Garden Railway Forum

In August the South West Wales 16mm Group meet was at the Merlins Castle Line. The project was to make a cliff out of concrete using wire, mesh, bedsheets hessian and cement etc. It now has to be continued around and more layers of concrete applied for it to be finished. The loco was owned by Simon Wood of this forum. A brilliant day, thank you all for coming.

I like it and love the garage (says a sucker for wrinkly metal)

If Simon left the loco behind and said if anybody wants it they can have it can I be FIRST in the queue?

Is that the beginning of an extension ?.

Keep us posted on the cliff, with plenty of pics at each stage please. Realistic rock faces are not that easy and I'd love to know how to do it satisfactorily.

philipy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 01, 2018 10:59 am Keep us posted on the cliff, with plenty of pics at each stage please. Realistic rock faces are not that easy and I'd love to know how to do it satisfactorily.

Me too! And I'm second in line for Simon's loco...

The railway's looking great Julie, glad it's working out so well...

Andrew.

Thanks for hosting us Julie! It was a great day.

My loco running through the town

Passing the crinkly-roofed garage

The Angel of the West visiting Merlin's Castle (no doubt a tour to promote public access to artwork was a condition of funding from the sponsors of this fine piece of Peter Butler sculpture)

The verdant green no doubt due to the rain every time we meet. If there's a dry spell and your garden starts to wilt, just get us to call a meeting of the South West Wales group!

The sequel to Kitten Kong

Luckily I did remember to bring my loco home! But thanks for the enthusiasm. I rather enjoy the slow running that the gearing allows...

Some more pictures, but they have come out in reverse order. The cliff now has to have more layers added. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

It has been quite a while since I have posted anything, but recently my hubby made his first scratch built train out of bits and pieces, Mamod front chimney, plastic sink drain pipe for boiler, plastic card etc. I have done a little ballast on the line in the shed and made a fence out of hair grips. It will be so nice when we can get back on track and nicer weather.

Hey Julie. Didn't realise it's been that long. Love your fence, great use of everyday items...
Hubby's train is brilliant.....

Is he called Dennis by the way....

Thanks Rod, Yes hubby,s name is Dennis, I thought it should be named after him as he made for me.

Nice to see 'Dennis'and Dennis together this evening at our modelling group meeting...... both looking well. As a first scratch-build locomotive, 'Dennis' is a handsome beast and works well too. Dennis should be proud of his fine achievement.

Thats what is missing from my group Peter, (A Modelling Group).

I would love to just go and see how other people model their own stock and of course the banter that goes with it....I did start an N Gauge meeting when I was into that Gauge, but has usual, there was one guy who thought he should be in charge and it left the other people in the group with some very upsetting feeling about him and it broke up. It was a shame really, as it was a great group with some very interesting characters.....

An unexpected purchase was made last Saturday. While a attending a model show which was mainly of aeroplanes and boats, I spotted a little blue train in the corner of a display. I was later told that it was for sale and was a Merlin. I thought I couldn’t leave it there, so on a mad whim I bought it. Dennis and I have no experience in steam, only some basics.

Looks like a Merlin Mayflower?

Yes Tom, a Mayflower, serial number 675 of approx. 1985 vintage.
Currently at home with me to check it out.... as if I knew what I was doing?????

Replacing the R/C with a modern system should be on the to do list providing it all works mechanically first.

Were you able to see it running before purchase Julie?

That is a mighty fine looking loco Julie...A brilliant find I must say...

Great stuff! Looking forward to seeing this running!

Yes, congratulations on purchasing a lovely loco - I hope you can get it running as well as it looks. I had a Merlin catalogue which i spent a lot of time drooling over in the the late 80s - I'm not sure that anyone's yet come up with a generic loco that matches the good looks of the Mayflower and Mayfly...

Good luck with it,

Andrew.

Hi Tom, Unfortunately no, I didn't see it running prior to buying the loco. Peter Kindly took the loco home with him, to look over it, and today informed me that he has had it steaming, only one problem, pressure gauge isn't working, hopefully it will just need cleaning. I don't know if spares parts are available any more if they are needed.
Hi Andrew, Do you know if the Merlin Catalogues available anywhere?

I have to admit to a certain level of responsibility for this as I brokered the purchase of the loco from a contact in another model club local to us. I had every reason to rely on him and have been most satisfied with the condition of the Mayflower, considering its age.
It does have issues, as you would expect..... the pressure gauge doesn't work but could just be blocked. The RC had slight corrosion on the contacts, which has now been cleaned, and the receiver switch had to be replaced and re-wired.... now it works!
We will be visiting another 16mm Association Local Area Group member next week to get his expert opinion and, hopefully, fix the pressure gauge problem.
Can anyone advise on the best way to preserve its integrity as a 'Heritage Loco'? Would it be better to leave it in its present condition or restore the paintwork and overall appearance to new condition?
Ultimately this will be Julie's decision but your guidance would be appreciated I'm sure.