The (Windmill Hill) Welsh Highland Railway

A place for the discussion of garden railways and any garden style/scale portable and/or indoor layouts
User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:37 pm

Hello!

No wonder I had to dig so far to find this thread, it looks like I haven't added anything to it since November. Which is true of the railway too, but then it's rained pretty much every day since then...

That all changed this weekend, and the lovely sunny weather got me outside again, to survey the next stretch of line to be built, which will curve underneath the deck and then dive underneath the swing chair:

Image


As you can see, it's hardly going to be a scenic delight, but there ain't any other way to get from the passing point to the upper terminus!

As we all know, running a train can help with motivation (as you can imagine from the above photos, I needed all the help I could get...) so Moelwyn and the slate wagons came out to play:

Image

It was the first run for Jim, Moelyn's new driver - I think he was once supposed to look like Hannibal from the A Team, but I reckon he looks more like my late Uncle Jim, hence the name.

 Image

I managed to get the site into a workable state yesterday, and today started digging a trench for footings and a recycled brick trackbed - I expect that'll take a good few weeks to achieve, but it's nice to be back outdoors...

Andrew.
Last edited by Andrew on Mon Mar 31, 2014 10:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

kandnwlr
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 998
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2011 3:14 pm
Location: Alsace, France

Post by kandnwlr » Mon Mar 10, 2014 6:14 am

Andrew:83476 wrote:
laalratty:83399 wrote:Nice work, getting slate to improve the look of my line I found was a great excuse to get a parent to drive me to North Wales (although I'd drive myself these days), in particular the waste tips at Cwmorthin are very accessible. Not quite sure of the legal status of acquiring  slate this way though.... :roll:
Yes, I'd wondered about liberating some waste slate from a tip somewhere.

Legally I guess it must be dubious, the stuff must belong to someone whether they want it or not.

Morally I reckon it's probably OK, depending on where it's from - if it's from a slag heap hundreds of feet high that's been there unwanted  for 150 years that would seem to me to be OK.

I don't know if there's an environmental consideration? Is a slate  tip an important eco-system? Would I risk disturbing the nesting place of the Lesser-Spotted Slate Warblers or distracting the endangered Purple Crested Slag Lizard from the task in hand during the important mating season? Dunno...

Of course it would cost a whole load to drive from Bristol to Wales, but I could do with a nice inspirational trip in that direction...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Do we have to wear hi-viz vests while collecting rock samples? :lol: The best investment I ever made was a geological map and hammer; let´s you know where something might be available closer to home. As for disturbing the habitat, I suspect that you´d have to take a tonne or so to have any measurable impact - I trust that we´re not in that business. BTW: If youi´re interested in looking for substitutes, then shale is not bad for slate - and it´s much easier to break into small pieces. Probably available closer to Bristol 8)

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Mon Mar 10, 2014 1:40 pm

Thanks for the thoughts re slate etc. I'm still hoping to find my way to a slag heap at some point, but have changed my plans slightly too. The corner of the line where Moelwyn's standing is to become a tunnel, with the upper terminus above it - I was planning to use lots of slate in that area. Surprisingly I've found that removing the shed that the old line ran through and dropping it to ground level have had the effect of increasing its visual impact from the house, and I need to reduce this as much as possible in future building - so the upper station will be somewhat "slimline" in nature, a simple run round loop and platform, with plenty of planting. I plan to make wooden planters around he upper station to facilitate that, and think I'll face those with slate kitchen tiles - I picked up lots of those cheaply or for free. I reckon that should look OK, particularly once trailing plants etc start growing over it... Better get back to the present extension first, and carry on digging my little trench under the swing sofa...

Cheers,

Andrew.

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Wed Mar 19, 2014 8:41 pm

With the weather brightening up I've been back outside building. On Saturday I managed to lay the concrete footing that will carry the next section of my little line. Apologies, this may be the dullest photo ever taken:

Image

Sunday didn't see any further work because we headed off to take the West Somerset to Minehead. Which was a lovely day out until I got what I thought was a smut in my eye on the way home - when it hadn't shifted by Monday I took myself to Bristol Eye Hospital's A&E where it turned out to be a piece of rusty metal - a bit of one of the 7F's boiler tubes?

