The (Windmill Hill) Welsh Highland Railway

Maple · Post by **Maple** » Sat Feb 27, 2016 4:54 pm

Just been looking through . those slate walls settled in great, is the wood behind holding up ok?

Overall Looks cracking, cheers for the advice on the slate, will be stealing that idea very soon lol

Post by **Andrew** » Sun Feb 28, 2016 12:58 pm

Maple:116506 wrote:Just been looking through . those slate walls settled in great, is the wood behind holding up ok?

Overall Looks cracking, cheers for the advice on the slate, will be stealing that idea very soon lol

Hello! Glad you like it...

The wood seems to be holding up ok, but the glue isn't in places. I used exterior "No more Nails", and it seems to be failing where the bond stays wet and/or I sometimes lean on it to service locos etc.

I may try to find some exterior grade tile adhesive/grout (it must exist...) but before that I'm going to purchase one of the variants of Gorilla Glue that's on a display stand in Wilko. It seems to be activated by water, so presumably won'r mind if the area I'm gluing to is already a bit damp...

Looking at the line and garden there's an awful lot to do to make it halfway presentable...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Big Jim · Post by **Big Jim** » Sun Feb 28, 2016 1:27 pm

Gorilla Glue is pretty good stuff (Gerald hasn't come unstuck yet!*)

There are various trade grip fill type brews out there. Screwfix have a good range, some will set underwater.

The original no more nails seems to be a bit like swarfega. the original blend was brilliant as there was nothing like it before. But new products have appeared and work much better than the original.

(* silly comment I know but for more info search Gerald the Gorilla on youtube)

Post by **Andrew** » Sun Feb 28, 2016 9:07 pm

Thanks for the advice Jim, much appreciated.

I've changed job recently and now finish for the day at 4 - an extra hour to spend in the garden of an evening! I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the maintenance backlog...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Maple · Post by **Maple** » Tue Mar 01, 2016 11:12 am

i am thinking of concreting my slates in place, this should eliminate and glue problems. I glue everything with this or window sealant

I am still planning me elevated quarry section. I already know if will incorporate a working single lane incline and probably a bridge. Got a few years to do it. Could you take a couple more pics of yours so i can get some inspiration for flower beds please?

Post by **Andrew** » Sun Mar 13, 2016 5:59 pm

Hello all,

What a lovely day it's been today! I got out in the garden properly for the first time this year, clearing the line and running a pre-season inspection train. I'm working on a battery powered inspection trolley, but that's till a little way off, so the train was made up of my "Konrad" with a 4 wheel brake and the Gladstone Car, a very attractive little combination I thought. Actually, I do sometimes wonder why I bother running the trains at all - I get almost as much fun setting them up and then just glancing at them out of the window as I potter about the house. Here's what the train looked like from the patio doors before steam was raised (and a few minutes after a Robin had abandoned its perch on the guards van roof):

Once I had raised steam I decided that my inspection train ought to run with the loco propelling the little rake from the rear. In retrospect it was somewhat foolhardy to run the first train of the season up an untested track with a light bogie carriage at the front, and I soon reverted to running round, but here's the first run trundling up the hill mountain railway style:

The run was partly about making a list of all the jobs that will need doing this season - it's a long list! In this view alone the garden looks like it's in the midst of a nuclear winter, the bridge and its abutments still aren't done - oh, and the fence needs replacing... While the fence panel's missing it does make for some slightly more open views than are usually possible - here's a crop of the above picture:

The ballast on the bank needs attention, and further up the line the platform at Penlan is in a bad way:

At Clarach the station looks OK from this angle:

But from the other side you can see how the paint's peeling off the waiting shelter - the whole thing will need repainting:

As I mentioned further up the thread, the glue holding the slate tiles to the wooden planter is failing in places too and will need re-doing:

So, lots to do, but the year is yet young, and it was good to be back out and raising steam... Here are a couple of photos to finish with, firstly showing the little train arriving at Clarach, with Trefechan nestling down below:

And secondly a cropped photo of the one above, just 'cos I like it:

Cheers all,

Andrew.

PS Sorry about the picture sizes, Photobucket was playing up - I may edit them later...

Post by **Andrew** » Sun Mar 13, 2016 6:03 pm

Maple:116545 wrote:Could you take a couple more pics of yours so i can get some inspiration for flower beds please?

Will the any of the above do Maple? You could try looking back through the thread too, but if there's anything more specific you'd like then shout. If I could I'd have made the planters a little wider, there's not enough space to the soil to stay in place at the required angle, if that makes sense?

Cheers,

Andrew.

