Sunday steam-up

After Saturday's excitement, had a nice steam up on Sunday... Must say a big thankyou to Auntie Anne who weeded the garden the other day - turns out there was actually some railway track under that lot!

Footplate experience at the Moors Valley Railway

Had an absolutely cracking day at the 7 1/4" gauge Moors Valley Railway yesterday on their Footplate Experience Course. Our engine for the day was 30 years old Talos, an 0-4-2T built by Roger Marsh.



Once she was in steam, our instructor Alf took us through all the controls, and then gave a demo lap of the line (1 mile in length). Then my co-attendent & I took it turns to drive the line for the rest of the day (in between scheduled passenger trains).


Talos was great fun to drive, certainly a bit more to take care of than on my 16mm locos! The fire didn't seem to need as much attention as a full size loco, but she got through water at a fair rate, and with fairly small tanks, we had to use the injectors a couple of times per lap. The line is fully signalled, so that added to the fun too.



Alf (here keeping a watchful eye over me at the controls!) was great, very knowledgable with experience stretching back to his days driving steam locos for BR, and plenty of good yarns!




The highlight of the day for me was taking the family for a run round the circuit at the end of the day!




Everyone at Moors Valley was very friendly, and I can definitely recommend this as a great way to spend the day if you're a fan of steam locos!

Back to Luscombe Valley...

A lovely morning had by all at the Luscombe Valley Railway (a previously blogged 5" gauge line in Sandbanks, who now have a website here) last Sunday, my Mum's birthday, and she wanted to go somewhere the grandchildren would enjoy!!! Very busy, like the last time we went, but very pleasant rides around the winding circuit, hauled by a mix of live steam and diesel outline locos.


We got a ride behind this 0-6-0 tank loco, though it was blowing off quite a bit!








I have a soft spot for class 33/1's as I grew up near the Bournemouth - Weymouth line where these were mainstay traction for passenger services in the 80's ;-)




Loco's awaiting departure at the very impressive station signal gantry

Easter Steam Up

Had a great extended running session with Cackler this afternoon - sunshine, steady running & a cup of Earl Grey - magic!






Unfortunately my young son has taken to walking the line, and is very keen on the trains, so some permanent way re-alignment was necessary before running could commence. The Baguley-Drewery is now minus it's horn due to some enthusiastic grabbing, so repairs will be required. I'm also contemplating screwing the track into the pavers every foot or so to prevent any further 'tamping' by the mini-controller...

00 Update

Planning for a small indoor 00 layout continues, you can read more about the most recent plan, Wandsworth Road, over on RMWeb. Meanwhile I have been acquiring a few nice loco's: a couple of Heljan 33's & a Hornby 50, all beautifully detailled & great runners; a step up from the Lima kit of my youth!

Eastleigh 100

Looks like the centenary celebrations for the nearby Eastleigh Locomotive Works in May should be worth a visit; plenty of Southern steam locos (from the Watercress line & the Swanage Railway), and classic diesels too.
I couldn't go past Eastleigh on the the train in the 80's without leaning out of the window to get as many numbers as possible, so a chance to have a look around is too good to miss!

Spring has arrived!