The (Windmill Hill) Welsh Highland Railway

A place for the discussion of garden railways and any garden style/scale portable and/or indoor layouts
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Andrew
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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.

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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...

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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.

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tom_tom_go
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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!

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

Lovely photos Andrew.
David.
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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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Post by IrishPeter » Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:22 pm

Yes, it is one of the more visually enjoyable lines, and one of the ones that I follow on GRF.

Peter in AZ
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Post by tom_tom_go » Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:36 pm

Just noticed that in the second picture is the driver checking out the 'bird' in the guards van? 😉

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Post by Andrew » Thu Mar 31, 2016 10:08 pm

Very kind words chaps, I'm grateful. It's a shame that the fence will be going back up on Saturday, it'll limit the photographic opportunities again! The line does have lots of grotty and/or unfinished bits, but a bit of springtime growth should cover things up!

The "bird in the guards van" is in fact my wife - sort of... Whilst Grace shared my enthusiasm when my "Bertie" returned from Rhos Helyg, she was unable to join me in the garden because she was under the weather - so suggested that I select a stand-in from my "people box". The closest match I could find was one of Indiana Jones's conquests, who spent the morning riding in the guards van. I must remember to rescue her from the tunnel, where the goods train currently resides...

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Cheers!

Andrew.

PS Sorry, the picture should end up the right way round once Photobucket "remembers" that I've edited it. It sometimes takes a while...

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Post by Soar Valley Light » Sat Apr 02, 2016 1:04 pm

You have your wife locked in a tunnel! Oh my goodness, I fear you may be in trouble! :oops:
"Smith! Why do you only come to work four days a week?
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"

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Post by Andrew » Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:00 pm

Soar Valley Light:117132 wrote:You have your wife locked in a tunnel! Oh my goodness, I fear you may be in trouble! :oops:
That's the least of the (WH)WHR's problems today!

This morning my neighbour and I got stuck into replacing the broken fence. I'd hoped to retain the ivy that covered the panel that stood behind Penlan station but it had become entwined with the fence to the extent that I think it was holding it up. Almost all of it had to go - there's a station under here somewhere:

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As work progressed spare earth heaped up, bricks that had been retaining the earth got dumped here and there, and stray feet trod all over the place. I fear that when I tidy the ivy away Penlan's already dodgy platform and ballast may be beyond repair - I just hope the track's OK.

There's minor damage all the way along the line that should be relatively easy to repair, but Vicarage Cutting is going to be tricky. I'd used thin pieces of rock between the railway and the garden boundary to represent the outer wall of the cutting (through the foothills of Snowdonia, of course...), but it seems that back when I cemented them in I took advantage advantage of the bowed shape of the rotten old fence. The new one is straight and strong - and leaves no room for my cutting wall, which had to be broken out to make way:

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I'll either need to relay the track here to allow room for the rock, or see if I can find some tiles of a suitable material to replace them whilst taking up less space.

There's a lot to do, but it's springtime, so there's more light to do it in and Mother Nature's up for lending a hand. Attractive photos may be thin on the ground for a while though...

Cheers,

Andrew.

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Post by LNR » Sun Apr 03, 2016 10:54 am

Ah! the pro's and cons of new fencing. On the one hand an unnatural background to photographs, on the other, at least what you put there now should stay good for at least the life of the fence. And like a good wine, get better with age.
Good luck with the tidy up Andrew, I'm sure you'll make the best of the new situation.

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Post by Dwayne » Sun Apr 03, 2016 1:18 pm

Much work indeed but without a doubt the maintenance will result in a better section of line in time.

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Post by Andrew » Sun Apr 17, 2016 7:58 pm

Evening all,

Apparently this is my thousandth post on this forum - what a lot of words...

It seems appropriate to mark this milestone with the the usual account of small steps forward and minor setbacks that make up the life of the (Windmill Hill) Welsh Highland, so here goes...

Yesterday afternoon I assembled a works train to assist in making good the post-fencing damage. Here it is awaiting the off at Trefechan - Margaret's new driver doesn't look thrilled at the prospect:

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It didn't take long to clear the line as far as Penlan, where the real trouble started:

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Still, little by little the track was cleared, although a few surprises were encountered along the way:

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Finally the station site was fit for through running, but the damage to the platform and earth encroaching onto the site of the station building mean that the station has been declared closed for the time being...

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Today saw a steam-hauled passenger train prepared, which looked lovely in the afternoon sunshine before I raised steam:

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The good news is that my newly-fettled Bertie coped admirably with the train, the longest and heaviest that the line will usually see.

