Garden Railway Forum

ge_rik wrote: ↑Sun May 08, 2022 8:22 pm I'm not sure Auntie's preferences should take precedence over accepted railway working practices .....

(I'd probably have just picked it up and shoved it on the tail end .... )

Rik

I like my aunt very much, and was very pleased she wanted to see a train running, but to be honest, I think I'd kind of lost my audience after she'd filmed the first light engine move! The rest of the operation was more of a diverting backdrop to an afternoon of chatting and tea drinking, but that suits me just fine...

The pictures are lovely. If I had anywhere to put it, I’d copy your green and cream platform shelter too.

I really like the overgrown track work, though I hope no one lives in that grounded van! More nice shots, and I second BertieB about that station building, just love the exposed framework inside.
Grant.

Hi Andrew,

I don't care one way or the other which way they are pulled/pushed. Just to get another chance to see your rolling stock is all I need....

Brilliant photos again..

FWLR wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 8:42 am Hi Andrew,

I don't care one way or the other which way they are pulled/pushed. Just to get another chance to see your rolling stock is all I need....

Brilliant photos again..

Not to sound derivative, but I'll second that!

Hello all,

A bout of early morning insomnia lead to a most improbable event taking place today - the first passenger train of the year departed Trefechan at 6:45am...

It didn't go entirely smoothly, of course. I only remembered as I was raising steam that I'd pinched one of the couplings from Van 2, so the guard had to make do with bouncing around in 4-wheeled Van 5 instead, and some dubious trackwork (at the lift out bridge in particular) caused some derailments, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless...

Here's how it looked:


I quite like the accidental almost-panning shot - in reality it's just camera shake, but it looks like my shaking coincided quite nicely with the speed of the train!

Cheers all,

Andrew.

Very nice indeed. Now that I’ve watched those videos (your other recent posts) I’m getting a glimmer of understanding. The loco and coaches look great — I recognised them!

BertieB wrote: ↑Mon May 30, 2022 1:35 pm I’m getting a glimmer of understanding.

Always dangerous!

Essentially, my line represents a fictional branch of the Welsh Highland Railway, at some point between 1923, when it opened, and 1934, when the Ffestiniog took over the lease, nearly bankrupted themselves, and painted everything funny colours to appeal to the tourist trade.

Like the real thing in that period, the line runs with a mixture of actual Welsh Highland stock (mostly formerly owned by its predecessor, the aspirational but doomed North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways) and stock borrowed from the Ffestiniog, with which it (sort of) shared a terminus (at Porthmadog), a livery ("Kentish" green), and a manager (Colonel Stephens).

Unlike the real thing, on my version of the Welsh Highland, the West Kent Light Railway also has running rights, a hangover from my previous adventure in the garden and useful excuse when I want to go off piste. I also tweak the facts a bit sometimes - so, for example, unlike the real thing, my version of "Russell" hasn't had its cab, chimney and dome truncated in an attempt to allow through running onto the Ffestiniog. In my parallel universe, the addition of the Clarach branch means that there's sufficient traffic on the WHR to mean that "Russell" can earn its keep without straying up the FR...

Anyway, I'm glad you like what you see!

HI Andrew,

Brilliant pictures, I loved the 'pan' shot too. The train looks great. It may have been early but you seemed to drum up a respectable number of passengers!

I haven't run a train at all yet this year. The state of the track on the CFLR and the amount of work required to make it fit has put me off so far. Your pictures have (as always) fired my enthusiasm again. Now if only I could find some free time .................!

SVLR Andrew

Soar Valley Light wrote: ↑Mon May 30, 2022 7:10 pm Now if only I could find some free time .................!

I believe the Queen's giving you some this week?! Go on, you know it's what Her Majesty wants you to do with it...

To be honest, my track was pretty ropey this morning, it needs some proper attention, but the novelty of playing trains at that time of day outweighed the problems...

That looks most relaxing (given I know nothing of the derailments etc.) Those England's are bonny looking locomotives as well - are you tempted to try lining it, or will you wait for the newness to wear off?

Lonsdaler wrote: ↑Mon May 30, 2022 10:55 pm That looks most relaxing (given I know nothing of the derailments etc.) Those England's are bonny looking locomotives as well - are you tempted to try lining it, or will you wait for the newness to wear off?

Yes on both counts!

