The (Windmill Hill) Welsh Highland Railway

[Andrew]

Some features of this site look kinda familiar. Are you the guy who asked for WHR railway design suggestions on the NGGarden group a while back? (I replied, with something based on the General Undertaking).

The very same - hello Mr Dodd!

I remember your plan, a complex, fascinating - and fully signalled - "might have been", with LNWR branches and all sorts, fantastic stuff. Unfortunately, as you'll have realised from this thread, a single line round the garden's taken years - that would have been a life's work!

Ian Stock came up with a tempting plan too, featuring Beddgelert and a spiral to make the two ends of a continuous gradient meet and allow a continuous run.

In the event such plans probably helped me to appraise the (small, multi-use, multi-user) garden a little more honestly and accept a certain degree of compromise. I looked at a couple of real WHR locations, and in the end decided on an imaginary branch with WHR features. At the moment those are limited to the rolling stock, a steep gradient, some wiggles in the route and a cutting, but some NWNGR and WHR-influenced buildings and bridges should follow shortly-ish. It will be an end-to-end run when the route is complete (in a month or two?), but with a temporary lower terminus that may become a connection to allow a continuous run if experience shows that to be desirable...

I miss the NG Garden group - missing, presumed dead? I was only a member for a year or two but found it to be a great inspiration. I really enjoyed Ian's lengthy and passionate discourses, Neil's rolling stock-building tips, David's wide-ranging knowledge etc etc. Happily I find some of the same stuff here...

All the best,

Andrew.

[Andrew]

Did you use child labour to lay that underneath the deck? So I´m assuming that you´re going to have a solution to potential derailments ...

Nope, all my own work, and I'm still aching... Got some slate and tile retaining walls in today, tracklaying at the weekend I hope.

Unfortunately I find the children better at causing derailments than sorting them out... The under-deck area's a little more accessible than it looks, but I'm still hoping there won't be too many disasters there!

Andrew

[TommyDodd]

In the event such plans probably helped me to appraise the (small, multi-use, multi-user) garden a little more honestly and accept a certain degree of compromise. I looked at a couple of real WHR locations, and in the end decided on an imaginary branch with WHR features. At the moment those are limited to the rolling stock, a steep gradient, some wiggles in the route and a cutting, but some NWNGR and WHR-influenced buildings and bridges should follow shortly-ish. It will be an end-to-end run when the route is complete (in a month or two?), but with a temporary lower terminus that may become a connection to allow a continuous run if experience shows that to be desirable...

I miss the NG Garden group - missing, presumed dead? I was only a member for a year or two but found it to be a great inspiration. I really enjoyed Ian's lengthy and passionate discourses, Neil's rolling stock-building tips, David's wide-ranging knowledge etc etc. Happily I find some of the same stuff here...

Andrew.

I like the sound of your cunning plan, and will watch progress with interest. NGgarden still exists with 400+ members, but has been very quiet since last summer. I suspect, as with many online resources (including this one) that the active posters were comparatively few in number with the rest content to lurk and pick up tips. Neil R seems to be more active in 15mm/ft circles these days, and the last I saw of Ian was an article in RM last summer showing an indoor layout along the shores of Loch Ness in the rail blue era- he mentioned the garden line briefly, saying that a couple of bad summers had curtailed running and maintenance had suffered too. I remain a member, because even if the traffic is light the group files remain a treasure trove of photographic inspiration and ideas.

[Andrew]

I remain a member, because even if the traffic is light the group files remain a treasure trove of photographic inspiration and ideas.

Me too, for the same reason - when I said I was a member I meant that's when I was actively posting. I may post on NG Garden when my line opens - it owes a lot to that group and its members...

The Windmill Hill Welsh Highland saw some further progress today but the weather forecast for tomorrow is awful so I don't think the latest extension will see trains this week...

Andrew.

[Andrew]

The Windmill Hill Welsh Highland saw some further progress today but the weather forecast for tomorrow is awful so I don't think the latest extension will see trains this week...

