Llewellyn Loco Works #1

[FWLR]

Hi Dazza, it's been awhile hey. You looked good on the loco in Wales. Fancy them thinking you were a fireman...

Your loco looks fantastic too and 10 hour stint, wow...

Did you bring the Welsh coal back from Wales and if you did, was there any problems at customs...

[ge_rik]

Remarkable achievement (both of them). Welcome back to the forum, we've missed you.

Rik

[Hydrostatic Dazza]

Hi Dazza, it's been awhile hey. You looked good on the loco in Wales. Fancy them thinking you were a fireman...

Your loco looks fantastic too and 10 hour stint, wow...

Did you bring the Welsh coal back from Wales and if you did, was there any problems at customs...

The Potters Orchid Railway imported 40 kg of Welsh Plutonium. It was still much cheaper per kg than buying Welsh stuff from the Aussie dealer. Plod has a FEDEX freight account for his daily gold coin earning caper but to put this into context the cost was equivalent to 4 tanks of petrol into the Dunnydoor.

[Hydrostatic Dazza]

Remarkable achievement (both of them). Welcome back to the forum, we've missed you.

Rik

Plod says than you. Simply super busy here. Every day he has to spend an hour or two to water the gardens now the weather is warmer again.
2 months in the UK and then many weekends at the Mary Valley Rattler makes for a full dance card
Plod gave him self a fright. He has worked out he spends more than 2 days in every week each year at the FWHR and the Rattler. Still working full time etc. No time to waste watching TV or polishing the car.
The plan is to go to the FWHR each year for the next 8 years and then call is quits. Travel insurance and such like will be beyond his $ abilities.

[ge_rik]

Remarkable achievement (both of them). Welcome back to the forum, we've missed you.

Rik

Plod says than you. Simply super busy here. Every day he has to spend an hour or two to water the gardens now the weather is warmer again.
2 months in the UK and then many weekends at the Mary Valley Rattler makes for a full dance card
Plod gave him self a fright. He has worked out he spends more than 2 days in every week each year at the FWHR and the Rattler. Still working full time etc. No time to waste watching TV or polishing the car.
The plan is to go to the FWHR each year for the next 8 years and then call is quits. Travel insurance and such like will be beyond his $ abilities.

Will you progress to driver in that time?

Rik

[Hydrostatic Dazza]

Remarkable achievement (both of them). Welcome back to the forum, we've missed you.

Rik

Plod says than you. Simply super busy here. Every day he has to spend an hour or two to water the gardens now the weather is warmer again.
2 months in the UK and then many weekends at the Mary Valley Rattler makes for a full dance card
Plod gave him self a fright. He has worked out he spends more than 2 days in every week each year at the FWHR and the Rattler. Still working full time etc. No time to waste watching TV or polishing the car.
The plan is to go to the FWHR each year for the next 8 years and then call is quits. Travel insurance and such like will be beyond his $ abilities.

Will you progress to driver in that time?

Rik

I do not know. I think I would have to go to Wales twice a year for a month and that is beyond my means at this time. Next step would be to become dual route qualified as they like the fireman and driver to be WHR and FR qualified. At the Mary Valley Rattler all passed crews are fireman and driver qualified. This is for the reasons of class B medicals and crew working hours.

[Keith S]

I was thinking, with respect to how difficult it is to get Welsh steam coal these days. I have read in several places of a coastal stretch of the Trans-Siberian Railway where coal was unavailable so the locomotives were fired with dried fish.

I always thought this fuel source was unfeasible in our scale until I was out at an Asian grocer and saw a bag of “Dried Gouramis”. A Gourami is a small freshwater fish about the size of a tadpole. I could send you a bag of dried gouramis if you think you might like to fire your locomotive with them.

I bet you would see some “clag” then, and there would be very little clinker too.

[Hydrostatic Dazza]

I was thinking, with respect to how difficult it is to get Welsh steam coal these days. I have read in several places of a coastal stretch of the Trans-Siberian Railway where coal was unavailable so the locomotives were fired with dried fish.

I always thought this fuel source was unfeasible in our scale until I was out at an Asian grocer and saw a bag of “Dried Gouramis”. A Gourami is a small freshwater fish about the size of a tadpole. I could send you a bag of dried gouramis if you think you might like to fire your locomotive with them.

I bet you would see some “clag” then, and there would be very little clinker too.

I think if they were soaked in some vegetable cooking oil first for a few days then they would burn quite nicely in the fire box and the clag produced will smell like the Chapple st Chipper on a busy Friday evening .

[drewzero1]

Fascinating! I keep gouramis as pets, and I knew people eat them as well (giant gouramis raised for food can get up to 20lb/9kg), but it never would've occurred to me that they could also be fuel. They're somewhat messy fish, I can't imagine the smell.

I wonder if anchovies would burn... the neighbors might think you're making pizza!