Boxing Day Steam Up

As hoped, got in a steam up yesterday; cold but sunny, so good plumes of steam! Ran Mortimer, now officially 'Ella' having acquired some name plates from Formil at Exeter. These are blu-tac'd in place at the moment, but will be glued in shortly.
Here's a picture of yours truly lighting-up, and one below of Ella with her nameplates...

Got some good railway-related presents today, some black etch primer & crimson lake enamel, and a temperature controlled 50 watt iron for kit construction :-)
Here's a (short) video of the steam-up...

Merry Christmas

Not much activity on the blog in the last month (or on the railway for that matter), what with the run up to Christmas with little 'uns, & all manner of coughs & sneezes doing the rounds. Anyway, some nice pressies yesterday, some of the family clubbed together to get me a 'footplate experience day' on the Moors Valley Railway for next year (which I'm looking forward to!). Also some Milliput in my stocking; I can finish off the station halt kit now...
Looking like a nice clear day out there this morning, so who knows; maybe time for a steam up...

Steaming in the cold

Not much garden railway activity lately, though I did manage to steam Cackler in the cold yesterday. She ran beautifully with the gas set low, a lovely plume of steam and the quiet 'ticking' of the motion - very nice!

Got some graphite yarn to pack the gland nuts of the MSS which seems to have helped; tried another (unsuccesful) attempt to fix the loose crank pin!!!

More Fettling

Got the MMS up on blocks again tonight, but removed the constricted chuff pipe fitted some time ago, and this seemed to make all the difference, with much free-er steaming. All that is left to sort now is the loose crank pin (which neither Epoxy or superglue has fixed so far!)

Kew

Made it to Kew for a couple of hours, and had a good time. A couple of good layouts; the Guildford Group had a nice variety of loco's (I particularly liked the super-detailled Roundhouse Bertie, and of course the Finescale Hunslet) , and the Pudding Norton Creek layout was interesting in showing you could run an end-to-end exhibition layout with R/C live steam! I was remarkably restrained in terms of purchases! Here's a video of the best bits...

Moors Valley Railway

Not much been going on at home on the Worthies & Littleton as I've bean dealing with the cough / flu thing that's been doing the rounds (though I did watch a few episodes of The Garden Railway on DVD ;-). But off to the 7 1/4" narrow gauge Moors Valley Railway near Ringwood today to celebrate my Nephew's 3rd Birthday.


Enjoyed a nice circuit behind No. 11 2-6-2 Zeus, hauling one of the longest / heaviest passenger trains I've seen on a miniature railway - I'm amazed it got around the sharpest curves!




Nice also to see a double headed frieght train, hauled by No. 6 2-6-2T Medea and No. 17 2-4-4T Hartfield.

Hoping to get to Kew tomorrow for the model steam railway show...

More MSS Fettling...

Spent yesterday evening messing around with cylinders on the MSS, trying to sort out recent poor performance. I ended up switching back to the IP Engineering cylinders tried previously, and managed to coax a bit more life out of them (by throroughly lubricating before steaming); there's more power there, but they still need fettling in. So, a bit of running on blocks yesterday evening & this evening also. Looking at the old cylinders there seems a lot of lateral 'play' in the pivot bolts, which might explain things...

Also been thinking of ways to improve her looks(!); thinking about making some new side tanks with tram skirts, and maybe a rear bunker... Might try mocking something up out of card to see how it looks...

Vintage Cloister Film

Check out this recently posted YouTube video of Cloister (now at Kew Bridge Steam Museum), early in her preserved existence - cracking stuff!

Sunday Steam Up

Managed a steam up yesterday, in a dry spell betwwen the drizzle. Cackler ran beautifully, sporting a new Enots valve picked up at Exeter, and a cleaned check valve - no more hot water being ejected into the cab from the filler...

Still having fun & games with the MSS; having steamed on blocks to test the new 'super wick' material (also acquired at Exeter), she seemed to be steaming well, and did a few laps of the circuit under her own steam. However, problems started upon refilling the boiler. This caused a steam leak from the filler valve with nearly complete loss of pressure. After cooling, I thoroughly cleaned the water fill valve & having re-steaming this seemed to do the trick, but couldn't raise enough steam to get her to run on track, with the wheels easily stopped by touching. I'm hoping this is just a problem with the cylinders, as a) everything else seems in order, & b) I've ordered a cylinder upgrade kit from www.dream-steam.com. Sometimes it seems all the tinkering & expense hasn't led to much of an improvement from the loco as bought (best not tell my other half though ;-) Oh well, such is the lot of a mamod owner...

