The Great Forum Railway Inspection

[jim@NAL]

Nigerian Airmail no such luck .he will proably arrive after Christmas as this rate .hes probably being sent to india on the way then to the north pole on the way

[laalratty]

...he will proably arrive after Christmas as this rate........

Well done on this correct prediction....

Mr Isle has finally landed at the ANLR and posed for an early photocall with the Accucraft Superior class loco "Owain"



Unfortunately, a certain rebellious rodent can be spotted behind Mr Isle....


This *may* have got the Afonglas and Nant Llwyd Railway off to a bad start..... however, before performing an inspection on the ANLR, tomorrow he is off to cast his eye over the line that gives me my username, the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. I would hope that he will be very impressed!

[pauly]

and why has it taken this long for him to arrive?
was he delivered by a disabled snail?

Im taking my name off this

[laalratty]

and why has it taken this long for him to arrive?
was he delivered by a disabled snail?

He arrived by first class post, the member who was holding onto him had not sent him until a couple of days ago, despite repeated asking by Zach

[jim@NAL]

do I win a prize glad hes there safe good luck im looking forward to reading more posts about him.i hope your using trusty royal mail to send him on his way after.

[Chris Cairns]

Well at least he did finally turn up.

Hopefully we can now look forward to reading another long and enjoyable inspection report from Victor.

Chris Cairns.

[ace]

Glad to hear Victor has turned up. Looking forward to the next instalment of the inspection.

How do you become part of the inspection list? I'd like to participate.

[LnBmad]

I too would like to participate

[Keith S]

Rabbits actually aren't rodents; they're "Lagomorphae".

[ace]

Rabbits actually aren't rodents; they're "Lagomorphae".

I thought it was a rat? But I can now see it does look like a rabbit.

[Victor Isle]

I have finally arrived at the so called "Afonglas and Nant Llwyd Railway" (although frankly I believe that the grammer of this name is all wrong and that the owner has randomly picked words out of a Welsh dictionary) and am settling back in to life, having visited many places where people have just kept me in my box and not bothered to post me on. Yesterday I visited a line much bigger then I am used to, the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway in the county of Cumbria. Alas I did not get a chance to ride on the line so I hope to visit again at some point to complete my inspection, but I did get to visit the signal box and briefly inspect the two locos in use and some of the carriages. What I did see I was very impressed with, this was obviously a highly professional organisation. I will post some photos of my initial findings soon.
Today I was supposed to be starting my inspection of the ANLR however the weather has been moderately breezy and damp and for some reason the wussy General Manager did not want to run trains today. There seems to be a very lax attitude to operating services. In the meantime the house is at least well stocked for Christmas and I have been indulging in the GM's chocolate.

[Victor Isle]

So, some photos from my first visit to the R&ER....



On arrival, I found the diesel locomotive Douglas Ferraira waiting to depart with the first train of the day to Dalegarth for Boot. It frankly looks a bit modern for my tastes but it was only built in 2005, making it younger then many of the Garden Rail locos I've sampled

The cab looks clean and it appears to be a good working environment

The controls are ergonomically positioned, on the right hand side so that the driver can see hand signals from the guard on clearing passing loops.
As I said, I did not get a chance to ride on the railway but I understand that the loco is a very good and reliable performer
Next, I headed into the signal box....


Here I found a traditional lever frame, controlling Ravenglass station limits. Whilst I was here a break in the wire to signal 28 was quickly repaired in under 20 minutes

The rest of the line is controlled by Radio, an interesting system removing the need for costly signalling of the 3 passing loops. Authority to proceed is given by radio, whilst each train also has a train order (called a RandER board) which shows any scheduled crosses with other trains. The driver and guard both have copies of this. The controller also maintains a graph showing each train movement, the red line on the graph here shows that the first train has authority to proceed to the first loop at Miteside. Note also the all important flask of tea on the control desk.


I had a quick look at one of the semaphore signals...
The then had a look at the coaches on offer




Semi opens, fully opens and saloons were all on offer, and each train had a saloon modified to carry bicycles and passengers in wheelchairs. I've yet to find a garden railway to think of that....! The saloons were also heated

I thought I would go for a ride up the line, alas the big guy who bought me here pushed me back in my box before I knew what was happening!
After lunch, I got let out to pose in front of the finest loco I've ever seen....

Alas the driver refused to let me view the cab, another reason I'd like to return. I should say the other staff and volunteers were very friendly and helpful.
I was then stuffed in the box again, and let out briefly to have a look at the adjacent main line railway line.....

Alas it was a Sunday and the trains weren't running..... Northern Rail are not an enlightened bunch of people it seems.
So ended a very pleasant day, the Afonglas and Nant Llwyd Railway has a LOT to live up to!

[ace]

What a great little report. Made me smile! I liked the look of 'Northern Rock' Did Victor manage to get an overall image?

[LnBmad]

A solid report there mr isle! Looks a cracking railway, even if it is bigger than your used to

[laalratty]

What a great little report. Made me smile! I liked the look of 'Northern Rock' Did Victor manage to get an overall image?

No he didn't, but being a regular Ratty volunteer I've got this pic on my Photobucket account...

[ace]

No he didn't, but being a regular Ratty volunteer I've got this pic on my Photobucket account...

Thanks for that, she is a beauty.

[Keith S]

Why did the driver refuse to let you look in the cab? Is it a secret? Or was he just one of those guys you run into now and then who thinks that driving a model train makes him a person of some importance?

[jim@NAL]

brilliant wonderful report there with lots of pictures too well done

[Victor Isle]

This afternoon I have performed a preliminary inspection of the Afonglas and Nant Llwyd Railway, on board a track inspection train looking for problems after the storms of last week. There were some blown over twigs that required removal, whilst there was a giant bag of rubbish trapped under the bridge over the lake. My photos will follow in a day or two, but my main concern was the apparent complete lack of signalling or point control. This is a state of affairs that I see at nearly every garden railway, it just Will Not Do!

[pauly]

Why did the driver refuse to let you look in the cab? Is it a secret? Or was he just one of those guys you run into now and then who thinks that driving a model train makes him a person of some importance?

In my experience the lads on the Ratty get a little ratty when you call their locos models