Steam at it's most awesome

This video from YouTube is frightening! Listen to it with headphones and tell me you don't back away from the edge of the platform. The locomotive is flying!

No 9 down the line

The North Wales Coast Express at Chester on the 40th anniversary of 1T57 and all that meant.

Getting there

Here are the 2 cylinders, with pistons and big ends, port block and some of the steam valve for the de Winton locomotive "Mitchell" currently under construction in Talbot Works, Ness Garden Railway.

Box of progress

Some good news from Talbot Works - this little box contains 5 gunmetal boiler bushes and 2 split big ends (one complete) for the de Winton "Mitchell"

This represents some good progress and the Works are confident that more will follow....!

Building a stream - and a pond, by the line

Blue sheets everywhere as we try and bed the liners down for the source (beyond a puzzled looking John), the stream and the pond.....

Looking downstream towards the pond.



Meanwhile the Project Manager snoozes the day away.

Before long we have a pond and a fountain playing,

... and a stream flowing.

The source is now in place - our Indian goddess sits and watches over the stream, and the line.

Waiting for a train?

An early morning customer???

Potty!

Driver Henderson trying out a new bogie flat wagon, delivering a Lonicera tree in a giant pot to it's new site on the Ness Graden Railway. This short train is just passing the smallest of our new acers on the left. Billy the cat is along for the ride as usual, but seems to have forsaken the footplate for Henderson's lap!















Henderson has delivered the tree, but where is the crane?

Big in Japan?

It's that time of the year again - the time so beloved of our friends in Japan - the season of Cherry Blossom. At the Ness Garden Railway it's a vital time of the year for generating tourist revenue - the famous pink snow specials are a huge draw and not surprising really when you look at this dusk-tide picture, with the line barely visible under the layer of pink snow....



















This however the Directors are up in arms - the lack of foresight on behalf of the operating department has led to a severe shortage of motive power - in fact the only locomotive even vaguely serviceable to handle this important traffic was little "Palmer" - the Ruston!
Lucrative tourist trains were canceled and many customers went home feeling disgruntled.




















The staff weren't too impressed at this either - this is the underside of "Palmer" after only afew minutes running.... That pink snow gets everywhere.





















Much overtime (unpaid) has resulted in "Jack Tawes" being made ready for tomorrow's services (Blocked gas jet and stuck regulator!) - The Directors are anxiously checking the seaweed for signs of rain.....