Garden Railway Blog - 1 year old today!

Well, here we are - 1 year and 62 posts old. Sadly, the weather has been too foul today to allow any kind of celebratory steam-up, though the forecast for tomorrow isn't so grim, so fingers crossed.

Quite a lot has happened on the garden railway front in the last year (considering that life with a young family doesn't leave much spare time for anything else!), the first phase of the garden layout is complete, we're down a Jane but up a Mortimer, and Cackler & the MSS have seen regular service too.

I'm certainly enjoying blogging, although I gather blogs are passe and we should all be tweeting away on twitter (at least according to Radio 4 the other morning...). Whilst the subject is 'selective in its appeal' I gather there are a few readers out there, so hello, and thanks for stopping by!

Here's to the next year!

Autumn on the Maesffordd

Take a look at this fantastic video on YouTube of 'Autumn on the Maesffordd Railway' - the atmosphere is just great!

Exeter Garden Railway Show Video

Here's a YouTube video showing selected highlights of the show... (also available in high quality if you watch on the YouTube site here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xORFJA-gRYM&fmt=6)
UPDATE: The Exeter show site http://www.exetergardenrailwayshow.com has embedded this video on their video page :-)

Exeter Garden Railway Show

Well, I've finally found some time to write about our trip down to Exeter to the Exeter Garden Railway Show yesterday. After a two hour drive (thanks Ray!) we arrived at about 11 am. First impressions on going into the hall were that it was larger than I expected, and on wandering around we certainly weren't disappointed. A good number of layouts, with live steam power dominating :-) Also a good number & mix of traders. We spent a relaxed few hours, wandering around taking in the sights, sounds & smells.

Everyone was very friendly, and we had lots of interesting chats with vendors & exhibitors. It was nice to meet & chat to David Hicks, whose Bagnall Wing tank I'd admired in GardenRail a few years back. Likewise Colin Binnie, whose steam motor looks ideal to base something home-built upon, and also Tolhurst Model Engineering, who kindly took the time to show us how their multi-fuel options worked in their Quarry Hunslet. Very clever, and the attention to detail on their locos looks second to none. Definitely time to start saving! (I fancy 'Dolbadarn' with the full cab!). I also met up with an old family friend John, who was exhibiting the garden Tram layout. He lived a few doors down when I was growing up, and bares at least some responsibility for getting me into railways in the first place!

There were some lovely models being run; the standard of the layouts was excellent, with Sticklepath, Mendip Vale & Southdown having a particularly good level of scenic detail. It was fun to see what I think was one of Tony Bird's Crackers running. The Gauge 1 layout was certainly impressive.

All in all an excellent day out - we'll definitely be back next year!

Back to the Eastleigh Lakeside Railway

Went with extended family & little ones to the Eastleigh Lakeside Railway on Saturday, just in time to catch the last train of the day! A good time was had by all, and we enjoyed riding behind live steam loco Sandy River, a US outline 2-4-2 in the still very mild weather! The Eastleigh Lakeside Railway is one of Britain's Great Little Railways.


Steamed Mortimer on Sunday afternoon; it was extremely windy and I needed to set the gas very high to stop it blowing out! This wasn't helped by the Bernzomatic butane I'm using at the moment, the last couple of cans of which seem to make the burner very erratic when first lit - seems as though there might be some kind of impurity in it which burns off in the first couple of minutes. This happens with both my gas-fired locos... Anyway, a nice run once in steam.

Exeter Garden Railway Show

Saturday 25th October 2008; looks like it should be good...

Drive a Quarry Hunslet!

On the subject of Kew Bridge Steam Museum, I see they are advertising for volunteer drivers on their waterworks railway. Unfortunately I don't think abandoning the family two weekends a month is an option; although driving a quarry Hunslet would be fantastic!!!
Never mind, I shall have to be content with the Kew Live Steam Model Railway Show, on November 15th & 16th.

Twyford Waterworks Autumn Open Day

As the weather brightened up this afternoon, I decided to drag the kids out to the nearby Twyford Waterworks Autumn Open Day. Although the site isn't the most pushchair friendly I've been to(!) we had a nice hour or so there, mostly looking at the small industrial railway that services the works lime kilns.

There were two Lister loco's there; one of which was shunting a few wagons - looked like fun to drive!





