Evening all,
Apparently this is my thousandth post on this forum - what a lot of words...
It seems appropriate to mark this milestone with the the usual account of small steps forward and minor setbacks that make up the life of the (Windmill Hill) Welsh Highland, so here goes...
Yesterday afternoon I assembled a works train to assist in making good the post-fencing damage. Here it is awaiting the off at Trefechan - Margaret's new driver doesn't look thrilled at the prospect:
It didn't take long to clear the line as far as Penlan, where the real trouble started:
Still, little by little the track was cleared, although a few surprises were encountered along the way:
Finally the station site was fit for through running, but the damage to the platform and earth encroaching onto the site of the station building mean that the station has been declared closed for the time being...
Today saw a steam-hauled passenger train prepared, which looked lovely in the afternoon sunshine before I raised steam:
The good news is that my newly-fettled Bertie coped admirably with the train, the longest and heaviest that the line will usually see.
The bad news is that the new Summer Car suffered from the dreaded "bow string effect", being pulled over sideways on the sharper curves. I shall have to refit the couplings (which are a little high) and add weight to try to cure it...
For the next trip up the line I removed the buffet car, to see if less weight behind the summer car helped - alas, it didn't...
And so, after that, the Amazing Shrinking Train was reduced to a single carriage, the Pickering brake composite. The sun had re-emerged by then, making for a pleasant end to an otherwise slightly fraught running session:
More exciting adventures soon no doubt...
Cheers all,
Andrew.