Peter Butler · Post by **Peter Butler** » Sun Mar 13, 2016 7:03 pm

You had the right idea today as the weather has been beautiful. I should have done the same but instead thought I should do some tidying in the garden. Bad move!!!!!! I now have a severely strained back from moving rocks and re-directing a stream.
Your railway will soon be under control again I'm sure. Even in its present state it is still a pleasure to see.

LNR · Post by **LNR** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 2:37 am

Your Regner has quite a colonial look with the cowcatcher, and cab, particularly the shot coming out of the shadows. I hope the MOTTLITT's are feeling better having seen some daylight recently.

Dwayne · Post by **Dwayne** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 11:01 am

Thanks for sharing. Always a pleasure seeing other people's layouts in photos.

Post by **Andrew** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 8:46 pm

Thanks for the comments chaps, much appreciated.

Yes, I've been dressing up my little Regner a fair bit, and there's more to come - I've got a tender under construction and it will gain a new coat of paint at some point too. I figured that because it would never look much like anything that ran on the Welsh Highland I might as well go to town on it - a coat of maroon and some "Moel Tryfan" nameplates were never going to work! And yes, the MOTTLITTs have survived another winter, although one or two will require a paint job soon-ish...

I hope your back's recovering Peter!

All the best,

Andrew.

Peter Butler · Post by **Peter Butler** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 9:29 pm

Andrew:116810 wrote: I hope your back's recovering Peter!
Andrew.

Thank you Andrew, that's a kind thought.
Unfortunately, it isn't the first time I have damaged it..... some people never learn! I am working around it at the moment and trying to do odd jobs standing up. It hurts more when I don't move for a while.
Today I managed to build more storage boxes for locos and stock. Tomorrow will be paint day.

Post by **Andrew** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 5:01 pm

Hello all,

It's Easter weekend and the sun's shining - time for a train! I had the additional incentive that a large part of our garden fence is down, opening up new views of the line, both from our garden and from next door's - with their permission of course!

Margaret checked that the line was clear and then pulled the manky trucks out of the tunnel and up to the passing loop, pausing for photos on the way...

Meanwhile, Russell was raising steam at Clarach, before trundling down to pick up a couple of carriages and run the first proper passenger train of the season:

Interestingly, although it was lovely to watch the trains from different angles, the photos are particularly spectacular...

Anyway, it was a very pleasant morning run in the sunshine - I'm looking forward to more to come...

Cheers,

Andrew.

tom_tom_go · Post by **tom_tom_go** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 9:52 pm

Great photo Andrew, love the wagon:

The diesel is far too clean though

KjellAn · Post by **KjellAn** » Sat Mar 26, 2016 6:52 am

Yes, I think it is also too shiny. Here is my Little John and some LGB gravel wagons.

How to weather: First a thinn coat of matt varnish, then a wash of black and rust colors mixed with white spirit.
The rusty chimney and the footstep are drybrushed with burnt sienna powder.

Post by **Andrew** » Tue Mar 29, 2016 6:30 pm

KjellAn:116978 wrote:Yes, I think it is also too shiny.

Yes, I agree with you both, and I really like weathering, BUT, the loco's named after my late mother-in-law and it doesn't seem quite right to cover it in grot! That's why I chose the dark green and yellow colour scheme - I thought it looked like an army loco, and they're always beautifully clean...

Maybe later I'll tone it down a little - your loco looks fantastic Kjell...

Andrew.

Post by **Andrew** » Tue Mar 29, 2016 6:42 pm

Hello again,

Today I received my RH Bertie back from Rhos Helyg. It had been rostered for services on Good Friday, but the Royal Mail had other ideas so I ended up collecting it from the sorting office this morning.

Luckily my new employer deem it necessary to give us a 5 day Easter weekend (and who am I to argue?!) so Bertie was steamed between showers - and ran beautifully... The loco has never run on my current line but coped admirably with my sharp curves and steep gradients, pulling a six wagon rake with ease.

The morning sun made for some lovely views of the loco plodding up and down the bank next to the temporarily absent fence panels too...

Bertie looks quite at home, doesn't he?? Sounded great too, with the chuff pipe making a lovely racket... I'm looking forward to another run very soon...

Cheers all,

Andrew.

tom_tom_go · Post by **tom_tom_go** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 10:24 pm

It is a shame that you have to repair the fence as you take great photos from that angle.

Bertie looks good in the sunshine!

River Lin · Post by **River Lin** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 11:30 pm

Lovely photos Andrew.
David.

Soar Valley Light · Post by **Soar Valley Light** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 7:55 pm

You have a great railway Andrew, it's blending into the landscape beautifully. Your trains look superb in their own right but running through the setting you have created makes for a very realistic result.

Andrew

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The (Windmill Hill) Welsh Highland Railway

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