Anyway, this evening I cracked on and laid some of the bricks that will form the latest bit of trackbed - no dull photos today because by the time I'd finished it was so dark I couldn't see the bubble in the spirit level. I'm off work next week so will hopefully get this part of the line finished then...

After that it's the final push to the upper terminus. I've just purchased the track for this, including the new-ish Peco small radius points to save space, and this evening I tried out the proposed layout on the kitchen floor. In theory the points are just a little tighter than my Baldwin will cope with, but it looks as though it should just about be OK...  

Image

Bye for now,

Andrew
Last edited by Andrew on Mon Mar 31, 2014 10:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
laalratty
Retired Director
Retired Director
Posts: 3887
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:35 pm
Location: Morecambe

Post by laalratty » Wed Mar 19, 2014 9:05 pm

That "worlds dullest photo" reminds me of a few I've taken of lines under construction...! Good to see things progressing though, and having just bought a couple of the 38 inch radius points, it is good to know what will and will not get round.
"What the hell is that?"
"It's a model icebreaker sir."
"It's a bit big isn't it?"
"It's a full scale model sir....."

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:49 pm

laalratty:98000 wrote:That "worlds dullest photo" reminds me of a few I've taken of lines under construction...! .

I had a quick look before work this morning and realised why bricklayers don't generally work in the dark. The last bricks I mortared in look like they were layed by a monkey! I'm hoping that the next door neighbour doesn't peer over the fence - he's a DIY superman and probably already thinks I'm a hopeless bodger...
Good to see things progressing though, and having just bought a couple of the 38 inch radius points, it is good to know what will and will not get round.
I'll let you know re the points once I've tested them properly. I only pushed the Baldwin through them yesterday and there was a fair bit of resistance which suggests it won't enjoy them under its own power. Think it'll just about be OK though. It's possible that adding a short straight between the two points might help by mitigating the effect of the reverse curve they create, but that would also reduce their space-saving appeal. We shall see...

Cheers,

Andrew.

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Tue Mar 25, 2014 4:06 pm

Hello again,

Off work this week, and making some progress on the railway.

The final curve is taking shape, with bricks now in place on the foundations laid last week.

Here's the trackbed curving away under the deck:

Image

And here's a bird's eye view:

Image

I'm hoping to get the area tidied up and the track laid by the end of the week...

Cheers,

Andrew.
Last edited by Andrew on Mon Mar 31, 2014 10:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Dr. Bond of the DVLR
Retired Director
Retired Director
Posts: 4481
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:43 pm
Location: Suffolk
Contact:

Post by Dr. Bond of the DVLR » Tue Mar 25, 2014 4:53 pm

That looks excellent - I'll bet it was a dear to lay underneath the decking!
Image
The railway which people forgot
(to build)

User avatar
TommyDodd
Fireman
Fireman
Posts: 497
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 3:46 pm
Location: West Lindsey

Post by TommyDodd » Wed Mar 26, 2014 3:25 pm

Some features of this site look kinda familiar. Are you the guy who asked for WHR railway design suggestions on the NGGarden group a while back? (I replied, with something based on the General Undertaking).
Well, now we know the buffer-stops work! (Heard at 2013 "Longest Day" solstice steamup)

kandnwlr
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 998
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2011 3:14 pm
Location: Alsace, France

Post by kandnwlr » Wed Mar 26, 2014 6:42 pm

Andrew:98263 wrote:Hello again,

Off work this week, and making some progress on the railway.

The final curve is taking shape, with bricks now in place on the foundations laid last week.

Here's the trackbed curving away under the deck:
I'm hoping to get the area tidied up and the track laid by the end of the week...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Did you use child labour to lay that underneath the deck? So I´m assuming that you´re going to have a solution to potential derailments ...

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:24 pm

TommyDodd:98332 wrote:Some features of this site look kinda familiar. Are you the guy who asked for WHR railway design suggestions on the NGGarden group a while back? (I replied, with something based on the General Undertaking).
The very same - hello Mr Dodd!