Andrew.

Well, I'm happy to say I was wrong about that...

Today the sun shone beautifully and I spent a large part of the day bringing the new extension into use  - all 4 yards of it!

Part of the work has included sorting the point where the line crosses the access to the storage area under the house. Until now this has only been a little-used headshunt, and the area had  accumulated grot and become something of an eyesore. It's now part of the running line so I thought it deserved a tidy-up. Fortunately I had some stone slabs and slate chippings left over from previous projects:



And here's a close up:



It's intended as a crossing for 1:1 size people rather than 16mm scale ones, for whom it'd be quite a jump... Safety first, nonetheless, so I added this sign:



I bought it in a junk shop in Tonbridge about 10 years ago. Because of the location I'd guess it's BR Southern Region, and from the 70s or early 80s, but I don't know - any ideas?

The rest of the extension curves under the deck to emerge in a shallow cutting which takes it under the swing sofa. The idea in this out-of-the-way area is simply to make it as maintenance-free as possible whilst still looking vaguely attractive.  The bare earth bits will soon receive a layer of slate chippings.





I thought the area needed some sort of focal point so have moved my little PW hut. That ugly wall could do with a coat of paint...

That's all for now. The next step is surveying the final straight to the upper terminus, and coming up with a cunning plan for building it in time for the summer...

Cheers,

Andrew.[/img]

[kandnwlr]

These railcars are really impressive and I´m glad to see that they´ve been rescued. Hope to see some more photos of the line as a whole.

[Andrew]

I'm loving these lighter evenings!

This week I've been able to spend an hour or so in the garden after work and have begun to build the structure that will support the upper terminus:




It's all a bit rough and ready, but I think it will work. Those two long timbers (should've been a little thicker but I'll add extra support) will have a deck added on top for the station to sit on - the area between that and the siding below (only temporarily laid for now) will be landscaped. As you can see the main running line into the lower terminus will be in a tunnel underneath the new bit - I plan to add a little access hatch somewhere in case of derailments or other problems. Which there may well be, given the steep gradient and sharp curve at that point. This may all end in tears! Nearly did last night actually when I hacked into my thumb whilst sawing too hurriedly in an effort to beat the failing light - amazingly resilient stuff, skin...

Further progress reports to follow over the coming weeks...

Andrew.

[kandnwlr]

Intriguing. I was wondering what wonders will be shown to demonstrate how the line reaches the upper terminus. But it´s good to see that you´re adopting the modern approach of creating multi-storey stations, as Zurich is now doing

[Andrew]

Intriguing. I was wondering what wonders will be shown to demonstrate how the line reaches the upper terminus.

It's a complex technique, but I think suspension is the key word. Of disbelief that is, hopefully aided by the difference in hight and some careful landscaping! The two stations will be almost on top of each other, but the route between the two runs all the way round the edge of the garden - I must draw a plan sometime...

Will it work? I dunno... Watch this space!

[Andrew]

There's a little more progress to report on the (WH)WHR...

Lasy week the upper terminus structure was strengthened with additional timber and now feels pretty sturdy. Here's a works train entering what will be the tunnel beneath the terminus:



And again at the current top end of the line where slate chippings and a new swing seat have tidied that corner:




Yesterday I made a start on the deck that will sit on top of the wooden framework, before fettling the track underneath which will soon become pretty inaccessible. Naturally a test train was required:



The section of track in question caused no problems at all, although I had plenty elsewhere, later diagnosed (point blades misbehaving)  and cured.

It made a pleasant change to have two trains in operation, hopefully a taste of things to come...





Cheers all,

Andrew.

[SherpaPhil]

whats the Moelwyn loco like, thinking of seeing if the board of directors will release funds for one !

[Andrew]

whats the Moelwyn loco like, thinking of seeing if the board of directors will release funds for one !

