The (Windmill Hill) Welsh Highland Railway

[Dannypenguin]

Nice to meet you too Andrew, here's my pics from the meeting:






Double Trouble!

Overall it was a great railway, it's certainly inspired me somewhat!

[Andrew]

Nice photos - I especially like the yellow paint of your LJ catching the sun in the first one. I've just spent a very happy half-hour shunting in the garden, it's a lovely little loco...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[Andrew]

Can't wait to see the connecting line up there.

Me too! Shouldn't be too long now. After a busy afternoon's construction the two ends of my line are now physically joined by railway infrastructure. It's not track yet, or even trackbed, just the framework that will support the trackbed when I've purchased more decking boards, but it certainly feels like progress...

Here's the new framework viewed from the current Head of Nickel Silver, disappearing off under the swing chair and butterfly bush:



And the view from the lawn, with the single siding that currently forms the lower terminus in the foreground. The way it ploughs through the surrounding landscape makes it more look like those computer-generated views of HS2 than a narrow gauge branchline, but it won't once Mother Nature gets a proper look-in...



And lastly for now here's the view from the end of the current formation at the upper terminus, still a bare baseboard patiently awaiting tracklaying and a first train. Sunday, maybe...



Cheers all,

Andrew.

[laalratty]

It's all beginning to look rather nice, and also good to see that the end is edging into sight tracklaying wise.

[Andrew]

...here's the view from the end of the current formation at the upper terminus, still a bare baseboard patiently awaiting tracklaying and a first train. Sunday, maybe...

Not quite, but I'm getting there...

A bout of some nasty viral lurgey took its toll on plans to get lots done this week. I did manage to get outside today though and the trackbed is now complete and the track itself just a yard or two from entering the upper terminus. There are just one or two fiddly bits to deal with (and a packet of fishplates to find) before I'm there... Photos here when I make it!

Cheers,

Andrew.

[Andrew]

We've made it!

This evening the (Windmill Hill) Welsh Highland Railway celebrated as its unofficial first train travelled over the whole length of the line for te first time. "Daisy", my little Regner, did the honours, chugging uphill with a trio of Ffestiniog four-wheelers. New Little John "Margaret" followed with the works train and the two then trundled up and down merrily, passing at the station in the middle. Photos were attempted but the light wasn't up to much - perhaps I'll pose some recreations for the camera?!

Unfortunately it wasn't all good news... The opening train initially included Ffestiniog brake third No 2 at the front of the rake, but the thing was subject to the dreaded "bow-string effect" on some of the curves, being pulled over sideways by the opposing forces on either end of it.

I wasn't expecting that, having taken steps to check that it shouldn't happen - before laying the first curve I tested a four coach bogie rake over a mock-up 3'6" curve on the kitchen floor, without incident. That train didn't include No 2, but did include the Pickering brake and Buffet car, both of which are longer and so, I'd have thought, more susceptible to the problem.

It's going to need more testing but it's quite a worry. The whole line was designed and built to allow Welsh Highland and Ffestiniog trains to run over it - I've spent three years building the track and at least five on the carriages so far - so I'm more than a little concerned... Any thoughts would be most welcome. Model the pre-preservation Tal-y-llyn instead perhaps?

If that little (?!) problem can be solved an official first train will follow later in the summer when some track work has taken place on some of the earlier sections and a little more scenic work carried out...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[laalratty]

Adding weight to the offending coach may help, also make sure that the bogies are on as tight as they will go, without restricting movement. Must admit this effect is what limits train length on my line, a couple of my longer coaches are very susceptible to it, particularly on a couple of curves.

[philipy]

Marshalling it at the rear of the train should help a little, by reducing the weight behind it that is attempting to 'cut the corner'.

[Andrew]

Thanks for your thoughts on my "bow-string" problems, much appreciated. I'll give your suggestions a try LR, and can try arranging the train differently too - although it can't always be at the back, because it's an end-to-end line, it could be positioned on the "downhill" end, thus reducing resistance from the vehicles behind when it's at the front... I hope to carry out a few tests with my other bogie stock at the weekend to assess whether it's just Van 2 that needs attention or if I'll have to find a more radical solution...

All the best,

Andrew.

[Andrew]

Phew, that's a relief! Just test ran the current WHR rake (Pickering brake/Buffet Car/Gladstone ) without any bow-string problems, so it looks like Van 2 could just use a little more weight and some attention to the bogies as per LR's suggestion.

Having got that (mostly) sorted I feel I can crack on again - photos later in the week perhaps...

Looks like the line's going to be a proper challenge to drive realistically - I 'm a long way from being there yet, but I think practising will be fun...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[Andrew]

Evening all,

After a brief phase of testing my "completed" line I promptly dug up part of it and recommenced building works. I'd found that although the completed line seems to have lots of potential I wasn't going to realise it while the bottom terminus was a temporarily laid single line with a short siding.

