Vale of White Horse Railway
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
"Must have been hard to have felt obliged to run a loco" . No stopping you now.
Grant.
Grant.
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
Indeed, we now have some actual track down!
A fair bit of work yesterday and today has now seen the track laid for the first section. The track is a mixture of old and second hand & some of it is very golden... will weather down. Mostly LGB throughout. Overscale but durable - will be ballasted in due course.
The steaming bay, looking back into the shed. Note the hatch added where the track goes in (needs painting), and the custom curved point. I need a RH point to lay the second track - have two LH's over but not a RH annoyingly. Lack of planning!
Looking out of the other side of the shed, back towards the garden. Track layout in the shed is a loop and two 6' sidings.
Looking over the temporary bridge to the gravel boards.
General overview, my dad at the controls!
Hope to landscape and plant a bit over the weekend.
A fair bit of work yesterday and today has now seen the track laid for the first section. The track is a mixture of old and second hand & some of it is very golden... will weather down. Mostly LGB throughout. Overscale but durable - will be ballasted in due course.
The steaming bay, looking back into the shed. Note the hatch added where the track goes in (needs painting), and the custom curved point. I need a RH point to lay the second track - have two LH's over but not a RH annoyingly. Lack of planning!
Looking out of the other side of the shed, back towards the garden. Track layout in the shed is a loop and two 6' sidings.
Looking over the temporary bridge to the gravel boards.
General overview, my dad at the controls!
Hope to landscape and plant a bit over the weekend.
- Gralyn
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Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
Looking good. Your hard work is being rewarded with some Train running time.
Regards Graham.
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
all looking brilliant
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
Great progress in such a short space of time. Looks like plenty of operational potential.
Rik
Rik
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
The build of your railway went fairly quick! Nice running length as well and on a comfortable height. Nice!
"En schöne Gruess" from an Alpine railway in Holland.
- Soar Valley Light
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Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
Great Progress Jon. Keep up the good work.
I'm always slightly in awe and slightly envious of those of you who manage to create almost instant railway. It took me most of the day (between a load of other jobs) just to bend up the wing rails and file and solder the point and splice rails for a single crossing nose - it's not even assembled yet!
Andrew
I'm always slightly in awe and slightly envious of those of you who manage to create almost instant railway. It took me most of the day (between a load of other jobs) just to bend up the wing rails and file and solder the point and splice rails for a single crossing nose - it's not even assembled yet!
Andrew
"Smith! Why do you only come to work four days a week?
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
Thanks very much for the kind comments - it means a lot
Anyway, another busy weekend! Yesterday was spent levelling (ish) in front of the shed, adding a rough border, laying a few slabs & filling with slate. We have some more slate to build up the thickness a bit too.
Today has been spent making a rock cutting & planting some flowers in the triangle area, plus ballasting the sides of the triangle.
And then, onto some trains! First, a quick test...
And then this evening some steam...
Unfortunately a number of issues came up during the evening running. The L&B coaches hit the wall into the shed (whoops!) and there are issues with track level on the timber section - no surprise, we knew it would need fettling. Another issue is the height of the chopper on the back of the Billy - fitted by the previous owner, its is miles high compared with anything else. It's all superglued up so not the easiest job to just whip it off & replace.
The only way to check is to test with lots of different locos & stock. Oh, what a shame!
Anyway, another busy weekend! Yesterday was spent levelling (ish) in front of the shed, adding a rough border, laying a few slabs & filling with slate. We have some more slate to build up the thickness a bit too.
Today has been spent making a rock cutting & planting some flowers in the triangle area, plus ballasting the sides of the triangle.
And then, onto some trains! First, a quick test...
And then this evening some steam...
Unfortunately a number of issues came up during the evening running. The L&B coaches hit the wall into the shed (whoops!) and there are issues with track level on the timber section - no surprise, we knew it would need fettling. Another issue is the height of the chopper on the back of the Billy - fitted by the previous owner, its is miles high compared with anything else. It's all superglued up so not the easiest job to just whip it off & replace.
The only way to check is to test with lots of different locos & stock. Oh, what a shame!
