The Leawarra Nayook Railway

[LNR]

Thanks Andrew, though I think he's ahead of his time fashion wise. With that shine on his pants I assume they're leather
Grant.
PS he's normally reading a newspaper!

[LNR]

A photo posted by Jake (Tropic Blunder) has caused me to let the cat out of the bag.
The lumberjack driver has been in the boss's ear for some time, that loads and grades are getting too much for the engine. The engine has done many miles and breakdowns happen more often. He's concerned he may end up blocking the main line.

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Loads of sawn timber heading for Leawarra.

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I think the boss's heart over ruled his head when he happened across a fully equipped shay at a bargain price. Although sitting outside for some time, and with turbo generator, lights and a compressor(none of which are useable on the mill line!) Gray's Timber Products now has a three cylinder shay at it's disposal and an ex lumberjack driver with a grin to put a Cheshire cat to shame.

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Mill locos and stock running on LNR metals has been causing much discussion in higher circles and a possible relegation to Tramway status is on the cards.
Grant.

[GTB]

Gray's Timber Products now has a three cylinder shay at it's disposal and an ex lumberjack driver with a grin to put a Cheshire cat to shame.

The only time my Cheshire cat grins is when there's food in the offing........

Are you still bringing the Shay to the GSSU next month? Let me know which day and we can do a parallel run.

Graeme

[ge_rik]

Atmospheric photos as always, Grant. There's something captivating about watching a Shay's motion in action.

Our Cheshire Cat is wolfing down her breakfast at my feet as I type. I can't figure out how she manages to purr, eat and grin all at the same time.

Rik

[LNR]

Are you still bringing the Shay to the GSSU next month?

Yes Graeme, I booked myself for all three days.
Grant.
PS Gee! Cheshire cats are popular.

[Peter Butler]

Grant.
PS Gee! Cheshire cats are popular.

...... particularly those who happen to live in Cheshire!

[LNR]

particularly those who happen to live in Cheshire!

And do they all grin Peter?
Grant.

[Tropic Blunder]

Spectacular grant. Its amazing what a difference some weather and detail changes make to the stock article. I was planning on doing something similar with mine but i dont want to go too far with it.

Have you had to modify much like Graeme did for it to be a successful runner? One of the guys up in the Dandenongs also had one and had dramas originally.

[LNR]

Thanks Jake, yes much work has had to be done to this shay firstly by Gordon under warranty. Many pipe leaks and fittings to be remade. Then comparing the drive shaft lengths with Graeme's shay I found out mine were much shorter, strange as I had already silver soldered an additional 3mm to mine because they kept popping out.
As the shay is 1:20th scale I decided to raise the cab 7mm in order to get 5ft 9" door height for a driver, and of course the new diamond stack. I made a new tank top that sits much lower to carry a wood load, that along with new throttle and gas control levers coupled with the raised cab means it's much easier to drive manually.
The pics. show the raised cab and the new tank top.

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Shay Cab Lift Tank Top 1.JPG (34.75 KiB) Viewed 4512 times

Grant.

[Tropic Blunder]

Interesting that the drive shafts were different lengths I would have thought that would have failed Qc for sure but obviously not also Interesting that the cabs so small. Could it have been designed to 1:22 perhaps? Either way your model looks a treat! Always a shame when theres so much rework involved given the price tags of these locos though.

[LNR]

I would have thought that would have failed Qc

That's if there was any Jake. I have very strong doubts!
To find the shafts short was one thing, but to discover after I had added 3mm mine were still shorter than Graeme's was a real surprise.
It has finally ended up a runner in the end.
Grant.

[Andrew]

Great photos, and a lovely loco, beautifully finished too. But is it the end of the line for the trusty "Lumberjack"?

With its offset boiler and flywheel I reckon my Konrad's like a cross between a Shay and an Aveling Porter - a Shaveling Porter???

[LNR]

Well having survived the depression and with passenger numbers increasing, the LNR management have decided to order a new loco (currently being built as we speak) however the weather has thrown a spanner in the works with a severe storm bringing trees down and completely blocking the main line at the entrance to Nayook. Luckily not a single piece of infrastructure was damaged however there is a massive clean up to be conducted and of course no trains will be running until all is clear.

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Grant.

[Peter Butler]

What a mess Grant, I'm sorry to see it that way, you certainly have some tidying to do.
Those trees look heavy and could have inflicted serious structural damage, it could have been so much worse.

[LNR]

Thanks Peter,
The pictures only show where the main trunks came down . The tree itself came down directly above
Nayook station and town buildings and didn't touch a thing. One knee on the tree hit the top of the wall behind the station and kept everything just high enough, another landed between the garage and the store, Phew!
Grant.

[GTB]

however the weather has thrown a spanner in the works with a severe storm bringing trees down and completely blocking the main line at the entrance to Nayook. Luckily not a single piece of infrastructure was damaged however there is a massive clean up to be conducted and of course no trains will be running until all is clear.

Hooley Dooley....

You were very lucky. Whatever you did to appease the clack god recently must have worked on the tea tree spirit as well.

I didn't think the wind strength was all that high during the storm, at least not on this side of the ridge. Was the weight of the water in the foliage from the heavy rain the last straw for that coastal tea tree?

Water was the issue here that night, I was still pumping water out of the back yard at 4am to keep it out of the workshop........ We got a month's worth of rain in <12hrs.

Graeme

[ge_rik]

Could have been devastating by the looks of it. As Graeme says, the gods must have been watching over you. It would have been a tragedy if your lovely line had been destroyed.

Rik

[LNR]

Thanks Rik,
Yes Graeme, it was the weight of water in the foliage. The trees had a lot of rot and I had already started removing some but on the Warringine side.
There won't be any shade to be had next summer around Nayook.
Grant.
PS Oh! and I'm in the clack gods bad books again.

[LNR]

In typical country town fashion, word got out quickly and plenty of help was available. The Shire men's priority was the re-establishment of the road access, while the railway track gang concentrated on track clearance.

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The press photographer covered the progress for the newspaper.

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By late afternoon the first train waited at the site of the road crossing for permission to enter the station,

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Then snake its way slowly into the yard.

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Grant.

[philipy]

Love it, Sir! You do have a gift for posing a story.