The (Windmill Hill) Welsh Highland Railway

[Andrew]

I would run fruit trains on the ANLR for the apple tree, problem is the position of the tree in the garden means I can only take them further away from where they need to be!

Yeah, me too! I was actually just taking the plums for a ride rather than doing anything useful, until my wife positioned herself on the swing sofa - the line runs under both the plum tree and the sofa (which was specially picked for its generous clearance!), so then I was able to offer a door-to-door service...

[Andrew]

I was reminded of one of my personal rules of garden railwaying this weekend - if I'm feeling happy and relaxed then running a train is a great way to celebrate that, but if I'm down in the dumps it's no way to cheer myself up, in fact it's possibly the last thing I should do. In a gloomy mood every minor derailment and mechanical mishap feels like a lightening bolt hurled at me by the Garden Railway Gods in attempt to send me back indoors to the world of electric mice...

Perhaps I exaggerate, but on Saturday I was fed up at feeling distinctly under the weather over the Bank Holiday weekend and decided to play trains - only the trains didn't want to play. Well, my new (old) Caledonia didn't anyway, so I dusted off my trusty Konrad. In fairness that ran pretty well, but only served to emphasize the fact that I seem to have built the world's least convenient garden railway, an end-to-end route with trees, bushes, tunnels, children's climbing frames and goodness knows what hindering access to every location where points need changing or locos require reversing. It's a particular issue when running a manually-controlled loco on a goods train, where in addition to the run round the guards van needs to be repositioned at each end of the line - on Saturday both applied and I wasn't really in the mood...

I'm feeling rather better and hence more optimistic now. I've trimmed back some of the bushes and thought about some other practical improvements like moving the climbing frame, running with two guards vans etc etc. Plus, decided (again) not to play trains in a bad mood. On a brighter day all those frustrations just become operational challenges, and if I only manage a couple of trips up and down the line between shunting operations then that's just adding realism rather than a cause for concern...

If all else fails I can always get the railcar shuttling up and down on auto-pilot...

Anyway, enough whining - here's a photo of Daisy drifting downhill through Penlan with the afternoon goods...



All the best,

Andrew

[Andrew]

I put last week's frustrations behind me this afternoon with a run with my Accucraft Baldwin, the first outing it's had for some time. It's due to turn into a model of the WHR's 590 soon-ish, and my D class wagons are for the Beddgelert coal trade, but for now they combine to look a bit WD or Ashover.

The run threw up a few problems with the track (particularly where some sharper-than-planned curves have crept in), but nothing I wasn't expecting and can't cure (I hope!), but the loco performed very well and sounded great heading up the bank. I don't think it's as powerful as "Russell", but then nor was the real thing. It may need further running-in too, it's never seen much use.

I was pleased to find that the Baldwin coped just fine with the Peco smaller radius points in the run-round loop at Clarach - I may invest in some for the other end of the line too, which would increase the useable length of run round loop.

Anyway, here are a couple of photos...





Cheers all,

Andrew.

[IrishPeter]

When I am in a dear-awful mood I usually confine myself to weeding the track, and the various other tasks that are inevitable on a ground level line.  I find that any attempt to run trains leaves me with an even worse mood than that with which I started.  It seems to be 'odds-on' that if one's mood is a bit marginal every wagon has three wheels, or four oval ones, the loco won't steam, and nothing goes quite right.

Guess you are not the only one this afflicted, Andrew!

Peter in AZ

[bazzer42]

I have to agree that if you aren't quite in the mood then every minor mishap is a catastrophe and I'll stick to rc diesels in future. I'm relatively new to live steam and have read that no one steam up is ever the same as the last and finding it's true. I think this factor doesn't always help if I'm not in the right frame of mind.

Like Peter, I will do some sort of maintenance or tweaking to get my "fix".

PS nice pictures by the way, wish I had more of a single track run but need to work on Mrs B.....

[Big Jim]

I know this one.
I am currently off work due to a nasty ear infection that makes me feel giddy and causes balance problems. I tried to get some work done in the shed yesterday but all I managed was to sit at the desk and cock things up. I just couldn't get into it.
Damn frustrating but just goes to show that this is a hobby not a burden and if your minds not in it don't do it.

Back to daytime telly!

[Andrew]

In our house that's known as "a day in the shoebox" Jim - making yourself warm, comfortable and well-fed when you're under the weather, like you do (in a shoe box) for an injured bird, or hedgehog or whatever. Hope you feel better soon.

Anyway, I'm glad I'm not alone, thanks chaps! Yes, pottering about clearing tracks or pruning overhanging branches or whatever is the way to go when feeling a little blue, so much more theraputic than the trials and tribulations of live steam - and wonky/missing wheels!

All the best,

Andrew.