The waterworks feels a bit like a more rural version of Kew Bridge Steam Museum, with some obvious similarities: former waterworks, a narrow gauge industrial railway, and both with a Hathorn Davey Triple Expansion Engine. That said, I guess Twyford doesn't Kew's unique large beam engines!

Summer 08 Video

Here's a new YouTube video of summer activity on the line. This shows the line since the reverse curve at the rear was eliminated, and features Mortimer, Cackler, Toby & the Baguley-Drewery.

A Station Building

I finally got round to starting construction of the W & L Lt Rly's first building tonight - a Lineside Delights Small Halt Kit which I bought a while back at Merstham.
Whilst I love lines that have the full scenic treatment, I don't really have any desire to turn our garden into a model village (though I love those too; especially Bekonscot). The main purpose of the line is to allow me to run live steam loco's & some trains, and I can live with a garden that isn't planted 'to scale'! That said, I think a few railway related structures are quite in keeping...
So the first structure is a modest halt, which will actually go at the terminus at the end of the line! The plan is to make a small platform (probably from timber and some offcuts of roofing felt) for it to sit on. As the picture above shows, I managed to get the basic structure assembled tonight; there is some detailling remaining before painting. Watch this space...!

MMS Back in Service

Glorious weather this weekend, so a great opportunity for some running in the garden, with Toby, Mortimer & the MMS all doing a turn. But first a quick strip down of the Baguley-Drewery as it's not been running so smoothly of late; lurching a bit & some groaning from the connecting rods. The strip down & rebuild seemed to do the trick & she's running smoothly again.

I also switched the MMS cyclinders back to the original ones, to see whether last weeks' fettling problems were cylinder related. Turns out they must have been, as she was happily running in on blocks Sunday morning, and running very nicely round the track on Sunday afternoon with two wagons in tow. The precision regulator has made her much more controllable, and with the wicks properly adjusted there's no shortage of steam. As she is now running well I may indulge in a few more cosmetic improvements from Dream Steam...!

So - all of the motive power on the W & L is now back in service - just in time for the rain ;-)

Fettling the MSS

Well, after the Model Engineer show yesterday, I came home & steamed both Mortimer & Cackler, both running nicely in the afternoon sun.

I then decided to get the MSS back into service, having now received the recently ordered lubricator. BTW, the service from Dream Steam was very good, and as there were a few days delay due to a PayPal issue, they threw in a brass chimney cap - very decent of them. I'm also happy to report their lubricator design is an improvement on the IP version, as the pipe to the reversing block is longer & as a result I didn't have to file anything at all! The loco has been running in on blocks this evening, but there seems to be a problem with the replacement IP cylinders; lots of steam leaking from the piston rod glands, and no packing behind the gland nuts either, so something to sort out this week. The old cylinders weren't all that bad, so I may just go back to them for the time being to get her running on the track.. The Dream Steam centre buffer replacement buffer beams look very good too I think.

Model Engineer 08

Went to the Model Engineer Exhibition yesterday, at Ascot. Good show, with some fantastic locomotives on display. The level of skill and dedication to build locos to this standard is amazing. Check out the scale tin of brasso on the footplate of the GWR loco! It almost seems a shame to steam them...


The Sinsheim 5" gauge track was impressive (surely the worlds largest trainset?!), although there were disappointingly few locos in steam. It was great to see a decent size loco in full cry with a long rake of goods wagons in tow though! The maddest thing of all was a working model of a prototype gas turbine engine - the noise was something to behold as it whined past! Here's a short YouTube video I shot of trains running on the Sinsheim track:

Interesting to see all the machine tools on show. Although I've never done any workshop training, the idea of having a small mill & lathe & to make my own locos is very attractive. Looks like you could get yourself reasonably well equipped for the cost of a decent 16mm live steamer - then it's just time & materials!

Diesel Mineral Working on the W & L Lt. Rly.

Here's a new YouTube video of diesel hauled mineral workings on the W & L Lt. Rly, featuring my Accucraft Baguley-Drewery battery converted loco & Binnie Hudson Tippers.

Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway to close?

Sad to read that the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway is due to close at the end of the year... Lets hope they can at least negotiate a stay of execution if not a continued existance on the site.

Weekend Running

Finally a weekend with some nice weather for a change, and some opportunities to run some trains!

On Saturday I was able to steam Cackler, following some tweaks as a result of an e-mail thread with the Loco's maker, David Hardy. The filler valve problem turned out to be resolved by cleaning out the non-return valve. I did some further fettling of the steam regulator to try to get it to close completely, I also tighted up one of the connecting rods between the slip eccentric and the piston valve which seemed to have worked loose. The resulting run was one of the best I've ever achieved with this loco; lovely slow scale speed pulling a couple of wagons, gas & steam regulators perfectly balanced. Certainly looking forward to more runs like that!

