The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by BWLR » Sun Aug 14, 2022 1:05 pm

philipy wrote: Sun Aug 14, 2022 12:37 pm
BWLR wrote: Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:04 am
It’s an Accucraft Cranmore Peckett.3230A029-9763-43BB-88CC-3E9B271F87FB.jpeg

That is a lovely looking little loco. Any chance of some video?
Hi Phil, I did put a clip on Twitter a while back but I plan to get some better footage sorted soon and put it on YouTube:

https://twitter.com/bwlrpeter/status/15 ... hAtK3AoPJw
Bishops Woodland Light Railway - Youtube

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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by hoppy504 » Sun Aug 14, 2022 1:35 pm

Great looking layout, nice to see a wildlife friendly garden, my wife wants to know do you have frogs in the pond ?
By the way good looking loco in the video.

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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by SimonWood » Sun Aug 14, 2022 2:51 pm

BWLR wrote: Sun Aug 14, 2022 1:05 pm Hi Phil, I did put a clip on Twitter a while back but I plan to get some better footage sorted soon and put it on YouTube:

https://twitter.com/bwlrpeter/status/15 ... hAtK3AoPJw
Beautiful looking loco and from that clip and amazing runner. I do enjoy running manual locos... but I must not be tempted!

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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by philipy » Sun Aug 14, 2022 4:02 pm

BWLR wrote: Sun Aug 14, 2022 1:05 pm
Hi Phil, I did put a clip on Twitter a while back but I plan to get some better footage sorted soon and put it on YouTube:

https://twitter.com/bwlrpeter/status/15 ... hAtK3AoPJw
[/quote]

Cheers Peter. Not sure which I nevy most, the loco or the garden! Both are beautiful.
Philip

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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by BWLR » Sun Aug 14, 2022 5:25 pm

hoppy504 wrote: Sun Aug 14, 2022 1:35 pm Great looking layout, nice to see a wildlife friendly garden, my wife wants to know do you have frogs in the pond ?
By the way good looking loco in the video.
There is an odd frog or two that turn up from time to time. Usually jumping out of the undergrowth near the pond on the rare occasion I decide to give it a little tidy up. It tends to give you a bit of a shock when they do! :)

I’d like to keep some areas of the garden a bit wild and unkept and a wide range of plants. Got to keep the wee beasties happy!
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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by FWLR » Mon Aug 15, 2022 9:18 am

Just seen your YouTube channel and it is very impressive Peter. :salute:

Can you please tell me how you went about laying your track. I am just about to start planning our new line and it's the first time I am doing it at ground level. :thumbright:

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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by BWLR » Mon Aug 15, 2022 8:27 pm

FWLR wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 9:18 am Just seen your YouTube channel and it is very impressive Peter. :salute:

Can you please tell me how you went about laying your track. I am just about to start planning our new line and it's the first time I am doing it at ground level. :thumbright:
Hi Rod,

Well I have to say my approach is not entirely conventional. Mainly I dug a trough several inches deep and lined it with anti weed membrane (or maybe in some areas with off cuts of roofing felt where I felt there was concern of serious root ingress. The trough was filled with gavel and then some treated wooden stakes hammered in (in some cases they probably went through the weed membrane! Then track was drilled and screwed to the stakes. Everything was carefully levelled out with a spirit level and then final packing up with fine horticultural grit as the ballast. It works for me but i would caution against it depending on ground conditions.

The big issue with this approach is that the wooden stakes will rot. Obviously it depends on the wood used and how it is treated.

Now, I have to say at this point that I am in an area which is sitting on pure sand (indeed the local primary school sports field across the road is several feet lower than surrounding land as it was worked for sand in the early 19th century) So the land drains incredibly well plus unlike clay soils I don’t get any heave due to it drying out or frost. I wouldn’t suggest this if you haven’t got really good drainage.

I’ve only relaid a couple of sections of track, both for operational reasons rather than due to poor running. I noted that some of the wood had rotted, some much less than others, but the track was still quite firmly held in place. In some cases I even reused the old stakes. I am aware that much of the track is supported on partially rotting wood, but it doesn’t matter too much as it now has settled into alignment and only requires occasional packing.

The advantage with this method is it’s really quick and easy to lay in the first place and also to adjust when needed. It’s almost really a case of just laying the track in ballast like a full sized railway with a bit of extra support to keep it aligned.

