Garden Railway Forum

Thanks for that graeme, that makes a lot of sense now, lovely photos of the Garratt too.
Mitch

It's now well into winter here and it's been raining on and off for the last couple of weeks. I was starting to consider building an ark, then on Friday the clouds blew away and we were treated to a cool sunny day with gentle winds.

The Warburton Steam Tramway Fowler has been taking up space in the workshop after some modifications and repairs after it's last run and the opportunity was taken late in the afternoon to give it a light engine test run. It passed the test, so is now cleared for traffic again.

The photo shows it trundling along cab first, travelling north on the long straight as the shadows lengthened.


Saturday dawned nice and sunny, so I took a break from the workshop after lunch and ran another train as I sat in the sun watching it, just because I could.

The photos show the works motor and the weedex train orbiting the track in the sunshine. The wye junction part of the line is in permanent shadow this time of the year and that part of the track was still wet with dew mid-afternoon.



Regards,
Graeme

Very nice collection Graeme and well photographed, and your commentaries are very informative. You obviously get a lot of pleasure from running your trains, which I suppose is the whole point, but it shows! :-)

Time for an update, now that the station yard extension of the TVT is operational.

Yesterday was stinking hot with not a cloud in the sky, but this is Melbourne. Today dawned cloudy, with rain forecast.

However I managed to get in the first steam run on the new track and the Big Black Baldwin was rostered for a through goods, before the sky turned black and threatening.

The first photo shows the train assembled in No.1 road in the weak morning 'sun', while the loco crew have put the Baldwin over the pit to clean the fire and take a smoko before departure time.


The next photo shows the train sitting in No. 1 road while the loco crew wait for the guard to show a green flag for departure.


A little later and the train is on it's way through the wye and heading south (clockwise around the loop).

The white disc on the back of the van is the tail disc, used by the VR in daylight to indicate to signalmen and other employees that the train is complete. At night a red tail light is also shown for the same purpose. The van also has the tail light in place, but it isn't lit during daylight.


Approaching the bridge on the first trip around the loop.


Starting another trip around the track heading south.


Another trip around and approaching the bridge again.


Running south under the Pittosporums.


Ten trips around the loop later and the train takes the other arm of the wye to return to the station yard.


Back in No. 1 road facing west, while the fireman uncouples the loco. so it can go back over the pit.


The camera then decided the memory card was fun, so no further pictures. The sky also started turning black around the same time........

With a train this heavy, the Baldwin can do twelve trips around the mainline loop which gives a 22 min. run, before the gas runs out. This is also the longest train that will fit in either No. 1, or No. 2 roads without fouling the turnouts.

Today, I decide ten times around the loop would be a good time to return to the yard so there would be enough steam left to run around the train, turn the loco on the wye and leave it to cool down.

The run generally went well. I've worked out that I can't run manual steam locos anti-clockwise on this track, until I get around to designing and fitting a remote point lever to the turnout at the eastern corner of the wye.

Regards,
Graeme

I've just read this thread through from the start and would like to say thank you for sharing your railway with us. You have a fantastic collection of locos and I'm not even slightly envious
Looking forward to the next instalment.

GTB wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:02 pm until I get around to designing and fitting a remote point lever

That will be an interesting project. Glad the run went well. You should be able to get some miles on your locos in comfort now.
Grant.
PS track went together well, two panels done, many thanks.

With winter rapidly approaching and a very wet autumn, the weather here hasn't been conducive to running trains, except for short test runs between rain showers.

A week or so ago was typical. The sun came out after lunch, so I decided to give the Sharp Stewart a run on an excursion train.

By the time the boiler was up to pressure, the sun had disappeared, the wind was straight of the ice cap and it was threatening to rain, again.....

Anyway, the weather was typical for running an excursion train for the local football club to a grudge match with the club from the next town. Borun was rostered, as the trip was short and it didn't need turning for the return trip.

The first photo shows the train heading south on the mainline with all the second class seats the TVT owns in tow. The day was so cold the steam plume is still visible over the third car.


The next photo shows the train on the return trip, complete with a load of happy, tired and drunk football players and onlookers.


The last photo is the train entering the station from the junction.


Predictably the sun came out again while the loco was cooling down after the run.

As they say, hope springs eternal........

Today started fairly sunny and stayed that way, so a chance for another run. Today seemed a good time to give the small Baldwin a run with the weekly passenger train.

The first photo shows the train heading north in bright sunlight on the mainline through the Pittosporum forest.


Next photo is the train running over the bridge. The day was cool and sunny and the backlighting emphasises the steam plume.


The last photo for the day shows the train sitting in the yard at the end of the run.


Well almost. As the train stopped the safety valve opened, so the loco was sent out light engine for another couple of laps to use up the remaining gas. The gas ran out just as it got back to the yard. It's called luck, not good management.....

Regards,
Graeme

Those are really lovely pictures Graeme. Both trains look fantastic. The steam effects from the loco's is very nice.

Andrew

Love that second last shot.
Grant.

Great photos,

Last two shots are fantastic, two photos of steam that is and has been working hard....

Beautiful modelling and photos as always, Graeme.

I agree with the others - lovely photos of lovely trains.

I really enjoy how the trains you run reference the real thing - although I don't think I'd want to fill those beautiful carriages with football fans...

All the best,

Andrew.

Andrew wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2020 11:40 am I don't think I'd want to fill those beautiful carriages with football fans...

I thought the same thing. One can only imagine the sheer amount of ongoing repairs to coaching stock during those days..

Andrew wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2020 11:40 am - although I don't think I'd want to fill those beautiful carriages with football fans...

The TVT is set in in the late 1920s, in a fairly remote part of Victoria. Football on Sat. afternoon and church on Sunday morning was basically all there was to do in winter, so a football excursion would be a family social event. It still is in rural areas.

Also every chance the local cop was in the club and kept the drunks under control, or kicked them off to walk home.

Graeme

The track has been in hibernation during winter, but here 'spring has sprung and the grass has riz'......... As have the weeds.........

There were a couple of sunny days about a week ago, so committing some weedicide was indicated. 8 litres of Roundup later and I think I got all the capeweed, for a while anyway. The secateurs have also been busy and there is now a TVT structure gauge size hole in the shrubbery where needed.

The Hayden's tram loco has been back in the workshops lately to try and improve it's steaming. The cylinders have been lined down and a larger burner jet fitted, which seems to have improved things, although it still needs a lot more running in. At least the burner is more stable and it can now maintain pressure while running without being run flat out, but it's still a long way from being my favourite loco.

Anyway, yesterday dawned clear and calm, so it was a good opportunity to see how the loco ran on the track with a load. It usually pulls a string of timber bogies, but the side tipping wagons that I finished during the first shutdown have never had a run, so they were involved in this test run as well.

There is a photo of this loco late in it's life with the SR&WSC pulling a few side-tippers during the Hume weir construction, although by that time it had a proper cab and looked less like a traction engine and more like a railway loco.

The first photo shows the train heading north just entering the curve at the end of the long straight.


The second photo shows the train cooling down at the end of the run, back in the yard.


The run went well enough, so the loco has been added to the paint shop 'to do' list. A full degrease,then paint the new bits and touch up any wear/handling damage to the rest of the paintwork.

Regards,
Graeme

Some brilliant photos Graeme, those side tippers do look very nice and impressive.

Worthy of a round of applause

I know they aren't clapping, but they do look like they are....

For some reason, I missed the photos taken in May, so am just playing catch-up. I really like the look of that long goods train - but then goods trains are always far more interesting to my mind than passenger trains. Pleased to see you are managing to get outside and run trains again, Graeme.

Rik

Those tippers look fantastic Graeme as does that converted steam tram. Are there any books that you know of detailing the state board of works projects and their railways? I've been looking for photos of the Perrys and the Malcolm Moores pre conversion but they're very thin on the ground.

Hopefully this fine weather continues for a while longer

The tippers and Baldwin compliment each other well. Interested to see how the latest round of mods to the loco pans out over time.
Curious to hear how you go about degreasing a loco for touchup? I'd like to weather my Fowler, but wouldn't consider a blast with automotive degreaser, followed by hot water in the laundry tub, to be adequate surface prep.

Old Man Aaron wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:48 am Curious to hear how you go about degreasing a loco for touchup? I'd like to weather my Fowler, but wouldn't consider a blast with automotive degreaser, followed by hot water in the laundry tub, to be adequate surface prep.

The loco is an Accucraft Ruby. It is already well into the zone of diminishing returns, so the running is now pretty much as good as it will get.


Anyway this is my normal paint touchup process after an overhaul/rebuild.......

First step is a good spray with car engine degreaser and then rinse off with water under the garden hose. That gets rid of most of the steam oil and associated crud. It may need to be repeated, if the loco is particularly greasy.

Then I give the areas to be touched up a going over with an old toothbrush and a liquid detergent and allow it to dry overnight.

Next day, it gets a coat of etch primer in any areas with bare metal showing, then wait an hour and touch up with the topcoat. All done with an airbrush. Then leave at least a week for the oil based enamel paint topcoat to cure hard enough to be handled and at least a month for it to become oil resistant before running it again.

Any new parts that require painting are removed and get a going over with the toothbrush, but with Ajax cream cleanser instead of detergent. Then ditto with the etch primer and paint.

I don't normally strip any paint off parts before a touchup, unless it is already flaking off. Although I use a fibreglass pencil, or a sanding stick to feather out the edges of any chips.


To do a full repaint, the model would need to be completely dismantled and individual parts cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner, or with the toothbrush and Ajax for parts too large for my ultrasonic cleaner. The really greasy parts like smokebox and cylinders might need a shot of engine degreaser first.

The problem with a loco that has been running for a while is that oil has got into every crevice at the front end. If you try and degrease and clean it while assembled, the oil will still be in all the crevices and will continue to seep out. Especially if the model is warmed to get rinse water to dry quickly, or to cure the paint faster.


Unfortunately, I think a loco that has done some running would need to be stripped down for thorough cleaning before weathering, as it would be equivalent to a repaint in this context.

Regards,
Graeme