Today I was able to do some gardening, and clear the plants that had overgrown the line. Having done that, I ran Mortimer, once before the kids went to bed, and for an extended run after. I don't usually run once it's dark, even with the patio light on (primarily in case the track works loose), but Mortimer is very reliable, and with the single-fill system there's not a great deal that can go wrong. It was very atmospheric, and great to sit back with a glass of wine and watch her going round!

Hopefully we will get that Indian summer with more good running sessions into the Autumn...

Back to the BMR

We went to Brambridge yesterday, to go to the garden centre, but we squeezed a ride on the Bankside Miniature Railway in too. We were hauled by Carolyn, stalwart of the line - here's a picture of Carolyn plus train being turned on the turntable after the run.

They were also steaming a GWR pannier on a short test track. I'm not sure whether she is the same (unusual) gauge as the main line, and will be on passenger duties in future? (shame - we'll have to go back... ;-)

Big trains, little trains...

Despite the rubbish weather this weekend (again), we managed to see some big trains & little trains on Saturday afternoon.

First of all, up to Ropley again - we saw Wadebridge on a down train, before wandering around the loco shed and seeing several large locos, including a very smart looking A4 60019 Bittern. It's their steam gala this weekend, which looks like it should be very good...

After that it was down to Eastleigh, to the Eastleigh Lakeside Railway for a ride on a little train. It was one of their 'Days out with Underground Ernie', which the kids enjoyed, but sadly no steam haulage! They have quite an extensive track down there, and it was definitely worth a visit - doubtless we'll be back down their again...

I've ordered some parts for the MSS, so hopefully she will be back in steam before long!!!

Toby Rides Again!

Got hold of a new motor for Toby & fitted it Monday evening (with the new metal worm gear to replace the stripped out plastic one). He felt a bit 'gutless' testing on the kitchen table, but he's been out doing laps this evening, and seems to be running in OK. If anything I'd expected a power increase, as the new gears have a lower ratio. Hopefully performance will improve & settle down as he gets run-in...

Looks like the previously noted problem with the MSS refit is a blow through the dead-leg lubricator fitting, which I filed to accomodate the larger pivot bolts of the new cylinders; looks like I was too aggressive there (& I'll be after a new lubricator!). I was wondering where to get parts now that IP seem to have completely walked away from Jane & after-market Mamod parts; PPS carry some, but a bit of Googling revealed http://www.dream-steam.com/, who look like they have quite a good range :-)

Watercress Line

As I was looking after the kids yesterday afternoon, we went up to the Watercress Line at Ropley (our local preserved line) to see some steam engines! West Country 34007 "Wadebridge" & 5MT 73096 were both on passenger duties and made a fine sight in the afternoon sun!

Progress (or lack of!)

Well, August has been a quiet month on the W & L Lt Rly. Between holidays away, pretty rubbish weather, being very busy at work and only having 2 out of 5 locos in service, there hasn't been a great deal of running - just the odd hour here or there with the Baguley-Drewery. Any free time has been spent trying to get those locos back in service:

• A new metal worm gear has been fitted to Toby, but the electric motor has failed & I need to get a replacement - hopefully just a trip to the local model shop.
• The steam regulator & replacement cylinders for the MSS have been fitted, but on an initial firing steam pressure wasn't being raised, so there's a leak somewhere that needs to be sorted out.
• Cackler still needs a new filler valve, and in the longer term the steam regulator needs replacing.

Hopefully there'll be more activity in the Autumn!

End of the reverse-curve

Having got thoroughly fed up with Cackler leaving the track several times during a morning steam up, I decided to finally do what I'd been thinking about for a while, and re-lay the rear of the loop to get rid of the reverse curve. Originally layed to keep the line as close as possible to the fence, but still clear the fence post, it has though caused running problems, slowing trains excessively, and with the tracks joins coming apart after running steam locos in particular.

The relayed section uses fewer pieces of track at the rear (fewer joins to come loose or have to check) and gently curves to avoid the post, transitioning nicely to the set-track curves. The change in geometry means the right side of the front of the loop is brought forward slightly.
Extensive test running this afternoon with the Baguley-Drewery, then Cackler & Mortimer gave much improved running, with more consistent speed and power round the loop.

