BUTTERLEY GARDEN RAILWAY SUNDAY 22ND APRIL 2012 - "GET EQUIPPED"
The first major event of the day after some gentle running in and trains was the formation of a Mamod Rally...there were no less than 4 IP Janes/Janets/Dreamsteam locos present...!
Britomart, no longer quite as greedy on the meths...
Tad, an original IP Jane....[didn't run in the 'Rally'] - a shame...
..and two former shedmates, one of which was "Ogwen", formerly known as "DSW No.5 'Black Knight' before it was sold in pieces to the WLLR - now lovingly restored and in good order.
Meanwhile, on the Main Line League...
A 'Red Devil' appeared. Lovely engine and a pleasure to see in action...
- but after the one at Llechfan, there could only be one reaction from the Works Staff
-and true, there was no direct interaction but something woke up....
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Swordbreaker - come back for "Payback" on the Butterley railway after the thoroughly miserable last visit of failure and heavy rain dampening the spirits. Now fettled at the York and Poppleton, a few last minute tweaks [and a frantic search for wire for the tender coupling!
] - and raring to show the audience what it could do...
An Interlude with a steamup of the Swordbreaker and finally lapping at Butterley without hitches - definitely a personal highlight...
Onward...
and round...
And up...
..and away...
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GET EQUIPPED - THE TIME OF DECISION
As some of you may know, Greg said 'goodbye' to his green Caradoc - but gained a maroon Kerr Stuart Leader. Now we reveal all...
In short, as everyone knows, I was looking to get my first non-oscillator locomotive. I had been hunting about, evaluating the pros and cons of the different types, both of the Houses of Roundhouse and Accucraft. I had also sent out some feelers about second hand locos [at one point, a 'Bertie' bargain had been sighted - alas[?] the sale ad was out of date.] Negotiation with traders hadn't gone well - but they had been tempting.
...then a few weeks ago, Wizard Gregdalf turns around and in proper LOTR style, sets me a quest:
"Bring me a maroon Leader and we shall trade for the Caradoc, as you seem quite fond of these[/i]" boomed he forth.
In an exploit involving the canteen, Manx cats, a postal service fuelled by magic and a decision racked with doubt, I went ahead and purchased the locomotive of his desire. One of the last maroon ones available and damn I pulled it off at a good mark...
Let's not forget the arduous trek from the sixth layer of Hell, aka Birmingham and all the way to the Gates of the Midland Railway Centre - I almost lost the bag at one point! Nerve wracking indeed.
Moving back to Butterley, we moved to the clubhouse to finish unpacking and conclude business. One condition had been I could keep my decision -keep the Leader or collect the Caradoc - uptil the last moment, at Butterley. So...the time had come.
The Two Halves of the Trade...
~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Man, via Birmingham - one Maroon 'Leader', in brand new condition:
From deepest Westwood, via B2B6[!] - one ready to run, modified 'Caradoc' in near-enough GWR/Talyllyn livery to boot...
I have to admit, the Leader had grown on me in the week I'd had it. But at the same time, it wasn't "my engine" - it wouldn't have suited me in a number of ways. In the end, I made the right choice:
Cadno, I choose you.
- the deal was sealed and two very happy blokes left the clubhouse to steam up Accucraft's finest.
Greg, in his wisdom and greatness, had written up a little instruction guide AND took half an hour out to tutor me in the prepping, readying, firing and driving of the Caradoc. Having only had Mamods and related types, this was one hell of a step up. It's a learning curve, as there's more to do in a way but the start up time is comparatively much quicker than some Mamod type...
..and now that I was the very proud owner of an Accucraft Caradoc, it was time to place it on my siding. Matching up very nicely with my TR stock...
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THE MAMOD RALLY 2012
Britomart, Ogwen and Swordbreaker had all had solo runs, just warming up and running in. Now it was time to organise things for a spectacle indeed - a triple header of mamods!
...amazingly to all, it actually worked for a few laps of the Upper Circuit.
Sadly after a few laps, Ogwen had to retire, leaving Britomart and Swordbreaker to forge on, in a repeat of November's "boot camp double header" - this time, Swordbreaker was able to haul its fare share of the train - Britomart doing very well in reverse however!
Aaaaaand some video...
[click to view] After, Swordbreaker went solo, hauling a neat line of quarry trucks from Snowdonia...
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THE INAUGURAL STEAMING OF 'MYFANWY'
Meanwhile, Greg was prepping his newest acquisition and after a few tweaks in the clubhouse, steam was raised to the sound of cheering.
Coupled up to appropriate WLLR stock...
Is it me, or does that engine suit the WLLR and its coaching stock really well?
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After Lunch, and a showery interval, the clouds began to part, marking the start of the afternoon's festivities...
THE ACCUCRAFT RALLY
Three proud owners, and three fine locomotives, all drivers in matching colours to their locomotives - Cadno, Phoenix, and the newly-christened Myfanwy. How good could this get?
Well now...
Firstly Pheonix and Myfanwy took the road to warm up.
As I was putting out Swordbreaker and drying the little engine off, as well as getting to grips with firing up an Accucraft, there was a delay between Cadno and the triple header...
After some posturing...
....the triple header was set!
:D:D
Coupling on...
And away the Three Railway Engines went!
It was at this point we discovered why a Goodall valve had been included with the 'Leader' -as elegant and dainty as they are, they have smaller boilers than the 'Freelance' 0-4-0 types :shock: And they ran out of gas quicker. At one point Cadno was hauling both Pheonix and Myfanwy - for half a circuit before their crews stopped the train and corrected that....
And some videos of the Accucraft Triple Header, hard at work...
Mission Accomplished, and a great deal of fun with James and Greg!
Meanwhile, a second WD Baldwin was merrily making use of the lower circuit...
I am only sorry that I didn't get a photo of the first :oops: Matt's was a lovely engine, and after all the bad things I had heard, seeing his in action was an eye opener.
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Ending an eventful afternoon...
Cadno in the sun...
Swordbreaker winding down...
And lastly, the Pair:
Myfanwy and Cadno - one event, two very different outcomes...
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And that, as they say, is that. It now explains where the Caradoc has gone - keeping it in 'the family' as it were
to a good home. On reflection, this Sunday was likely the best garden railway day I have had in a very long time indeed. It got wet at times but otherwise, with running trains, acquiring and learning to run my first 'proper' locomotive - and especially in very good company indeed made for a great day out!
Many thanks go to James [DolwyddenLightRail] and a heap of thanks and goodwill to Greg [NarrowMinded] for making this a great day indeed - for garden railwaying that Sunday? I wouldn't have gone anywhere else
Hopefully again sooner than later....!
All the best
Doug
