The (Windmill Hill) Welsh Highland Railway

[FWLR]

Love the loco-less driver Andrew...Brilliant imagination there...

The photo is rather long..How did you manage that...

[tom_tom_go]

Although the gas itself doesn't expire as such the cansister and seal will so I would try again with a new butane (not propane/butane mix) and try again to rule that out.

It's not a slow speed collision, it's inertia just like the real thing

[Andrew]

The photo is rather long..How did you manage that...

That's just how it came out of the camera/phone. It takes rather long thin shots, perhaps all phones do? In landscape format the work quite well on the forum, I think, but they can come out quite tall in portrait mode. Sometimes I crop 'em, but the format seemed to suit the composition on this one...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[Andrew]

Although the gas itself doesn't expire as such the cansister and seal will so I would try again with a new butane (not propane/butane mix) and try again to rule that out.

It's not a slow speed collision, it's inertia just like the real thing

Good advice, thanks Tom. Yes, something was definitely up with the can, I seemed to pump more gas into the air than the loco. I'll buy new gas and try again soon...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[Andrew]

Hello!

Progress on the (WH)WHR tends to be somewhat sporadic, but today I bit the bullet and started work on the Penlan station relaying and ballasting.

The first task was to extricate the track from the mind-your-own-business that had completely covered it, and to remove the crumbling remains of the Rowlands mix ballast that is no longer in good repair. Having done that, tidied the lineside and completely cleared the trackbed, I put the track back down again, with the odd new fishplate here and there...

Here it is on completion of the work:

Cleared track.jpg (472.62 KiB) Viewed 4228 times

It looks good, but the levels are all over the place so I won't be able to run trains over it until I'll ballasted again. I'm going to try to squeeze in a siding behind the station, so I think I'll sort that before ballasting, then do the whole lot in one go...

I'm aiming for a grand re-opening of the whole line later in the summer...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[tom_tom_go]

Now that Russell has a Slomo you may find the track doesn't need to be as level as you think...

[Andrew]

Good morning!

I managed to spend an hour in the garden last night so started work on making space for a new siding at Penlan. It will go behind the station and in front of the wood store, which needed pruning back to ensure adequate clearance.

Here's the cluttered corner of the garden before work started, with the point for the new siding placed in the right position:

Wood store 1.jpg (263.6 KiB) Viewed 4076 times

It's not easy to see, but there's an upright behind the paint pot that's bang in the way, as is the lower shelf of the wood store. My modifications to the store were in line with the original construction technique, ie hack it into roughly the right shape then nail it together.

Here's the modified store, with room for the siding visible heading towards the rear fence:

Wood store 2.jpg (307.69 KiB) Viewed 4076 times

When finished, the siding should be able to accommodate a full length (WH)WHR train, three bogie carriages or the equivalent, giving Penlan facilities other than just a passing loop for the first time and increasing the operating flexibility of the whole line. It won't be particularly convenient to use, but it'll do...

The siding itself might take a bit of a back seat for a while once I've inserted the point - I need to relay and ballast the line through the station first to get the railway fit for trains again. Then perhaps I'll invest in a bag of Postcrete and Penlan's new platform and siding will emerge simultaneously to complete the scene in this corner...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[FWLR]

Thats a great use of a bit of used land there Andrew, did you have to get a compulsory purchase order on it to carry out the work..

Seriously, it's going to be so useful to have a siding to hold a train ready for use and sheltered too.

[tom_tom_go]

That siding gives operational interest as well as it can collect wood from the sawmill?

[philipy]

Much better use of that corner, well done

[Andrew]

That siding gives operational interest as well as it can collect wood from the sawmill?

That was my thought too - here's an image from the very first page of this thread!





The old WHR did have a bit of timber traffic, so I plan to build some bolster wagons for that at some point, and possibly the bogie flat wagon that was cut down from an old NWNGR Ashbury brake composite... I don't know whether the timber being transported would have been logs on the way to a sawmill, or if the sawmill would have been close to the trees being felled and so the railway would've been carrying finished timber - any thoughts?

