Toby and the Steam Up

Spent an hour this morning moving bulbs & plants that are springing up too close to (or even from underneath) the trackbed. Hopefully I've moved all the big ones, so future disturbance to the permanent way should be minimal. The Baguley-Drewery battery ran flat after only 20 minutes, following an extended run yesterday, so I got 'Toby' out for a run. Toby is a scratchbuilt, very short wheelbase tram engine, mostly built the Christmas before last on a budget IP chassis I got in my stocking! He still needs to be finished (mostly painting, some detailling & a bit of extra ballast), but is run-able as-is (usually the kiss of death for getting anything truly finished!).

Once the track maintenance was finished, and the bulbs planted in their new locations, it was time for a steam up before lunch. I gave the MSS a run, although she seemed to be struggling a bit, I had assumed last weekend's de-gunking session would improve her running, but it looks like all that congealed thick steam-oil was probably doing something useful after all (giving a steam-seal if nothing else!).