Garden Railway Forum

Nice pictures. Winter running often produces the best steam effects.

Don

Evening all...

With the (WH)WHR's only battery loco temporarily out of use awaiting a new battery pack I took the only sensible course of action - I contacted my local Roundhouse dealer and ordered a new engine.

OK, so it wasn't quite like that, this is a purchase planned for a while, but the timing's good. The new loco's the RH Hercules that will eventually power a 4-wheeled version of the Welsh Highland's Kerr Stuart diesel. Until I get round to building that, I'm just going to enjoy it, starting with a trundle across the kitchen floor because it's far cold, dark and wet outside:


It's nice, isn't it? I'm very pleased with my new toy...

Because it's only a temporary addition to the railway in its current form I won't name it - the loco's been allocated to the line's alter ego, the West Kent Light Railway, and given the number six. And, as fans of cult 60s TV series The Prisoner will appreciate, it's quite appropriate that Number Six shouldn't have a name...

Outdoor pictures soon, but probably not until next weekend.

Cheers,

Andrew.

Looks very nice is it a good hauler?

Don

Very nice Andrew. Hope to see some outdoor views of her soon...When all this rubbish weather has gone.....

DonW wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 8:57 am Looks very nice is it a good hauler?

Don

Thanks Don! I don't know about haulage capability yet because it's still only run on the kitchen floor with those four lightweight wagons, but I'm expecting it to be pretty similar to my RH Little John. I'm sure it can manage a lot more on the level, but heading up hill on my steeply graded line with 3'6" curves it will manage about half a dozen larger wagons quite comfortably, or two heavy wooden-bodied bogie carriages - three feels like too much to ask. I've never put it to the test properly, but I get the impression that my RH Russell would manage double that.

Cheers,

Andrew.

FWLR wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2020 8:24 am Hope to see some outdoor views of her soon...When all this rubbish weather has gone.....

Me too Rod! There was some nice weather this weekend, but we weren't around... Next weekend, maybe?!

Andrew.

Afternoon all!

With a wonderfully free calendar this weekend and the weather not too bad, I decided it was time to take my new acquisition, WKLR Number Six, out for a first trundle round the garden. And here it is:


The five plastic skips were no test for it, but they looked rather well together, I thought?

I managed two or three runs up and down the line before retreating indoors - it's cold out there!

Cheers,

Andrew.

Brrrr it sure is. Minus 3 here Andrew, a very nice white sheet of frost on everything.

Love the photos mate. You are a brave man....

Hi Andrew
that little train of skips suits it just fine. Looks just right in the garden. It was quite a frost overnight here too but if you're in the sun it is quite warming but in the shade it is cold. Memo to self make sure that I will not be in the shade too much when I plan the new line.

Don

Great pix, Andrew.
The new loco already looks very much at home. You seem to be lucky with your weather. I'd hoped to get outside today but the fog never cleared and the temperature reached the heady height of 2.5C!

Rik

Evening all!

Spring is definitely here, and the (WH)WHR's Permanent Way gang have begun work on getting the line in shape for a re-opening to passengers at Easter, or thereabouts...

Today, the first train for some months made its way up the line to Clarach, using the gang's new gauging van, see here passing the not-strictly-to-scale trespass sign at the foot of Penlan bank:


And again on the long straight climbing up to Clarach, with clearance work clearly required!


This section of line passes between various shrubs, and it can be very tricky to work out which ones are outside of the loading gauge, so the van really came into its own - I think it hit at least half a dozen branches!

Here's the cheerful little train arriving at Clarach, with the van's paintwork already a little battered from its encounters with the undergrowth - just the right outcome really, because every scratch on the van is one that won't be happening to my locos!


The next outing for the PW gang, sometime this week I hope, will be to check all the points are working properly and maintain them as necessary...

Cheers all,

Andrew.

Job well done Andrew.

All it needs are some Boudicca revolving blades either side and job done
Your railway is looking a lot more springlike than mine. Note to self, buy more spring flowering plants....

Rik

ge_rik wrote: ↑Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:24 am Your railway is looking a lot more springlike than mine. Note to self, buy more spring flowering plants....

Flower-wise, our garden often looks quite nice from now until about June or July, then goes right off the boil! Luckily, I like the colour green...

Morning all,

As per Tom's request, here's Russell, fuelled, oiled and ready to go at Clarach...


And here's its train, waiting patiently at Trefechan. For no reason other than I fancied seeing what it looked like, it's an all-red train today:


I'm not sure how long the front 4-wheeler will last, it's never run terribly well, I think it's got badly cast axleboxes. Must give it some proper attention soon.

I've got various things to do now, so it's likely to be mid-afternoon before the train goes anywhere.

Running trains according to others' requests and my whims has given me a sort of idea though, for a series of GRF mini "galas" over the coming months - I wonder if anyone else would be interested? The idea would be to replace the real railway galas and garden railway open days that won't be taking place over the next few months with running sessions on our lines held almost "to order". The host railway would post a list of possible locos, rolling stock and/or trains, and forum members would then take on the role of the gala organising committee, choosing (by poll, maybe?) which ones the host will run. And photograph/film, of course.

I rather like the idea - one of the things I enjoy about galas is either accurate recreations of the past, or combinations of locos and rolling stock that are either unusual or just plain attractive, even if not terribly realistic... It wouldn't suit all lines or members, but I'd be happy to give it a go. Any thoughts? What do you think chief moderator Tom? If you like the idea perhaps I could start a new thread...

Anyway, on with the jobs for now, and pics of trains later...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Morning all,

As per Tom's request, here's Russell, fuelled, oiled and ready to go at Clarach...


And here's its train, waiting patiently at Trefechan. For no reason other than I fancied seeing what it looked like, it's an all-red train today:


I'm not sure how long the front 4-wheeler will last, it's never run terribly well, I think it's got badly cast axleboxes. Must give it some proper attention soon.

I've got various things to do now, so it's likely to be mid-afternoon before the train goes anywhere.

Running trains according to others' requests and my whims has given me a sort of idea though, for a series of GRF mini "galas" over the coming months - I wonder if anyone else would be interested? The idea would be to replace the real railway galas and garden railway open days that won't be taking place over the next few months with running sessions on our lines held almost "to order". The host railway would post a list of possible locos, rolling stock and/or trains, and forum members would then take on the role of the gala organising committee, choosing (by poll, maybe?) which ones the host will run. And photograph/film, of course.

I rather like the idea - one of the things I enjoy about galas is either accurate recreations of the past, or combinations of locos and rolling stock that are either unusual or just plain attractive, even if not terribly realistic... It wouldn't suit all lines or members, but I'd be happy to give it a go. Any thoughts? What do you think chief moderator Tom? If you like the idea perhaps I could start a new thread...

Anyway, on with the jobs for now, and pics of trains later...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Great photos and your idea sounds good if you are happy to run it!

Happy to give it a shot, if anyone's interested!

As promised, here are some pictures of this afternoon's trains.


The dodgy 4-wheeler didn't play up too much (although it does need taking into the works), and apart from some of the points needing some attention, the line seems in pretty good shape.

What wasn't so good was next-door's 9 month old French Bulldog, a new addition since I last ran a steam train. He really took against it, yapping incessantly throughout the run. That's gonna be a problem if it happens every time I run a train, so I hope he gets used to the idea!

Cheers all,

Andrew.

Wonderful pictures, I do like your Russell as you know!