So there you are, my quick and dirty track laying method… yes, I’m a bit of a bodger :D
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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by ge_rik » Tue Aug 16, 2022 9:13 am

BWLR wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 8:27 pm ...... So there you are, my quick and dirty track laying method… yes, I’m a bit of a bodger :D
Sounds well organised to me ...... but then I am a self confessed bodger myself ...... :lol:

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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by LNR » Tue Aug 16, 2022 9:30 am

BWLR wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 8:27 pm I am in an area which is sitting on pure sand
I too am on pure sand and agree with your comments re drainage and ease of forming. I find the ants love the hole provided in the sleepers and the hollow underneath and although they only remove the sand one grain at a time, I just wish they would put it back when they're finished with it :shock: .
Grant.

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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by Andrew » Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:19 am

Just catching up here - that Peckett's just lovely!

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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by Old Man Aaron » Wed Aug 31, 2022 8:11 am

Utterly wonderful line, sir. :salute:
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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by BWLR » Sat Sep 24, 2022 2:47 pm

The island platform at Bishop’s Hutton has looked a bit empty since I installed it.
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Some sort of platform shelter was called for, and I was thinking about scratchbuilding one. However whilst at the Llanfair show I noticed a kit that looked ideal. Here it is unpainted…
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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by BWLR » Sat Sep 24, 2022 3:50 pm

I’ve completed painting and very pleased with how it looks.
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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by BWLR » Sat Sep 24, 2022 3:53 pm

Forgot to mention it is a Pendle Valley kit!
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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by FWLR » Sun Sep 25, 2022 8:05 am

Looks very smart. I love the colours also. :thumbright:

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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by ge_rik » Sun Sep 25, 2022 3:12 pm

Nicely done!

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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by BWLR » Sat Mar 25, 2023 6:11 pm

It has been a few months since my last update. However I have been keeping things ticking along with various projects including adding to my stock of wagons.
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I’ve built 3 wagon kits over the winter. Firstly a couple of Brandbright vans that I’ve had in stock for a while. One painted in standard light grey BWLR goods livery and hand lettered. The other van finished as a PO wagon belonging to the Bishops Hutton Brewery, again hand lettered and with slightly more elaborate “decoration”. I can’t claim any great skill at sign writing, but I do enjoy trying! Anyway the Branbright kits need no introduction, they are nice solid quality kits that fit together well. They also tend to be some of the best runners I have.

The wagon in the middle is a tool wagon kit from Bole Laser Craft which I think I got at the Peterborough show last year. It’s a nice kit with a mix of 3d printed parts, acrylic mdf for the floor and plywood for the body. I have just one negative comment to make, which is the quality of the plywood is a bitty iffy, being somewhat porous with numerous holes on the cut edges. Easily sorted out with a careful application of wood filler and sanded but noticeable versus the Brandbright kid which had better quality wood.

Anyway, the finished wagon looks good and has some nice features including opening doors and a brake that works. It has been finished in Engineers Department blue and is about to be lettered (with vinyl letters, to fit in with the other departmental stock)
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I’ve also taken used the winter shutdown to renovate some of the existing goods stock with some new paintwork and lettering on some vehicles.

Additionally I’ve also made an extension to the obscure Claxton Percy branch of the BWLR. This is really just a scenic test track that lives along one wall of the garage but has now been extended to the back wall as a new and relocated gas boiler has allowed the space to extend! It isn’t finished and the last few feet are just a narrow ledge which will eventually sit at the back of a new work bench.Still the extra space has made it possible to operate trains during the winter and I suspect it might get extended again down the opposite wall of the garage to form a horseshoe layout and have some real operating potential.

I’ve also been doing some renovation of infrastructure outside on the garden line as part of a rolling programme to keep on top of maintenance. So all in all I’ve been quite busy despite not being able to spend quite as much time as I would like to on railway matters!
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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by FWLR » Mon Mar 27, 2023 6:39 am

That hand lettering is brilliant. Can I send you some of mine.. :thumbright:

Seriously, I think you have a talent that you can enjoy, knowing you have made what can be such a pain to do, it is for me. I tend to either leave well, alone or try and put vinyl on, which can be a disaster most of the time. :roll:

More please of you brilliant work. :thumbright:

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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by Old Man Aaron » Mon Mar 27, 2023 10:11 am

Satisfying to get the maintenance knocked out, isn't it? Good for another however long. :lol:
Love the lettering too, and graphics on the brewery van. Top notch :salute:
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Re: The Bishop's Woodland Light Railway (BWLR)

Post by BWLR » Thu Mar 30, 2023 2:34 pm

Thanks for the comments on the hand lettering :) I’ve lettered the tool wagon using vinyl to match my existing departmental wagons.
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The above photo taken on the indoor line mentioned before. Here is the end of the layout before the new extension:
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And now after with the extension going to the to of the garage:
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Looking back down towards the station:
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