I will have a go at lining, but I need to wait until I'm over the shock of the cost! For now, it feels like a loco that gets away with being unlined, perhaps because the shape is so distinctive. Lining's not very prominent in most photos of the era I'm portraying, and it's run unlined for brief periods after overhaul in preservation days - here's the real thing looking just like the RH model in 2015:




It's been a while since I lined "Russell", and I fear I may be rather rusty (my eyesight's certainly worse!), so I think I might have a trial run on my Regner first - that's been crying out for a repaint since I bought it, and might look rather nice in full FR lining. If I can manage it, I might go for the ornate green livery that "Earl of Merioneth" carries - the shapes and patterns are the same as those "Palmerston" will need...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Ah - I've never seen a picture of it in unlined condition, and that photo proves that yours is in prototypical finish!
Lining is not something I have summoned the courage to do yet. I have purchased some trimline tape as that seems an easier way to start. We shall see!

Afternoon!

Life's been hectic lately, with very little time for trains, but I decided to treat myself to a Father's Day hour or two in the garden today. Here's how it went.


Driver Jim seems very pleased to have been rostered No 6, the railway's newest and shiniest battery loco. Little does he know it might be his last chance to drive the beast, at least in its current form. More on that on another thread at another time - Jim's immediate problem is that, on arrival at Penlan, he's discovered that his train for the day is a very disreputable looking rake of wagons, with only two brakes between them, one seeming held off with a length of rope - not ideal for the steeply graded (WH)WHR...




Fortunately, it turned out that what appeared to be a dilapidated potting shed in an abandoned vegetable plot was, in fact, a guards van in an overgrown siding, complete with guard - problem solved!


On completion of a round trip, No 6 was relieved by fellow RH loco "Margaret", on test after a battery pack replacement:


The line's pretty overgrown - you can see that the loco's picked up a floral adornment in the last photo!

All good clean fun, and nice to run a train or two - I trundled the little rake up and down a few more times while I did some gardening. More trains in the coming months, I hope...

Cheers all,

Andrew.

Lovely pictures Andrew, I really like the dilapidated state of your rolling stock, most convincing.

Nice Andrew, just what is needed on a lazy Sunday when no-one else is around.

Morning all,

My gardening skills are somewhat hit-and-miss, so there's not a lot of colour in tyhe garden at this time of year - apart from green, of course. There is, however, a small cherry tree that grows (just...) next to the line, and the fruit on that, although inedible, does provide a splash of colour. Which seemed reason enough to dig out the railcar and take a few photos...




I do like the little Faller Railbus... I think I first repainted and started using it about twenty years ago, but I reckon this is the first time I've ever added a tail load. It coped pretty well, apart from a couple of spots where it lacked adhesion. It can't help that the original rubber traction tyres are long gone - anyone got any ideas where to get replacements?

Cheers all,

Andrew.

Some nice shots there Andrew.

I can't help with your traction tyres I'm afraid, but every time I see your railbus it makes wish I'd chosen a similar colour scheme for mine rather than plain green.
You are lucky you get to see your cherries. We have a mature cherry tree that was here when we moved in 25years ago and I think in all that time I've only had 2 cherries off it, the birds get the rest!

The idea of our cherry tree was that the birds would eat them! When we moved in there was a lovely mature tree next door, and we loved to watch the pigeons wobble along the branches to get to the cherries. New neighbours cut it down, so we planted ours in the same spot, but on the other side of the fence. The burb said it would cope with the shade cast by the fence, but it doesn't, it's barely grown in 18 years!

I've got another raibus somewhere, and one day I might get round o repainting that too - I'm actually thinking of plain green, but with "speed whiskers", BR 1950s style...

My chocolate and cream livery was inspired by an early memory of watch the KESRs little AC Cars railbus (now living elsewhere) running shuttles from the ramparts of Bodiam Castle, decades before the line reopened there properly...

Andrew wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 10:59 am The idea of our cherry tree was that the birds would eat them! When we moved in there was a lovely mature tree next door, and we loved to watch the pigeons wobble along the branches to get to the cherries. New neighbours cut it down, so we planted ours in the same spot, but on the other side of the fence. The burb said it would cope with the shade cast by the fence, but it doesn't, it's barely grown in 18 years!

Must have been the wrong tree or the wrong blurb!

This one has a row of concrete garages behind it, an apple tree to the right and a big ash tree behind and to the left.

Andrew wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 10:59 am I've got another raibus somewhere, and one day I might get round o repainting that too - I'm actually thinking of plain green, but with "speed whiskers", BR 1950s style...

Like this?
Psst... I know... I never did get around to finshing the lights!