I've been gradually fixing concrete blocks ("reclaimed" from assorted dodgy alleys and wasteland in the neighbourhood) into place behind the little wall I built last year to form a solid trackbed. That's now extended beyond the wall and into the undergrowth:



I've started laying track and hope to have the station area finished this month. I'm using a quicker method of trackbed construction than I've used previously, laying the blocks onto a bed of Postfix rather than a pre-cast foundation. That's speeding things up, but there seem to be plenty of other calls on my time to distract me from railway construction...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[Soar Valley Light]

HI Andrew,

That's looking very nice. There is some carefully laid out geometry there. Do you have any sort of level control when you are laying your blocks?

The postmix idea is a good 'un. I dare say ready mix mortar may do a similar job. How does the cost of post mix stack up against the cost of sand, cement and gravel? There has to be an allowance for the convenience of post mix of course - so much cleaner and tidier.

Do you put any sort of sub-base down to stand the post mix on?

Apologies for all the questions but the construction plans for the Soar Valley Light are now approaching the detailed planning stage.

Andrew

[Andrew]

HI Andrew,

That's looking very nice. There is some carefully laid out geometry there. Do you have any sort of level control when you are laying your blocks?

The postmix idea is a good 'un. I dare say ready mix mortar may do a similar job. How does the cost of post mix stack up against the cost of sand, cement and gravel? There has to be an allowance for the convenience of post mix of course - so much cleaner and tidier.

Do you put any sort of sub-base down to stand the post mix on?

Apologies for all the questions but the construction plans for the Soar Valley Light are now approaching the detailed planning stage.

Andrew

Hello!

The track geometry looks better from that angle than from others! We shall see how test-running goes...

By level-control do you mean something more complex than a spirit level? If you do I'm afraid the answer's no - other than to compensate for minor dips and bumps by careful ballasting...

The stuff I'm using is Postfix, on special offer at £3.60 per bag in Wickes at the moment. Still more expensive than sand and cement, but yes, much more convenient - especially in a small garden where concrete must be mixed in small batches on a board on the lawn or patio.

For this section I'm not using a concrete sub-base/foundation, which is both keeping the cost down and speeding things up - I just can't go through yet another summer without some decent running! So far so good - all the rest of the "masonry" sections of line use a "foundation plus blocks/bricks" approach, but it did feel a little like overkill and I was beginning to suspect that life's just too short. We shall see in due course. About both trackbed construction and one's allotted lifespan...

I hope that's vaguely useful...

Andrew.

[Andrew]

Forgot to say, the blocks are sitting on a bed of Postfix, and the soil at the bottom of the trench has been covered with rubble and trodden down firmly...

I cut some blocks to size for the headshunt last night and will try to make further progress this evening if the whether will allow me to...

Andrew.

[Soar Valley Light]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the info. When I passed Bristol early this evening (I've been down to the South Devon Railway today) the weather was decidedly un-conducive to outside work of any sort! I hope it improved enough for you to do some work later.

A spirit level is a perfectly adequate means of level control, especially in combination with a long straight edge of some sort. It's also cheap and easy to use single handed!

When you are working in a confined area with a need to keep mess to a minimum pre-mix has to be an important consideration. It's also worth a bob or two extra!

When you say you aren't using a foundation for this section does that mean they are going down straight onto the earth or are you using postmix under them straight onto the formation? I understand what you mean about overkill. Over engineering is better than under engineering but only to a point! I look forward to hearing you you get on. for when the time comes for me to begin construction

This is all useful information for when the time comes for me to begin construction.

Andrew

[kandnwlr]

Nice trackwork there, I must say. That´s the start of something which is going to look very nice

[Maple]

i do love the two levels. I was thinking of a quarry level with and incline on my railway in the future.

[Peter Butler]

Maple, I am building a disused quarry with inclines as you describe.....



If you read 'Time to build a railway' in this section, you can watch its progress.

[Andrew]

When you say you aren't using a foundation for this section does that mean they are going down straight onto the earth or are you using postmix under them straight onto the formation?

Hi Andrew - yes, the latter. The earth, and some rubble, is compacted underneath, and then a bed of postmix poured (dry) and leveled on top. The block goes down, adjustments are made, more postmix goes down the sides, and then it all gets a watering.

And yes, the weather did clear up, thanks! Feel free to drop by to play trains next time you're passing through Bristol!

Andrew.

[Andrew]

i do love the two levels.  I was thinking of a quarry level with and incline on my railway in the future.

It does look a bit like a quarry I know. In my mind though the two levels are actually miles apart, so I have to resist adding an incline because it would render the entire railway obsolete!

Glad you like it though. And your quarry's looking great Peter!

Andrew.