Unfortunately it looks like Cackler's filler valve failed at the end of her run, as she was blowing hot water back out of it - not a good sign.

The W & L Lt Rly - in Brio

OK - Just a bit of fun whilst we were waiting for the kid's bath to run... Here is the track plan of The Worthies & Littleton Light Railway, faithfully rendered in Brio! Has an almost 'Beck-ian' feel about it, with those nice straight lines and 45 degree bends (no prizes for guessing what's coming next ;-)

Steaming Cackler

A busy day in the garden today, and despite the weather threatening to rain it stayed mostly dry. We found time to steam Cackler for the first time in a while. Ended up having a good session with over an hour's run - certainly the most gentle & consistent run I've managed with this loco for a while - very pleasing!

Bankside Miniature Railway

We spent a very enjoyable hour or so this afternoon at the Bankside Miniature Railway in nearby Brambridge. The line is 8 1/4" gauge (is this unique?), and we were hauled by 2-6-2 Carolyn, built in 1924.




The line is an out-and-back, the station throat being a turntable, used to turn around the entire train between runs. They are open weekends, 10-30 'til 5, with trains running every 15 minutes or so, and are definitely worth a visit (with a pretty decent garden centre on site too).

No-Wheel Drive Toby!

Despite doing stirling service with an audience of several kids at our barbecue last weekend, a bit of a dull moment today as Toby's plastic worm drive stripped :-( Just wondering whether I'm better off getting a brass replacement from Cambrian models (answer: yes , if it's a drop in replacement...!)
Otherwise slow but steady progress; the lines' first coach is shaping up nicely (an old project started a few years back but never completed); just a final coat of paint and some detailing to finish.
Got a steam up of Mortimer Tuesday evening, and he was running very nicely too in the gentle evening sun.

Hollycombe Railway Weekend

A change to the advertsised programme this weekend, as we all went off to Hollycombe to their railway weekend on Sunday. The lure of Jerry M & Palmerston won over the O&K at Twyford (and we can always go Twyford another Sunday, and to Amberley another time to see the O&K ;-)

A good time was has by all, our little girl enjoyed the fairground in particular and was very excited about going for a ride behind a traction engine(!) Her daddy however was much more excited to see a prototype of his model 'Cackler' for the first time - and fantastic she looked too; the lining after last years' overhaul is very smart indeed (if ever I got Cackler 'lightline-d', I think it would have to be this paint-job).

It was nice to see Jerry M & Palmerston running regular services (including a short goods wagon rake) from the station, and at the end of the afternoon, double-heading the last run of the day.







The only down side was we didn't have enough time to see everything - sadly we missed the 16mm layouts! (never mind, there's always next year)

Twyford Waterworks Industrial Railway Gala Day

Sunday June 1st (this weekend) is the nearby Twyford Waterworks Industrial Railway Gala Day. Should be interesting; apparently they have a couple of Listers & there'll be a visting O&K (time to get some diesel inspiration!), as well as various stands & stalls. Fingers crossed for some drier weather!

4 Wheel Drive Toby

The first job following Merstham was to fit the IP Engineering budget chassis 4 wheel drive conversion to the tram engine. This reminded me of technical Lego caterpillar track & spockets from my younger days, although I didn't tend to use epoxy with my Lego ;-) Anyway, it's installed and the loco seems to run more smoothly on the line. It'll be interesting to see if the pulling power has improved (especially with the extra ballast I recently added - two lumps of mild steel).

Ray's Railway

Ray (from work) has comissioned his 45mm garden line. Here's a video of his Mortimer running around the line...

Made it to Merstham!

Well, a work colleague (Ray) & I made it up to Merstham for a couple of hours on Sunday morning, and very good it was too. The weather was kind and we wandered around between the layouts and trade stalls.

The Gauge 1 layout in the main hall was particularly impressive, with a succession of impressive mainline locos pulling rakes of coaches effortlessly round the gentle curves of the layout...

16mm Narrow guage was well represented with several layouts running. The Kent groups' layout in the gym was impressive, with a nice variety of motive power...




There was coal fired live steam on the East Surrey test track...







And plenty going on outside on the 71/4" line.

Of course it was great to be able to peruse the wares of many f the suppliers to the hobby, and a I did pick up a few bits & pieces, but more on those in future posts!

Merstham Model Steam Show

This weekend is the Merstham Model Steam Show; I'm hoping to get a pass out on Sunday morning to visit!!! Should be a good chance to catch up with all that's new & pick up some bits & pieces for the line. I'll post if I make it out of the house ;-)

Otherwise not much steaming since the last post, although the odd bit of battery loco running, as the weather has been pretty decent and there's been quite a lot to do in the garden now that summer is just around the corner.