[Big Jim]

Thank you Andrew

[jim@NAL]

looking good the tunnels/mine look brilliant

[Andrew]

Good afternoon all,

After a busy few weeks I finally got out into the garden this weekend and ran some trains. On Saturday morning I steamed Russell to entertain some guests (MUST get a proper steam-up kit together so it all appears a bit less chaotic to an audience…), and in the afternoon my daughter (11 today, Happy Birthday Daisy!) took over operations.

She opted to run a special for a campervan-load of assorted cute creatures who took the unusual decision to travel in a bogie open wagon – luckily their campervan contained lots of pillows and blankets, so it should have been relatively comfortable:



Arranging the passengers for their journey took so long that I went indoors for a cuppa. When I next looked out of the window the train had reached the upper terminus where I was absurdly moved (I am a bit of a softie) to see Daisy carrying out careful shunting moves to ensure that the train returned in a properly realistic formation with the guard’s van at the rear… That’s my girl! Here she is again, this time entertaining elder sister Harriet:



On Sunday morning I was up early to watch two mainline steam trains pass through our local station (Bedminster, near Bristol TM) within 25 minutes of each other – it may have been because it was on home turf, but I thought Nunney Castle look much more assured than Tangmere… Anyway, suitably inspired I headed back into the garden, starting off by running a battery-powered test train – my Ffestified IP carriage is rather sensitive to dodgy track, so perfect for identifying where the winter’s track work should focus.

Having got that sorted, and with the FR carriage tucked away in a siding, Russell took to the rails again with a pair of WHR carriages in tow:



This is turning into one of my favourite spots to watch trains from, where the train climbs hard through the bushes and their dappled shade before bursting out into the sunshine and coasting into the station. It also happens to be the most convenient spot for operating from, within reach of both termini and a point from which I can see most of the garden. Coincidentally it’s also the one place I can’t be seen by the neighbours, who were quite bemused when they spotted Russell and train arrive at the intermediate station before pausing and then carrying on their way, seemingly without my being there at all…

I ran about half a dozen round trips, a very pleasant way to spent 40 minutes or so. I reckon that on future occasions, when the mood takes me, I might drop a couple of passenger turns in favour of a more complex round trip with a goods train… Yesterday I added a little variety on the penultimate round trip when, on reaching Clarach, Russell retrieved the Ffestiniog composite from the siding:



That was added to the train which then set off down the garden again, seen here drifting down Penlan Bank on the shadier side of the garden (I MUST clad those walls!):



And here emerging into the sunlight at Trefechan:



All in all a very pleasant morning, which is just as probably just as well as they’re likely to be the last trains for some time. The station areas are now out of bounds while I wait for newly applied grass seed to do its thing and cover the bare patches that remain from building work, and the track is already severed prior to winter permanent way works. So, the carriages have been tucked away in their shed (well, a big plastic box under the bed) and the (Windmill Hill) Welsh Highland is now under engineer’s possession…
All the best,
Andrew.

[bazzer42]

Some nice pictures there. I love the slate walls with the greenery.  The Sylvanian family looked at home in that wagon. Is that a scratch build? It really looks the business.

PS meant to say I saw Nunney Castle thundering up Brewham bank last Tuesday evening. It was such a still night and it seemed to echo forever. A fantastic sight.

[kandnwlr]

Excellent pics, if I may be so bold. Hope you get another run in the "dappled sunlight" before winter sets in.

[Andrew]

The Sylvanian family looked at home in that wagon. Is that a scratch build? It really looks the business.

Glad you like it, but no, not a scratchbuild. It's a Hartland ready-to-run model (dirt cheap, don't kno if you can still get 'em?) with Big Big Train bogies (they were still cheap back then. The originals were 45mm and much bigger) and lowered buffer beams to take Binnie buffer/couplings.

PS meant to say I saw Nunney Castle thundering up Brewham bank last Tuesday evening. It was such a still night and it seemed to echo forever. A fantastic sight.

Sounds wonderful. Last week (or was it two weeks ago?) I drove down to Nailsea and Backwell to watch Bittern bring the Torbay Express back into Bristol - I thought I'd catch it still at speed rather than crawling through Bedminster. I'd cut it a bit fine and so leapt out of the car as soon as I arrived, running along a footpath across three fields to find myself all alone before a long stretch of embankment, with the sun setting in front of me and an almost full moon behind me. Apart from a tractor chugging away in the distance and birdsong in the hedgerows it was completely silent, and - thinking myself in some sort of paradise - I strained my ears for a distant chime whistle...

Instead I heard a cliche of a nasal trainspotter voice saying "Oh, hello, are you here for the train too?" and from then on shared my field with a funny old man with a very big camera - which was more sociable of course, but a little of the magic was lost... Still, in the end it was almost dark by the time "Number 19" came through, and the crew looked amazing all lit up by the fire, and the carriages with their table-lamps looked great too...

