Time to build a railway...but where?

[Peter Butler]

I feel as though I have just woken from a long and enforced hibernation, the last post added to this thread (by Graeme) was dated Saturday, May 1st. and the last time I was able to show my railway fully dressed was Friday, October 9th. (2020) when I removed all my structures for the winter storage.
Since that time I have been concentrating on kit building, which was covered on the Forum between those dates, but nothing has been done to the railway itself until recently. When I eventually decided to tackle the jungle which had enveloped the site I was amazed how the weeds had taken hold, we have experienced an early warm spell which got the weeds started, followed by a huge amount of rain to feed them. Something had to be done, so out with the hedge clippers, on with the gloves and battle commenced. The worst part was digging out Buttercups with long roots, they love it here! By the time I had removed the weeds, over a period of five days, I had filled eight wheelbarrow loads of clippings and weeds, next came the first tidying with dustpan and brush, finally a full track vacuum with my helpful assistant, Henry.
At last the village is back on site and the BURPS is open for business......

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As you can see, no trains have yet made a first run as I only managed to reach this point at 9pm, by which time I had achieved my target for the day. If we have a fine day tomorrow I will play trains, but only for test purposes you understand!
Up to now most of my new stock hasn't moved on rails, so this will put them to the test.

[philipy]

Lovely to see it all looking good again Peter.
You are a long way ahead of me in getting things straight. After the foul weather back in April/May there were so many other jobs that had to be done in the garden, and life in general, that my railway was forced into the back seat. I haven't managed to clip the Lonicera under the raised track yet and Bench Hall hasn't even had it's lower storey lifting flaps re-attached. I reckon it'll be Autumn again by the time everything is ready!

[ge_rik]

Good to see BURPS back in action, Peter

Rik

[FWLR]

Still looks mighty impressive Peter, in fact it looks even better now I feel.

I was up until 10.40 last night and it was still light up here...

[georgesheppard]

Looking forward to seeing your new rolling stock in action. Your layout looks great!

[Peter Butler]

After the foul weather back in April/May there were so many other jobs that had to be done in the garden, and life in general, that my railway was forced into the back seat.

That was the situation here too Philip, (thread drift alert!...) the priority was to re-build greenhouse bases which were collapsing due to rotten timbers. This required the removal of all glass, frames, original base material, shuttering construction, concrete mixing and pouring, new decking, re-building of greenhouses and construction of new staging .... all times two!
Between the gales and torrential rain this took longer than anticipated, so Diane's seeding and plants were inevitably affected......

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All done now, so on with the railway saga.

[Peter Butler]

A beautiful day here today and a very pleasant surprise visit from a model railway friend. His interest is '00' so no visiting 16mm stock to run, however, the first train of the year made its way around the railway with no problems at all, a most satisfying sight to see.....

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Other recently built stock items also felt the metals moving beneath their 'feet' for the first time and all was well with the miniature world....

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[Andrew]

Lovely to see the trains out and about again Peter, the new stock looks very well on the layout. You've got a great eye for ensuring that lcos, rolling stock, buildings and scenery all "work" together, I think...

Very impressive greenhouse complex too...

[ge_rik]

Other recently built stock items also felt the metals moving beneath their 'feet' for the first time and all was well with the miniature world....

Hope the clearances were OK for the transporter wagons ....

Rik

[Peter Butler]

Rik, in answer to your question, during the preparation clean-up I did remove moss clusters from trackside which could possibly have caused a problem. Other than that there are no tight spots and both four wheel and bogie transporters worked well.

[DonW]

Has the weather been too bad to run trains there Peter we have had some nice days when I have been engaged on the ground works. Must get some track down. Looks good

Don

[Peter Butler]

Yes Don, the weather throughout May has been the wettest on record, and possibly the windiest too, so no access to the railway to remove the weeds which completely covered the track in places. I have never seen the line looking as bad and it needed several dry days to just clear the way, even then the ballast had to be removed from the points and some oiling applied to various moving parts.
As previously described, something has been digging and spreading soil etc. all over the track so running was a non starter until all this was cleared away. We often see rabbits on the railway, so I guess they objected to it being there?

[invicta280]

even then the ballast had to be removed from the points

Yes, similar story here. I've got a set of points that refuse to switch. I think I need to lift them out and find out what is jamming them.

[Peter Butler]

even then the ballast had to be removed from the points

Yes, similar story here. I've got a set of points that refuse to switch. I think I need to lift them out and find out what is jamming them.

I use a fine crushed stone, only about 1mm to dust, but it finds its way between the blades, check rails and running rails, underneath the tie-bar and anywhere else it can hide. Firstly I use a paint brush to try to move it away from all moving parts, then a fine pick and finally a vacuum cleaner. After a little oil it usually does the trick. I would do anything to avoid lifting the point altogether!

[FWLR]

Great seeing your locos back on your line Peter. I always look forward to seeing them, they give me so much joy when I see them, I can then try and put something on our line also.


Although it does take me ages to get around to it..

[Peter Butler]

It has been a long time since I posted here, partially due to other priorities and more recently to the extremes of hot weather making it too uncomfortable to be outside. The weeds are growing again but I couldn't spend time on my hands and knees in this heat, so it must wait.
Having inspected the line I have discovered a little damage, which is caused by rabbits playing amongst the houses etc. They have broken down some fencing and caused one side of my girder bridge to break away....

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Strangest of all though is the movement of one item from the railway station area to 12 metres away across the field. This is a bench seat with white-metal ends and two seated, cast resin, figures permanently attached to the seat.....

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As you can see, they weigh 66g, which seems quite heavy for any creature to pick up and carry away, especially as there would be nothing to eat or any use in their natural habitat. What kind of creatures do we have here, large birds doing early Christmas shopping or rabbits with wheelbarrows?

[Jimmyb]

As you can see, they weigh 66g, which seems quite heavy for any creature to pick up and carry away, especially as there would be nothing to eat or any use in their natural habitat. What kind of creatures do we have here, large birds doing early Christmas shopping or rabbits with wheelbarrows?

I have had some large pieces moved, and day I watched a crow get on the the bird table, pick up a "fat pellet" pot and fly off with it, the next day the crows were back and after working out how to get at the fat cake, removed a whole one and again flew off with it. This accounts I think for a lot of my railway furniture moving.

[philipy]

Yes, agreed, members of the Crow family ( Corvids) are both intelligent and adept at working things out and moving them.

[Andrew]

Yes, agreed, members of the Crow family ( Corvids) are both intelligent and adept at working things out and moving them.

It's Corvid 19 that really wreaks havoc...

[philipy]

It's Corvid 19 that really wreaks havoc...

Here's your hat...