Nonaim Tramway

[Dwayne]

After my own abortive foray into heat forming of styrene, I can only say well done!

Thanks. I'm still deciding whether it will suffice or try something else...

Anyways, the little LGB 0-4-0 Porter steam outline that I bought on ebay arrived at my doorstep this afternoon. It's a cute little engine but definitely needs a lot done to it in the future. It's slightly smaller than my modified Bachmann Porter.

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[Soar Valley Light]

Very nice Dwayne. I fits in very well, I look forward to seeing what you do to it.

Andrew

[tom_tom_go]

Great looking pair, makes me want to respray Steamy Clare so she matches my Riverdale loco

[Dwayne]

Very nice Dwayne. I fits in very well, I look forward to seeing what you do to it.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew. When I get caught up on other engines (the Bachmann for instance needs a new gear to replace it's split gear), first thing will be to convert it to RC/battery. Then it'll get new paint (black of course).

When I started playing with garden trains my thought was to add more detail to the engines and rolling stock since they were larger and easier on my aging eyes. But now I'm far less inclined to do this and instead opt for more simple facsimiles that work with the 10 foot rule. Operations tends to be more interesting than just running trains round and round.

[daan]

These little LGB loco's are ideal to tinker with..

[jim@NAL]

great looking loco

[Dwayne]

It's been a few months since my last post here. To be honest, I haven't done squat with the layout since then. My other hobby has been taking most of my free time. The two photos show it's current condition looking east and looking west...

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This weekend I'm planning on sending the track crew out to clear the rails at the very least.

[ge_rik]

Blimey Dwayne, that ground cover has grown like crazy. Do you also have triffids in your region?

Rik

[Sylvian Tennant]

Like a real railway :-P. Really good stuff going on here, the track is absolutely sublime.

[Dwayne]

No triffids around here fortunately. We do have a variety of thorned vine that likely can scratch you to death that grows like a weed. Nasty stuff.

What's growing on the layout is Creeping Charlie. Because of the warm to hot/arid climate here it isn't as invasive as some folk in wetter and cooler climes endure. It's easily kept in check unless other interests distract me as has been the case.

[tom_tom_go]

Apparently you can eat it?

[Dwayne]

Apparently Creeping Charlie is edible. It's in the mint family.

The thorny vine I mentioned is Greenbrier. I've gotten most of it killed on my property but unfortunately the thirty acre wood lot behind my place still has a billion plants growing throughout. The thorns on these are upward of half-inch in length and seem to jump out at you to scratch the beejeebus out of your hide.

[Soar Valley Light]

Hi Dwayne,

I was wondering where you'd got to. Nice to see you back.

Your track (the bit I can see!) seems to have blended into the landscape very effectively. There's plenty of atmosphere even without trains.

I look forward to seeing the 'pruned' railway.

Andrew

[Dwayne]

Hi Dwayne,

I was wondering where you'd got to. Nice to see you back.

Your track (the bit I can see!) seems to have blended into the landscape very effectively. There's plenty of atmosphere even without trains.

I look forward to seeing the 'pruned' railway.

Andrew

Hi Andrew. I still check in on the forum a few times each week in spite of the other hobby diverting my limited time. We've also had another hot summer so time spent outdoors was limited.

So I spent about an hour clearing the right of way before some storms rolled into the area. Nice thing about this Creeping Charlie is that it's easily trimmed back with a pair of scissors. I posed my little LGB loco on the track for a few static photos.

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[tom_tom_go]

You could plonk a Darjeeling loco in those pictures and it would look like it was steaming away in India!

[bazzer42]

Love that shot on the bridge. Does it smell nice when trimmed being mint related?

[Dwayne]

Love that shot on the bridge. Does it smell nice when trimmed being mint related?

No mint scent at all when trimmed. I did plant some mint at a couple of places on the layout but neither is next to the track so no need to trim.

[Soar Valley Light]

You could plonk a Darjeeling loco in those pictures and it would look like it was steaming away in India!

I'm not sure that's what Dwain was aiming for but you're absolutely right Tom. It's amazing how a carefully built railway with no trains can be a back drop for any number of prototypes (in any number of countries!) and even a variety of scales!

The shots of your loco look great Dwain. It's a very believable railroad in a very realistic landscape. I'm still in love with your track!

All the best,

Andrew

[Dwayne]

It was a beautiful, warm day here in central Oklahoma (81°F/27°C) so I decided to fire up Ida and run her around the layout a bit. This is the first time this year since completing the layout that I've actually taken the time to run live steam. She would make six or seven laps with each fill up (the layout has a 100 foot mainline).

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I also made some room in my bike shed/man cave for my train workbench (back corner).

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[philipy]

I love the middle shot of the three ( 3/4 from above). It reallys hows the embankment well.