Garden Railway Forum

At the kind invitation of Pretoria, I spent last Sunday afternoon at the Derby SMEE track at Smalley - only about 10 minutes down the road.



If you're going to drive an SAR Railway loco, you need to have the right hat....................



Here's the man himself.....................



................ and here's his son in charge!



Ready for the off...............



They like to encourage the youngsters...............



On his way round................ The track layout is quite complex - there are 3 loops - Loop 1 goes OVER the bridge, Loop 2 goes UNDER the bridge on the RIGHT hand track, and Loop 3 goes through the tunnel, UNDER the bridge on the LEFT hand track and takes you back to where you started from (unless, of course, you operate the points which allow you to bypass the station altogether...............) THe whole is controlled from the signal box.



The dogs belonging to the local members are not averse to hitching a ride..............................

Towards the end of the afternoon I was invited to try my hand at driving. There's a lot more to it than waggling a few levers on an R/C transmitter....................... "Put the water on as you go over the bridge, use the vacuum brake to slow down coming off the bridge, THIS bit is the steepest bit on the line................" and of course the smaller boiler does mean you have to keep ypur wits about you, but I made a passable stab at it.

It transpires that Pretoria has never driven an R/C loco, so I'm going to give him a go next Saturday!

Derby is a great line, my friends got there  sweet pea round with 6 coaches with some very impressive driving, I think I managed 3 but am very much a begginer driver
Heres a video of derby SMEE for anyone interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwHReSTo8mo
Me driving in the first video clip! As well as latter on lying down on driving the tram.

 

MDLR:73792 wrote:Towards the end of the afternoon I was invited to try my hand at driving ............... but I made a passable stab at it.

 
 MDLR underestimates his abilities -- he didn't fall off, he didn't break anything, HE didn't lose his train (unlike a certain other driver), he didn't get lost and got back to the station with the water where it should be and lots of steam.    A very creditable first go !

Was I worried ?         Noooooooooooooo ....................      
Thanks for coming Brian -- it was good meeting someone at the other end of the ether !  

Looks brilliant there, not too far from my homeland of Stoke-on-Trent either.  I'm thinking of getting something 5" myself as the 7 1/4" lines down here in Kent are very sparse (and Maxitrak are just down the road who do some lovely new and secondhand 5" stuff).  Just need a job to pay for it  :roll:

MDLR:73792 wrote:

He must be the Guard-dog !!

MDLR:73792 wrote:
It transpires that Pretoria has never driven an R/C loco, so I'm going to give him a go next Saturday!

Thats a shame, I was rather hoping he would be at the Joys of Life Railway running day this coming Saturday.... ah well!
Welcome to the world of being a newbie driver on that lovely NG6, cracking little loco that I've found easier then any other 5inch gauge loco thus far. I should say that it wasn't me that managed to loose the train but it was another forum member who you expect would be more expert in these matters

Looks down, shuffles feet, edges out of sight sideways

I had to yell at him to stop, otherwise he would've merrily continued on his way..............................

LlanpwllBrynwyn:73800 wrote:Looks brilliant there, not too far from my homeland of Stoke-on-Trent either.  I'm thinking of getting something 5" myself as the 7 1/4" lines down here in Kent are very sparse (and Maxitrak are just down the road who do some lovely new and secondhand 5" stuff).  Just need a job to pay for it  :roll:

There may well be a certain ROR electric Hunslet for sale in kent soon..... http://www.lorweb.plus.com/Highview%20L ... nslet.html ...sorry about my hat at the bottom of the page but someone had to wear it....

Barry

MDLR:73819 wrote:I had to yell at him to stop, otherwise he would've merrily continued on his way..............................

Sooooooooooo, who wants to see a photo of MDLR at play ?

Pretoria:74467 wrote:   Sooooooooooo, who wants to see a photo of MDLR at play ?

NOT ME!!!

MDLR:74468 wrote:

Pretoria:74467 wrote:   Sooooooooooo, who wants to see a photo of MDLR at play ?

NOT ME!!!

Do I ? Don't I ? Do I ? Don't I ? Do I ? Don't I ? ...........................

MDLR:74468 wrote:

Pretoria:74467 wrote:   Sooooooooooo, who wants to see a photo of MDLR at play ?

NOT ME!!!

Ooooo!!! I do, I do, I do!!!

DolwyddelanLightRail:74470 wrote:

MDLR:74468 wrote:

Pretoria:74467 wrote:   Sooooooooooo, who wants to see a photo of MDLR at play ?

NOT ME!!!

Ooooo!!! I do, I do, I do!!!

Now, let me think !

Should I really post a picture and wreck a persons reputation ? Methinks I need a bit more encouragement (or at least a bribe) !

Go on! You know you want to

Narrow Minded:74478 wrote:Go on! You know you want to  :D

[sorry the quality is not brilliant -- it is a frame capture off video footage]

Definatly that guy driving looks like a complete pro, however, that first passenger......!

laalratty:74482 wrote:Definately that guy driving looks like a complete pro, however, that first passenger......!

laalratty:74482 wrote:Definatly that guy driving looks like a complete pro, however, that first passenger......!

"Who am I? And where am I?"

*Grabs Coat*