- Soar Valley Light
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Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
Great photos Jon. The planting looks really good, the line is already settling into the landscape, the whole garden is beginning to look neat and tidy. You really do get a move on when you set your mind to it!
Andrew
Andrew
"Smith! Why do you only come to work four days a week?
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
- Peter Butler
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Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
Incredible progress and great result.... well done to you both. From a bare patch of ground a garden railway has emerged in record time.
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
Amazing progress! Just wow...
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
As others have said, astonishing progress. Terrible about the testing, but someone has to do it
Grant.
Grant.
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
Brilliant progress and for how much you've done in a short time, you don't seem to have much fettling to do - well done
Where did I put that uncoupler?
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
Blimey! You don't hang about, do you? Have you thought about putting in a bid for the SE Rail franchise? I'm sure you'd soon get that sorted out!
Great to see trains chuffing through foliage already and relatively few snags to sort out.
Rik
Great to see trains chuffing through foliage already and relatively few snags to sort out.
Rik
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
Once again, thanks all! You're too kind. Not much progress track wise this week, mainly a bit of fettling, but I thought you might like some more photos!
On Tuesday I fettled the track a fair bit more & steamed up 'Auric' to test. The two main derailing points have now been packed sufficiently, meaning running is a bit more enjoyable!
One of my favourite locos in the fleet is my Leek & Manifold tank. I fitted a DJB whistle to it last week but hadn't yet tested it, so rectified it on Saturday. It needs a bit more track to really stretch its legs, but it is a joy to drive!
Also on Saturday, I fixed the coupling height issue on 'Brockhurst' and steamed that up - seen here leaving Kingston Lisle. Note the shortened VOR coach in the rake, which was featured previously in this thread. I'm happy to report that it runs very well - I was a little concerned about it to be honest but no catastrophes yet!
Today I steamed up the newest member of the fleet - a Roundhouse Darjeeling. Completely out for 2'6", so I'll have to bend the history a fair bit - maybe some rich guy built a replica in 2'6".... believable enough maybe! Anyway, here it is on shed with two recently completed, also having their first run:
And here descending the grade into Kingston Lisle.
For anyone interested in some more photos, I have set up a Flickr - https://www.flickr.c.../149366894@N08/
On Tuesday I fettled the track a fair bit more & steamed up 'Auric' to test. The two main derailing points have now been packed sufficiently, meaning running is a bit more enjoyable!
One of my favourite locos in the fleet is my Leek & Manifold tank. I fitted a DJB whistle to it last week but hadn't yet tested it, so rectified it on Saturday. It needs a bit more track to really stretch its legs, but it is a joy to drive!
Also on Saturday, I fixed the coupling height issue on 'Brockhurst' and steamed that up - seen here leaving Kingston Lisle. Note the shortened VOR coach in the rake, which was featured previously in this thread. I'm happy to report that it runs very well - I was a little concerned about it to be honest but no catastrophes yet!
Today I steamed up the newest member of the fleet - a Roundhouse Darjeeling. Completely out for 2'6", so I'll have to bend the history a fair bit - maybe some rich guy built a replica in 2'6".... believable enough maybe! Anyway, here it is on shed with two recently completed, also having their first run:
And here descending the grade into Kingston Lisle.
For anyone interested in some more photos, I have set up a Flickr - https://www.flickr.c.../149366894@N08/
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
I am not jealous of your Darj loco, Been trying to justify a reason to have one on my railway for years.
Grant.
Grant.
- tom_tom_go
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Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
I like the Roundhouse Darjeeling 'B' class as well. Especially as Riverdale do a coal fired version and you can get a slomo to fit too!
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
I would sell the wife for a coal fired B class.
If at first you don't succeed, use a bigger hammer!
- Peter Butler
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Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
But Jim, what about the tenth commandment? I feel a flagellation coming on.... but don't enjoy it too much!
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?
Re: Vale of White Horse Railway
Moses hadn't heard of the DHR.
Commandment 10 (a)
And the Lord did sayeth "excepting steam locomotives"
Commandment 10 (a)
And the Lord did sayeth "excepting steam locomotives"
If at first you don't succeed, use a bigger hammer!
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