The bad news is that the new Summer Car suffered from the dreaded "bow string effect", being pulled over sideways on the sharper curves. I shall have to refit the couplings (which are a little high) and add weight to try to cure it...

For the next trip up the line I removed the buffet car, to see if less weight behind the summer car helped - alas, it didn't...

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And so, after that, the Amazing Shrinking Train was reduced to a single carriage, the Pickering brake composite. The sun had re-emerged by then, making for a pleasant end to an otherwise slightly fraught running session:

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More exciting adventures soon no doubt...

Cheers all,

Andrew.

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Post by Andrew » Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:17 pm

Evening all,

This afternoon saw some trains run on the (WH)WHR - here's a few photos...

First up was a works train, which trundled up to Penlan to collect the blocks of slate that had formed the platform edge - the whole station will be re-modeled and the edging blocks re-used at Trefechan:

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While that was going on Number 4 was raising steam to pull a passenger train. In one version of the (WH)WHR's history the Clarach branch is where all sorts of obsolete NWNGR, WHR and FR rolling stock enjoy an extended lease of life - hence trains that look like this one (sorry Soar Valley Andrew, all boxy four-wheelers!):

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Somewhat foolishly I decided to join the two trains to head back down the hill. As you might have guessed, operating two locos and taking decent photos was pretty much beyond me!

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The photos are bad but the running was even worse, culminating in a jerky stop and restart that derailed the brake van and wrenched the bufferbeam off of the bogie open... Oh well, we live and learn...

I can feel a period of consolidation coming on over the next few months, improving the look of my little line and resolving some issues that are affecting smooth running. No doubt I shall chronicle developments here...

All the best,

Andrew.

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Post by Andrew » Thu Apr 28, 2016 5:06 pm

Good evening!

Lighter evenings have seen me out in the garden after work, and I've made a start on a proper platform for Trefechan, my lower terminus - all hasn't gone entirely according to plan!

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The slate edging blocks are the ones that the works train brought down from Penlan at the weekend, glued into place with Gorilla Glue. It was the first time I've used it and it seems like remarkable stuff, but I'd underestimated how much it would expand!

I've already managed to clear up the overspill and am now left with a nice neat line of edging blocks awaiting a bit of pointing and a platform surface - thought you might find the mess amusing though...

Cheers,

Andrew.

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Post by philipy » Thu Apr 28, 2016 7:38 pm

Andrew,
I've never used Gorilla glue, although I've thought about it several times. From your photos it doesn't look as though it would be much use for any kind of precision work? Having said that, there seems to be several species of Gorilla available, which one did you use and do you know if they all have that foaming action?

The platform edging looks good, BTW!
Philip

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Andrew
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Post by Andrew » Thu Apr 28, 2016 9:47 pm

Hello!

I think this is just the standard version of Gorilla Glue - it came in a 115ml bottle and cost £6 or £7 in Wilko as I recall. No, no good for precision work, but bloomin' strong... I plan to use it for some more scenic work with slate tiles over the weekend, some repairing bits where Exterior No More Nails has failed...

Cheers,

Andrew.

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Post by Peter Butler » Fri Apr 29, 2016 12:12 am

I have used Gorilla Glue in the construction of my 'Cain Howley' concrete Engine Shed and it has proved itself to be strong and act as a filling agent at the same time. When it dries it is like a polystyrene material which can be cut or sanded. The instructions do tell you to clamp the items together to prevent expansion pushing the two surfaces apart. Other than this it seems to be a perfect solution to permanent exterior use.
I believe there are variations in the type of Gorilla Glue available but whether it make much difference I can't comment.
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?

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Post by LNR » Fri Apr 29, 2016 12:36 am

I have been using Gorilla Glue for some years now and have found it very successful. The type I have is I think Polyurethane based (I,m no Chemist) and non expanding. I kept reading about it, and it was new to the local hardware store, so thought I'd give it a try. I use it as you would a PVA type on timber, and have glued Galv. iron sheet to timber framework for building roofs. Considering our heat in summer and differing rates of expansion between iron and timber, it is still holding. You can clean up with a damp cloth, and I believe that this also speeds up the drying process. Storage has apparently been a problem, so to exclude air I keep the squeeze bottle upside down in a suitable sized tin.
Grant.

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Post by IrishPeter » Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:49 am

Grant,

What is the humidity like around your way? I often have difficulty storing adhesives in our climate. I attribute this to the dry climate - it is a damp day today, and we have 28% humidity. Summer daytime highs can be in the 30s Celsius, but I keep my glues in the house which is usually between 15C and 25C depending on the time of year.

Cheers,
Peter in AZ
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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