All the best,

Andrew

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

Marvelous stuff. Having quite recently reached the stage myself where I can run trains to and fro with reasonable reliability I know how rewarding it is. Your railway looks to be really settling in, it all looks right. How long is the run now (might have asked that before) and how long does it take you from departure to arrival?

[Andrew]

Marvelous stuff. Having quite recently reached the stage myself where I can run trains to and fro with reasonable reliability I know how rewarding it is. Your railway looks to be really settling in, it all looks right. How long is the run now (might have asked that before) and how long does it take you from departure to arrival?

"Reasonable reliability" pretty much sums up where I'm at I reckon - most locos and stock run fine, but the jumpier stuff causes problems. I'll try to attend to both track and stock over the winter so that I can run any train with confidence... A summer of test running has highlighted operational problems such as the short runround loop at Trefechan, and a general lack of siding space and again, I'll do what I can before next season...

The run is about 80 or 90 feet I think - it can't really get any longer, despite idle plans to replace most of the lawn with a return loop to effectively double the length of run... If I keep the speed down (easier going downhill than up I've been surprised to find, partly because of the temptation to charge the banks!) and include a station stop at Penlan, then end to end takes a couple of minutes. I had wondered whether I'd made a mistake in opting for an end-to-end line, but - for now at least - the pros seem to outweigh the cons... Naturally, when I own a mansion I shall have both...

Andrew.

[Andrew]

Frog on the line!



This little chap put us in danger of being late for school/work this morning when he caught our attention by bouncing across the railway. Naturally we had to head outside to admire him - here's a close-up:



A frog he would a woo-wooing go...

Cheers,

Andrew

[Andrew]

Evening all,

You've seen most of the pictures before, but I thought you might like to take a look at my new website - http://whwhr.weebly.com/ - it's a work in progress so any suggestions are welcome. I think a photo gallery will appear at some point, perhaps also some construction stuff. Really ought to add a plan, but that would reveal just how small it really is! Anyway, I hope you like it...

The line's currently closed for winter maintenance, but anyone in the area next year would be most welcome to come and play. The website was going to wait until the line was "officially" open, but it looks like that's going to be in the spring now.

All the best,

Andrew.

[Andrew]

Good morning!

It's been months since much has happened in the garden, and a very busy Christmas hasn't helped that, but the last few days have given me the opportunity to get outside and begin the winter track work.

First up was the removable section in front of the back gate, a bit of a weak spot since I first built it. It was designed to simply rest on the trackbed on each side of the gap, but it's curved and so was always a little off balance - particularly after it was hit by a basketball thrown over the netting of the kids' trampoline! I decided that legs were required to enable it to be free standing, but was unsure how to go about that, because the floor there (a patio laid with old bricks) is quite uneven and prone to movement, partly due to the aforementioned trampoline. The answer came in the form of "pronged T nuts" (as seen in flat pack furniture!) set into the bottom of each leg, which works with an M6 bolt to make an adjustable foot:



Despite some very dubious engineering (right angles? What are those? Cutting in a straight line? But why?!) it all seems to work pretty well - and naturally a test train was required.

My RH Little John was retrieved from its shelf, a rake of wagons dragged out of Trefechan Tunnel (I left them there in October and forgot all about them) and the track was cleared. The latter took some doing - fallen leaves had begun to turn to mulch which had then frozen solid over parts of the track! Anyway, "Margaret" made a couple of trips up and down the line before the cold got too much - I may get one of the steam engines out before the Christmas holidays are over...

Here's my little train awaiting the off:

 


And crossing the lift-out section (plenty of further work clearly required!):




Leaving Vicarage Cutting:




Ascending a frosty Penlan Bank:




Pausing at Penlan (I'd better tidy up before the tourist season!)




And arriving at Clarach:




Cheers all,

Andrew.

[Andrew]

Happy New Year!

It always seems like a good start to the year if I can run a train, and so despite the gloomy weather (rubbish for photographs, sorry!) I headed out into the garden this afternoon. Between Christmas and New Year I sorted myself out with a proper steam-up kit, so that all the necessary equipment is in the right place, rather than scattered around various cupboards and cubby holes - much easier, and a good start to the year I reckon:




"Daisy", my Regner Konrad, was the chosen motive power and duly headed off down the line in search of a train:




Here she is at Trefechan, showing off her new headlight, formerly belonging to my WD Baldwin:




As I said, not a great day for photography, but here are a few shots of Daisy and train trundling up and down my little line - I'm afraid he garden could do with a good tidy-up!










On with the winter track work now - this afternoon's run confirmed that there are one or two spots that will benefit from some attention, including some lengths that need relaying altogether...

All the best,

Andrew

[Big Jim]

Very nice Andrew. I do like the idea of a steam up kit, all nice and to hand in a box. I will have to organise myself.