one of my next projects for my railway . I am hoping to find a suitable solar powered battery backed up system pump that can raise a head of water 3ft to feed a stepped waterfall .

[drewzero1]

I like your water feature .A pond is one of my next projects for my railway . I am hoping to find a suitable solar powered battery backed up system pump that can raise a head of water 3ft to feed a stepped waterfall .

Thanks! At first the whole plan was just to have a pond, and then the raised bed, the stone wall, and the railway kind of snuck into the plan around it. So one might say it's a pond with a railway feature!

The water flow is provided by a 400GPH (according to the box) submersible pump with some filter foam zip tied around the inlet. (I'm expecting the floating plants to do most of the work keeping the algae down.) I looked into solar but it was hard to justify the cost given that there's an electrical outlet not too far away along the wall.

The waterfall has been the toughest part to get right. If I were to do it over I'd probably replace the upper pond with a 5-gallon bog filter and have the waterfall come out of that. But, the idea behind the two ponds was to have different species of fish in each, so I'm planning to try that this year and see how it goes. The ponds are ready for fish as soon as the water temperature stays just a bit warmer.