The Railway in the Valley of the Mill

[Peter Butler]

I have to plead guilty to inspiring Keith to build a Circus train.
He saw my 'Dragon Wagon' at one of the meetings and set out to search for a suitable dragon.... preferably Welsh! During his searching he also discovered other animals which were deemed appropriate also figures which could be turned into clowns etc.
My own Circus Train was sold off many years ago but here are some pictures taken of individual items...

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[drewzero1]

Looks like a lot of fun. I think I need a clown car like that for my kids!

[Peter Butler]

I hate clowns really but they are an important part of circus performers. The figures were just kid's action figures which I altered with modelling clay and painted features and costumes. I also built an elephant wagon which I used to load test a bridge on my railway...

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[Trevor Thompson]

I have found the railway again!

After an absence of almost 2 months I came back to a fairly overgrown garden. It took 2 days of strimming to uncover the railway and get most of the grass down to a mowable level. The next problem was the amount of moss growing through the track. You can see in the following photo the effect. Each point required the flange ways clearing with tweezers. The moving blades were also jammed solid with the moss:

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The worst of it has been removed with a wire brush and of course the tweezers where necessary. That has allowed trains to run the full length of the track - ready for Phil's visit on Monday. So the immediate problem is solved, but something needs to be done for the long term.

An internet search has identified that the moss can be killed (and other plants left unharmed) with sodium bicarbonate, mixed 2 oz of bicarb to 2 gallons of water. So a watering can will be able to deliver it.

However I detect an opportunity to create a track watering wagon! That will be a much more interesting way to apply the solution on a regular basis.

Trevor

[tommygander1941]

Honestly that look is such a vibe, yes it makes running trains harder but it looks very 1950s Talyllyn. Try not to get rid of too much moss, running heavy stock should get rid of enough out the flangeways.

[Phil.P]

Get the 12" to the foot kettle out!

A dribble of boiling water, along each rail will kill the moss off.
Possibly not as much fun as a weed-killing train, though?

Phil.P

[Trevor Thompson]

Honestly that look is such a vibe, yes it makes running trains harder but it looks very 1950s Talyllyn. Try not to get rid of too much moss, running heavy stock should get rid of enough out the flangeways.

Honest - it has to go! Nothing is heavy enough to force its way through it.

Trevor

[Old Man Aaron]

I hear vinegar also works - though it might turn your rails green with oxide.

[philipy]

We have a moss problem generally, not just on the railway, and I've found this stuff works really well.
https://vivagreengroup.com/product/moss ... i-surface/
It isn't cheap but it is chemical free and safe for kids, pets and fish if it gets in the pond.

[Trevor Thompson]

I have started on some winter maintenance.

The oldest track on the line is showing its age. It has been in place for over 10 years. Many sleepers are rotting, and many chairs have lost the pins which hold them to the sleepers. This is 6 1 yard lengths where I have rebuilt the track with my own printed chairs, and hardwood sleepers kindly made for me by Gilffach Phil. I have always soaked the sleepers in preservative - and these have been given the same treatment:

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There is more track to be rebuilt in the terminal station.

As well as maintenance I am back to "the extension". The tunnel leading into it is finished, the steps repaired, and the wall almost complete:

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The upper terminus is now in my thoughts.

Trevor

[Trevor Thompson]

I haven't forgotten about the castle I was building so long ago. While it hasn't been mentioned for ages I have been printing bits - it just seemed to go on for ever.

It is now complete, and just needs painting before it is placed at the centre of the viaduct and planted up:

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and to remind you of where it goes:

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Dinah and I are planning to change the shape of the mound, clear the grass and plant it up. A job for this winter. We will see if we have the imagination to pull it off!

Trevor

[Trevor Thompson]

The upper terminus. Thanks to a suggestion from David John, and a copy of an article about a 7mm scale model, I have changed my plans for the terminus. Originally I wanted to model the terminus (of the Festiniog Railway of course) at Duffws. I couldn't actually work out how to make a passable approximation to the layout. It would just not fit. So the suggestion was to model the other terminus Dinas, which went out of use somewhere around 1880. That does fit much more easily - not an accurate model you understand - but a passable impression of it.
This is a rough track plan:

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You can see the track emerging under a road bridge on the left, and a point leading one way into the engine shed, and the other way into a double road which is the station passing place. In the middle is a double slip leading to an inclined plane. I have added a 90 degree bend which takes the track behind the greenhouse. The inclined plane may not get built like that - two sidings would be more useful operationally, but an inclined plane could still rise behind the sidings.

and the terminal station (as far as I have got):

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There is nothing left of the buildings now - they are buried under a heap of slate waste. There are a couple of old photos, which feature on pages 80 and 81 of the Spooner Album. So the exact size and layout of these buildings is dependant on my interpretation of the photos! So I can't get it wrong. The area which I am working on at the moment is to the left of the screenshot. It was originally a stable (presumably the main stable at the top end of the line because of its size). It was converted into an engine shed and dormitory for the train, and the crews working the upper end of the line during the week. That section is 1metre long on its own.

The the station building, with a veranda reminiscent of that at Tan-y-Grisau, is in the middle. Finally on the right is a house, presumably of the station master.

You can see where the building will fit in the centre of the track plan, with the two roads curving round it.

I hope to get back to digging out behind the greenhouse next week.

Trevor

[philipy]

So the suggestion was to model the other terminus Dinas, which went out of use somewhere around 1880. That does fit much more easily - not an accurate model you understand - but a passable impression of it.
This is a rough track plan:

That building is looking good, up to your usual standard.

Don't know if you've seen this, but it is a zoomable/moveable 6" OS map from 1840-1880. Shows a lot of detail of the various track plans, and surrounding quariies, inclines etc. A fascinating study in it's own right, but it might also give you some idea's
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=1 ... orld&o=100

[dudeface]

Just catching up on this thread here.... I like this railway! Lots of garden railway-ers wish they had a nice flat piece of land to build on, but having to work with a slope like this makes for a much more interesting railway. The steps were a good excuse for a tunnel.... I currently don't have any excuse for a tunnel.

[Trevor Thompson]

That building is looking good, up to your usual standard.

Don't know if you've seen this, but it is a zoomable/moveable 6" OS map from 1840-1880. Shows a lot of detail of the various track plans, and surrounding quariies, inclines etc. A fascinating study in it's own right, but it might also give you some idea's
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=1 ... orld&o=100
[/quote]

Yes I have it bookmarked - but thanks for telling me I might not have known about it. I used it for Tan-y-Grisau in particular.

Trevor

[Trevor Thompson]

Just catching up on this thread here.... I like this railway! Lots of garden railway-ers wish they had a nice flat piece of land to build on, but having to work with a slope like this makes for a much more interesting railway. The steps were a good excuse for a tunnel.... I currently don't have any excuse for a tunnel.

I am glad you like it. I also wish for flat land - particularly when I am digging out the side of a hill! But you are correct - it is much more interesting to work with.

Trevor

[philipy]

Yes I have it bookmarked - but thanks for telling me I might not have known about it. I used it for Tan-y-Grisau in particular.

Trevor

[Old Man Aaron]

Just catching up on this thread here.... I like this railway! Lots of garden railway-ers wish they had a nice flat piece of land to build on, but having to work with a slope like this makes for a much more interesting railway. The steps were a good excuse for a tunnel.... I currently don't have any excuse for a tunnel.

Well said, Miles.

What a railway!