Cheers,

Andrew.

[tom_tom_go]

Regner loco, bolster wagons, perfect!

[Andrew]

I've made a little more progress with "Project Penlan" in the last few days, but I'm afraid the photos were rubbish, might be able to post some of work in progress later.

The point to the new siding has now been inserted, and I've added the wooden strip that will form the edge of Penlan's rough gravel platform, based on old WHR practice. I've started clearing the area too, so that I can put in the platform and siding, but that's taking longer than planned because of the amount of grot that's accumulated in that corner over the years. My original plan was to get the running line ballasted and up to scratch and to leave the siding for later, but I think I'll need to do it the other way round to avoid trampling all over finished work. With luck I'll get it done over the next couple of weeks...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[FWLR]

Hope it goes well for you Andrew, I know what you are talking about..Our line is not playing ball at all, the extension is proving a little bit frustrating...The Son-in-law is ready to call it a day. I have told him that, it's that way sometimes. It can be frustrating but in the end it will turn out ok.

Has it will with yours mate.

[Andrew]

I do love this time of year, when you can just pop out for an hour or so in the evening and move a project on a little - which is what I did last night.

Because we no longer have a shed, the corner of the garden I'm currently working on will always have to be used to store a certain amount of stuff, but last night I added a sort of retaining wall from scrap timber, which will both contain the junk and help define the bit that's "railway". There was still a little time left to start work on the siding too, so I started digging the trench that will be filled with old bricks and Postcrete to form the trackbed.

Here's the whole corner, complete with junk, which will either be stored, used (in the case of the bags of slate chippings) or disposed of:

Penlan 1.jpg (392.36 KiB) Viewed 4137 times

I think you can see the potential for this to be quite an attractive corner... Here's a close-up, showing the platform edging in place, awaiting the application of wood preservative and then back-filling with Postcrete to form the platform itself. In the background is the simple wall I put in last night, and the start of the earthworks for the siding...

Penlan 2.jpg (385 KiB) Viewed 4137 times

And here's the start of the siding:

Penlan 3.jpg (275.2 KiB) Viewed 4137 times

I don't think I'll get anything done tonight, but with luck I'll be able to test the trackwork by the end of the BH weekend. Then it will on to ballasting...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[FWLR]

Looks to be great project mate and one that will I am sure will be just as brilliant as your modelling...

[Andrew]

Good morning!

A lovely day yesterday saw a fair bit of progress on the current project in the garden, sorting out Penlan station.

A simple brick trackbed for siding was Postcrete-d into position, and the track assembled on top. In true railway tradition, this unimportant siding was laid using bits and bobs of track that had once been used on the mainline. In all the siding was made up of no fewer than seven separate short lengths (it felt like laying Hornby set track!), some of which has probably given service in multiple locations on three railways over twenty or more years!

Here's a test train resting in the new siding:

Penlan siding 1.jpg (429.11 KiB) Viewed 6360 times

And a view across the station itself - the building will go just in front of that big plastic bag:

Penlan siding 2.jpg (427.25 KiB) Viewed 6360 times

Testing went well. I was able to pull and propel trains into and out of the siding and over the point work quite happily, so all should be well...

I've made a start on the landscaping, but I think that'll be the next job, along with ballasting the siding. I need to do that first so that I don't need to tread on everything else in order to get to it - it will also be good to remind myself of my SBR ballasting technique in an area that doesn't matter! Then it'll be the platform, then ballasting the rest of the track, I think, although unfortunately the weather's not looking as good today which may slow things down...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[FWLR]

Looking good Andrew, the building when it's in position will really make it a great add to your line.

The weather was light rain yesterday here, but today it's throwing it down....

[philipy]

Nice Andrew.
Mind you, with all those short lengths of rail, the cost of the number of rail joiners you used must have pretty much equated to a length of new rail!

[steamer68]

Looking really good Andrew, I like the ideas of using brick track beds.