I remember your plan, a complex, fascinating - and fully signalled - "might have been", with LNWR branches and all sorts, fantastic stuff. Unfortunately, as you'll have realised from this thread, a single line round the garden's taken years - that would have been a life's work!

Ian Stock came up with a tempting plan too, featuring Beddgelert and a spiral to make the two ends of a continuous gradient meet and allow a continuous run.

In the event such plans probably helped me to appraise the (small, multi-use, multi-user) garden a little more honestly and accept a certain degree of compromise. I looked at a couple of real WHR locations, and in the end decided on an imaginary branch with WHR features. At the moment those are limited to the rolling stock, a steep gradient, some wiggles in the route and a cutting, but some NWNGR and WHR-influenced buildings and bridges should follow shortly-ish. It will be an end-to-end run when the route is complete (in a month or two?), but with a temporary lower terminus that may become a connection to allow a continuous run if experience shows that to be desirable...

I miss the NG Garden group - missing, presumed dead? I was only a member for a year or two but found it to be a great inspiration. I really enjoyed Ian's lengthy and passionate discourses, Neil's rolling stock-building tips, David's wide-ranging knowledge etc etc. Happily I find some of the same stuff here...

All the best,

Andrew.

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:29 pm

kandnwlr:98356 wrote:Did you use child labour to lay that underneath the deck? So I´m assuming that you´re going to have a solution to potential derailments ...
Nope, all my own work, and I'm still aching... Got some slate and tile retaining walls in today, tracklaying at the weekend I hope.

Unfortunately I find the children better at causing derailments than sorting them out... The under-deck area's a little more accessible than it looks, but I'm still hoping there won't be too many disasters there!

Andrew

User avatar
TommyDodd
Fireman
Fireman
Posts: 497
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 3:46 pm
Location: West Lindsey

Post by TommyDodd » Thu Mar 27, 2014 3:46 pm

Andrew:98394 wrote:
In the event such plans probably helped me to appraise the (small, multi-use, multi-user) garden a little more honestly and accept a certain degree of compromise. I looked at a couple of real WHR locations, and in the end decided on an imaginary branch with WHR features. At the moment those are limited to the rolling stock, a steep gradient, some wiggles in the route and a cutting, but some NWNGR and WHR-influenced buildings and bridges should follow shortly-ish. It will be an end-to-end run when the route is complete (in a month or two?), but with a temporary lower terminus that may become a connection to allow a continuous run if experience shows that to be desirable...

I miss the NG Garden group - missing, presumed dead? I was only a member for a year or two but found it to be a great inspiration. I really enjoyed Ian's lengthy and passionate discourses, Neil's rolling stock-building tips, David's wide-ranging knowledge etc etc. Happily I find some of the same stuff here...

Andrew.
I like the sound of your cunning plan, and will watch progress with interest. NGgarden still exists with 400+ members, but has been very quiet since last summer. I suspect, as with many online resources (including this one) that the active posters were comparatively few in number with the rest content to lurk and pick up tips. Neil R seems to be more active in 15mm/ft circles these days, and the last I saw of Ian was an article in RM last summer showing an indoor layout along the shores of Loch Ness in the rail blue era- he mentioned the garden line briefly, saying that a couple of bad summers had curtailed running and maintenance had suffered too. I remain a member, because even if the traffic is light the group files remain a treasure trove of photographic inspiration and ideas.
Well, now we know the buffer-stops work! (Heard at 2013 "Longest Day" solstice steamup)

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Thu Mar 27, 2014 9:04 pm

TommyDodd:98457 wrote:I remain a member, because even if the traffic is light the group files remain a treasure trove of photographic inspiration and ideas.
Me too, for the same reason - when I said I was a member I meant that's when I was actively posting. I may post on NG Garden when my line opens - it owes a lot to that group and its members...

The Windmill Hill Welsh Highland saw some further progress today but the weather forecast for tomorrow is awful so I don't think the latest extension will see trains this week...

Andrew.

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Sat Mar 29, 2014 5:52 pm

Andrew:98476 wrote:
The Windmill Hill Welsh Highland saw some further progress today but the weather forecast for tomorrow is awful so I don't think the latest extension will see trains this week...

Andrew.
Well, I'm happy to say I was wrong about that...