Wildlife on the line

Found this little chap on the rails this morning, down in the cutting at the terminus. I had seen him near the compost bin the other night, but he's obviously developed an interest in the railway since!
I moved him up into the flowerbed, since I wanted to remodel the far end of the terminus, as the cuttings / vegetation really make it difficult to run a loco around the loop. I've opened this out, with an extra slab at the far end, which has improved things a great deal.
My wife's uncle came round in the afternoon, and we a great steam up with all three locos in steam!

Weekend Update

This weekend was good for the railway; mostly sunny & warm. Had two extended afternoon steam-ups, running both Mortimer & Cackler (and with both steaming nicely). I also had time to do some track tweaking, re-laying the front part of the loop. This has helped sort out the last of the problems due to the spring bulb explosion! There have also been a few recent problems with track coming apart during running (particularly with running the heavier steam loco's), so a session with the pliers has helped sort this out!

I also had time to sand down the partially completed freelance coach I abandoned some time ago, so hopefully the lines' first passenger stock will be running in the near future! (a Henrietta for Toby ;-)

Outstanding jobs now include improving / aligning some of the recently laid section to the terminus (a bit of a 'hump' to even out), and reworking the end of the terminus. It's difficult to access locos in the cuttings, so this will likely be opened out & re-layed onto a slab.

Still, with warming longer summer days & evenings ahead (assuming that we didn't have the British summer this past weekend), there's plenty of time for relexed running & tinkering!

Lappa Valley Railway

On holiday in Cornwall a couple of weeks ago, we took the family to the Lappa Valley Railway, near Newquay. The highlight was the steam hauled 15" gauge line, but there were plenty of child friendly things to do and we all had a nice afternoon in the spring sunshine. The staff there were very friendly, and we'd recommend it as a fun & relaxed afternoon out. Pictured is Zebedee, the 15" gauge loco that was in steam.

The garden railway has a name!

Well, after about 9 months of existence, I finally have a name for the line in my garden:

The Worthies & Littleton Light Railway

The name reflects pretty well where the line is, and also shares initials (W&L) with a rather better known narrow gauge prototype: http://www.wllr.org.uk/. It remains to be seen whether this convenient similarity will be sufficient to warrant purchase of the forthcoming Accucraft "Countess"!

Spring steam up [video]

Here's a short video of a steam-up yesterday evening, featuring Mortimer running over the newest section of the line. The video gives a pretty good impression of the line in it's present state.

The end of the line?

After so much soggy March weather (& an Easter weekend wiped out by sickness), Sunday turned out to be a nice warm Spring day. After lunch, I found time to do some gardening, and to have anther crack at removing the bulbs that have been steadily pushing up the paving bricks on the main loop - hopefully mostly cleared by now. Then my sister & family popped in, so we ran a couple of battery locos for the boys (the youngest of whom was very excited!).

Later on I managed to have couple of hours to myself, and got nearly all of the remaining route to the shed laid, including the station run-around loop & siding. The run around loop is quite short, clearance for three or so good sized wagons, but hopefully this might be improved with some tweaking. Some fettling in of the line itself is required, and completion of the run around spur & siding on a few last pavers, but the track was complete enough to allow the first ever proper 'out & back' run at about 7pm (longer evenings are back - hurray!).

Running over new rails

Here are a couple of photos of the Baguley-Drewery running over the newly-laid leg of the reversing triangle for the first time this afternoon. It only just cleared that rose-branch!

Weekend Engineering Work...

Significant progress with track laying this afternoon, with the reversing triangle completed, the bridge moved further along the line, and work started on the terminus!

Photo 1 shows the newly installed leg of the reversing triangle on the left (you can just see the Baguley running round the loop). Trackwork is the usual Peco laid on paving blocks set into the flower bed on a base of ballast.

Photo 2 shows the start of the terminus; there'll be a run-around loop on the left, and a siding on the right. Originally I had planned to put the terminus by the wall on the left at the back of the bed, but the shrubs there are nicer, and there's a tree stump I'd need to dig out, so I've gone for the easy option, plus it's more accesible here at the front. Track will be laid on some small paving slabs, probably screwed in with rawl plugs... You can just see the re-located bridge in the top right of the photo.

Photo 3 shows the view from the back corner of the garden, with the re-located bridge, and line towards the reversing triangle.