On the whole, pretty good I reckon. I think it's pretty much to scale (it certainly looks the part) and the radio control's great - very controllable with a reasonable top speed and great shunting ability.

It very quickly stripped the nylon gears it came with and Andy at Andel replaced them with brass ones - quite a big job because it needed dismantling to do it and the whole thing's superglued together, chassis and all... Have had no problems there since thankfully.

Personally I don't really like the self-coloured resin and I'll be repainting it when I can find the time. At the same time I'll clean up a few obvious joins etc, again due to the resin construction.

Its haulage capacity seems reasonable, half-a-dozen wagons are no problem, but it didn't like me attaching it to a rake of three bogie coaches, although that MAY have been because it was running low on battery power, the jury's out on that.

As you'll have seen from the photos, it's seeing a fair bit of use at the moment, but I've got a Roundhouse Little John on order and I think that'll take over on everyday duties - it should be more powerful and robust. Moelwyn fits my WHR theme and I envisage it spending its time on slate trains and a Welsh Highland goods rake (when I build it).

So... My personal opinion is probably that if you like the real thing and/or are after a quirky and controllable "middle-weight" battery loco it could be a really good purchase, but I'd perhaps consider something a little chunkier if your new loco is to be your main battery power...

Hope that's useful,

Andrew.

[kandnwlr]

Nice to see the Easy Line Regner loco in action. Mine was playing up over Easter

[SherpaPhil]

cheers for that
Moelwyn is a favourite as i grew up on all this Ffestiniog ( being a Barmouth boy )
i have a Little John which is a great little loco ( now my 12 year old's loco )
may put it on my shopping list !

[Andrew]

Nice to see the Easy Line Regner loco in action. Mine was playing up over Easter    :roll:

Don't tell me that!!! I've always relied on my little Konrad to keep my faith in garden railways even when everything else is going pear-shaped! It hardly fits my WHR theme, but I wouldn't dream of parting company with it because it always seems to do the job when more complex (and expensive) beasties throw up all sorts of problems, even if they're easily solved, like dead batteries... It's due a repaint at some point (probably blue, my daughter's choice), will probably gain the big headlamps from my Accucraft Baldwin, and maybe one or two of those nice Swift Sixteen cowcatchers - all a bit OTT perhaps, but fun...

[Andrew]

cheers for that
Moelwyn is a favourite as i grew up on all this Ffestiniog ( being a Barmouth boy )
i have a Little John which is a great little loco ( now my 12 year old's loco )
may put it on my shopping list !

Glad to help! Yes, I hope my Little John will be used by the kids (8, 10, 12 & 12) lots of the time. They enjoy playing with Moelwyn but I think the RH loco should be a bit better suited to their needs.

Cheers,

Andrew.

[kandnwlr]

Nice to see the Easy Line Regner loco in action. Mine was playing up over Easter    :roll:

Don't tell me that!!! I've always relied on my little Konrad to keep my faith in garden railways even when everything else is going pear-shaped! It hardly fits my WHR theme, but I wouldn't dream of parting company with it because it always seems to do the job when more complex (and expensive) beasties throw up all sorts of problems, even if they're easily solved, like dead batteries... It's due a repaint at some point (probably blue, my daughter's choice), will probably gain the big headlamps from my Accucraft Baldwin, and maybe one or two of those nice Swift Sixteen cowcatchers - all a bit OTT perhaps, but fun...

Got a "Willi" superized by Martin´s Models, but playing up at the moment. Can´t really work out why. The gas won´t stay lit.

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

When my vincent played up (the gas wouldn't stay lit) the problem was solved by putting some PTFE tape round the gas jet threads - I am really rather fond of my regner loco too...

[kandnwlr]

When my vincent played up (the gas wouldn't stay lit) the problem was solved by putting some PTFE tape round the gas jet threads - I am really rather fond of my regner loco too...

Thanks for the tip. I´ll go and talk to it nicely this evening.

[jim@NAL]

good work