Today the sun shone beautifully and I spent a large part of the day bringing the new extension into use  - all 4 yards of it!

Part of the work has included sorting the point where the line crosses the access to the storage area under the house. Until now this has only been a little-used headshunt, and the area had  accumulated grot and become something of an eyesore. It's now part of the running line so I thought it deserved a tidy-up. Fortunately I had some stone slabs and slate chippings left over from previous projects:

Image

And here's a close up:

Image

It's intended as a crossing for 1:1 size people rather than 16mm scale ones, for whom it'd be quite a jump... Safety first, nonetheless, so I added this sign:

Image

I bought it in a junk shop in Tonbridge about 10 years ago. Because of the location I'd guess it's BR Southern Region, and from the 70s or early 80s, but I don't know - any ideas?

The rest of the extension curves under the deck to emerge in a shallow cutting which takes it under the swing sofa. The idea in this out-of-the-way area is simply to make it as maintenance-free as possible whilst still looking vaguely attractive.  The bare earth bits will soon receive a layer of slate chippings.

Image

Image

I thought the area needed some sort of focal point so have moved my little PW hut. That ugly wall could do with a coat of paint...

That's all for now. The next step is surveying the final straight to the upper terminus, and coming up with a cunning plan for building it in time for the summer...

Cheers,

Andrew.[/img]
Last edited by Andrew on Mon Mar 31, 2014 10:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

kandnwlr
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 998
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2011 3:14 pm
Location: Alsace, France

Post by kandnwlr » Sat Mar 29, 2014 8:45 pm

These railcars are really impressive and I´m glad to see that they´ve been rescued. Hope to see some more photos of the line as a whole.

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Thu Apr 10, 2014 11:07 am

I'm loving these lighter evenings!

This week I've been able to spend an hour or so in the garden after work and have begun to build the structure that will support the upper terminus:

Image


It's all a bit rough and ready, but I think it will work. Those two long timbers (should've been a little thicker but I'll add extra support) will have a deck added on top for the station to sit on - the area between that and the siding below (only temporarily laid for now) will be landscaped. As you can see the main running line into the lower terminus will be in a tunnel underneath the new bit - I plan to add a little access hatch somewhere in case of derailments or other problems. Which there may well be, given the steep gradient and sharp curve at that point. This may all end in tears! Nearly did last night actually when I hacked into my thumb whilst sawing too hurriedly in an effort to beat the failing light - amazingly resilient stuff, skin...

Further progress reports to follow over the coming weeks...

Andrew.
Last edited by Andrew on Sat Apr 19, 2014 8:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

kandnwlr
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 998
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2011 3:14 pm
Location: Alsace, France

Post by kandnwlr » Thu Apr 10, 2014 11:27 am

Intriguing. I was wondering what wonders will be shown to demonstrate how the line reaches the upper terminus. But it´s good to see that you´re adopting the modern approach of creating multi-storey stations, as Zurich is now doing :lol:

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Thu Apr 10, 2014 11:40 am

kandnwlr:99187 wrote:Intriguing. I was wondering what wonders will be shown to demonstrate how the line reaches the upper terminus.
It's a complex technique, but I think suspension is the key word. Of disbelief that is, hopefully aided by the difference in hight and some careful landscaping! The two stations will be almost on top of each other, but the route between the two runs all the way round the edge of the garden - I must draw a plan sometime...

Will it work? I dunno... Watch this space!

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Post by Andrew » Sat Apr 19, 2014 8:38 pm

There's a little more progress to report on the (WH)WHR...

Lasy week the upper terminus structure was strengthened with additional timber and now feels pretty sturdy. Here's a works train entering what will be the tunnel beneath the terminus:

Image

And again at the current top end of the line where slate chippings and a new swing seat have tidied that corner:

Image


Yesterday I made a start on the deck that will sit on top of the wooden framework, before fettling the track underneath which will soon become pretty inaccessible. Naturally a test train was required:

Image

The section of track in question caused no problems at all, although I had plenty elsewhere, later diagnosed (point blades misbehaving)  and cured.

It made a pleasant change to have two trains in operation, hopefully a taste of things to come...

Image

Image

Cheers all,

Andrew.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests