Garden Railway Forum

Another little development! The decommissioned branch has been reinstated, albeit only the first few feet for now. Using the last few bits of Filcris I had to hand, I laid in the junction and a basic framework to lay the top section of the branch towards the rest of the garden. It falls away at 1 in 50ish and though it probably won't go much further this year now, at least it's progress! Reminds me of the Inner London suburbs... The tongue and groove boards are just temporary to brace things whilst the Postfix sets

That extension does have a pleasing elegance to it.....

Rik

pippindoo wrote: ↑Tue Dec 08, 2020 4:27 pm Reminds me of the Inner London suburbs...

Ah yes! Those lines that dive off mysteriously to link the various termini...

It'll look great with a train of tippers or whatever waiting for the passenger train to pass before continuing onto the main line...

Good afternoon everyone! Well, I've just come back indoors after a couple of days graft on the railway during a weekend possession. There have been further developments around Hollycross Station and the Junction after deciding to forge ahead with an idea that's been 'bubbling around' for bit. So, what's occuring?.... First of all, the Branch line needs a platform, so that the trains loco can catch it's breath after the exertion of climbing the gradient, so a few blocks were sawn, by hand!. and fixed along the top edge of the retaining wall. A point and track was laid, and Stage 1 was well underway, ballasting, and the construction of an extra platform, can wait for now. Next.... Another idea was a Station Siding, where vans and wagons can be left for loading/unloading and interchanging between different trains on the Main line and Branch line. Another point, a Peco small radius, was chosen, as firstly it fits in better and also as most through trains will be trailing on this road which will be safer, and the siding was laid in. Then, hmmmm... It didn't go un-noticed that both sidings were level and at right angles! Very handy indeed! A turntable will not only allow the Branch loco to be released, but released, turned, AND able to pick up wagons in the siding, propel them out beyond the station, back through the platform onto the Branch, then set back onto the Branch train. Brilliant! Next, I dug around in the garage and finally found buried treasure, not 1, but 2, aluminium Lazy Susan's! The smaller one, which will comfortably accommodate my current locos, was tried and hey presto, it's looking like it could be made to work. Further jiggery pokery will be needed to sink in the revolving base, and I think fencing round it, a la Hellifield, will be a nice feature. I could even have a portable table to provide storage and loco prep facilities, but I've already got a few drawings and sketches to work with, and a few lumps of brass sheet, so in typical Hollycross style, watch this space!! Cheers for now!

Very neat!

It'll make for fun operations too, always a good thing... I look forward to seeing how the project progresses...

All the best,

Andrew

No sooner had I thought, "A turntable would work there," than one appeared.....

Interesting developments. Looking forward to the next installment

Rik

Excellent, Just found this thread and what a journey you've been on, The garden and railway are both looking really good and I am looking forward to watching you make further progress in the future.

Agreed; that's one tidy turntable arrangement.

Good afternoon all! A little development of interest perhaps. Today has seen the first trial run of Hollycross's latest loco, an IP Jessie. Built exactly as per the instructions using the included manual speed controller and standard batteries for now, she is intended to be something the Grandkids can run as and when. The only deviation had been the addition of a brass whistle, again from IP, and brass porthole surrounds from the bits box. The Jessie gearbox seems to have had some bad press over the years, so I ordered the upgraded steel and brass gear set too, however I have to report I've encountered numerous 'issues' even during testing and the gearbox is currently patched up with some epoxy filling and extra support from plastic card inserts. That said!! she virtually fell together, runs at all speeds in a very steady manner and almost silently. Both Lord Hollycross, myself, and the kids are impressed! This is the current state of play, some finishing required still and the fitting of name and number plates as No. 7 FLORENCE. She runs absolutely fine but due to the rework I had to do to the gearbox casing, mostly for my own peace of mind I might add, I have ordered one of the replacement gearbox casings from Dean Goods. If it needs fitting, so be it, either way, there are plans already for a second Jessie at some point which will be all singing and dancing, with full R/C, sound and digital speed control. For now, take it away Albert, slowly!....

https://youtu.be/e6lAasfeZz0

https://youtu.be/W8pZnaPb-O0

Just found another unread post featuring a railway which hasn't been updated for a few months. Would be really interested to hear if there have been any developments.

Rik